This is a list of the

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

that are or have been considered capitals of one of the country subdivisions of Brazil. For the national capital see: Capital of Brazil.

State capitals

Acre

''created out of Amazonas'' * Porto Acre, present

Xapuri Xapuri () is a municipality located in the southeast of the Brazilian state of Acre. It was the scene of an early bloodless victory during the war to make Acre independent of Bolivia. The town is known as the birthplace of the rubber tapper an ...

(1899-1903?) - seat city for the Independent State of Acre * Rio Branco (1920–1963) - seat city for the territory do Acre * Rio Branco (1963–present) - seat city for the State of Acre

Alagoas

''created out of Pernambuco'' *

Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...

(1817–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Alagoas *

(1822–1839) - capital city for the Province of Alagoas *

Maceió Maceió (), formerly sometimes Anglicised as Maceio, is the capital and the largest city of the coastal state of Alagoas, Brazil. The name "Maceió" is an Indigenous term for a spring. Most maceiós flow to the sea, but some get trapped and form l ...

(1839–present) - capital city for the Province of Alagoas *

(1889–present) - capital city for the State of Alagoas

Amapá

''created out of Pará'' *

Macapá Macapá () is a city in Brazil with a population of 512,902 (2020 estimation). It is the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region. It is located on the northern channel of the Amazon River near its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The c ...

(1943–1988) - seat city for the territory do Amapá *

(1988–present) - seat city for the State of Amapá

Amazonas

''created out of Pará'' * Mariuá (1755–1791) - seat city for the Captaincy of São José do Rio Negro * São José da Barra do Rio Negro (1791–1799) - seat city for the Captaincy of São José do Rio Negro * Mariuá (1799–1808) - seat city for the Captaincy of São José do Rio Negro * São José da Barra do Rio Negro (1808–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of São José do Rio Negro; since 1856, named Manaus * ''subject to the Province of Grão-Pará'' (1822–1850) * Manaus (1850–1889) - seat city for the Province of Amazonas * Manaus (1889–present) - seat city for the State of Amazonas

Bahia

* Cidade do São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos (1549–1709) - seat city for the Captaincy of Baía de Todos os Santos * Salvador (1709–1889) - seat city for the Captaincy of Bahia * Salvador (1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Bahia * Salvador (1889–present) - seat city for the State of Bahia

Ceará

* Fortaleza (1799–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Ceará * Fortaleza (1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Ceará * Fortaleza (1889–present) - seat city for the State of Ceará

Espírito Santo

* Vitória (1812–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Espírito Santo * Vitória (1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Espírito Santo * Vitória (1889–present) - seat city for the State of Espírito Santo

Goiás

''created out of São Paulo'' *

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

(1748–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Goiás *

(1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Goiás *

(1889–1937) - seat city for the State of Goiás *

Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...

(1937–present) - seat city for the State of Goiás

Maranhão

''created out of Pará'' * São Luís (1772–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Maranhão and Piauí * São Luís (1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Maranhão * São Luís (1889–present) - seat city for the State of Maranhão

Mato Grosso

''created out of São Paulo'' *

Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade is a Brazilian municipality in Mato Grosso with 16,271 (2020) inhabitants. It is located at upper Guaporé River close to the border with Bolivia. It served as the capital of the Captaincy of Mato Grosso from 175 ...

(1748–1821) - seat city for the Captaincy of Mato Grosso *

Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America. Also, it forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande. The city ...

(1821–1889) - seat city for the Province of Mato Grosso *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Mato Grosso

Mato Grosso do Sul

''created out of Mato Grosso'' *

Campo Grande Campo Grande (, ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the Center-West region of the country. The city is nicknamed ''Cidade Morena'' ("Swarthy City" in Portuguese) because of the reddish-brown colour o ...

(1975–present) - seat city for the State of Mato Grosso do Sul

Minas Gerais

''created out of São Paulo'' *

Vila Rica Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herit ...

(1720–1822) - since 1822, named

Ouro Preto Ouro Preto (, ''Black Gold''), formerly Vila Rica (, ''Rich Village''), is a city in and former capital of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Herit ...

; seat city for the Captaincy of Minas Gerais *

(1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Minas Gerais *

(1889–1897) - seat city for the State of Minas Gerais * Belo Horizonte (1897–present) - seat city for the State of Minas Gerais

Pará

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

(1737–1772) - seat city for the State of Grão-Pará and Maranhão *

(1772–1822) - seat city for the State of Grão-Pará and Rio Negro *

(1822–1850) - seat city for the Province of Grão-Pará *

(1850–1889) - seat city for the Province of Pará *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Pará

Paraíba

* ''sem sede to the Captaincy of Itamaracá'' (1534–1574) * ''capitania extinta'' (1574–1585) * Nossa Senhora das Neves (1585–1588) * Filipéia (1588–1634) * Frederikstadt (1634–1654) * Nossa Senhora das Neves (1654–1753) - seat city for the Captaincy of Paraíba * ''subject to the Captaincy of Pernambuco'' (1753–1799) * Paraíba do Norte (1799–1817) - seat city for the Captaincy of Paraíba * Paraíba do Norte (1817–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Paraíba * Paraíba (1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Paraíba * João Pessoa (1889–present) - até 1930, named "Cidade da Paraíba"

Paraná

''created out of São Paulo'' *

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...

(1853–1889) - seat city for the Province of Paraná *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Paraná

Pernambuco

* Olinda (1537–1630) - seat city for the Captaincy of Pernambuco *

Mauritsstad Mauritsstad (or Mauritius) was the capital of Dutch Brazil, and is now a part of the Brazilian city of Recife. The city was built on the island of Antonio Vaz opposite Recife, and designed by architect Pieter Post Pieter Post in 1651. Port ...

or ''Cidade Maurícia'' (1630–1654) - seat city for the Dutch administration. * Olinda (1654–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Pernambuco * Olinda (1822–1837) - seat city for the Province of Pernambuco *

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

(1837–1889) - seat city for the Province of Pernambuco *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Pernambuco

Piauí

''created out of Maranhão'' * Parnaíba (1718–1759) - seat city for the Captaincy of Piauí (subject to Maranhão) * Oeiras (1759–1811) - seat city for the Captaincy of Piauí (subject to Maranhão) * Oeiras (1811–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Piauí * Oeiras (1822–1852) - seat city for the Province of Piauí *

Teresina Teresina is the capital and most populous municipality in the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being located in north-central Piauí 366 km from the coast, it is the only capital in the Brazilian Northeast that is not located on the shores of t ...

(1852–1889) - seat city for the Province of Piauí *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Piauí

Rio Grande do Norte

* ''Captaincy of Rio Grande, sem sede'' (1534–1634) * ''subject to the Dutch administration'' (1634–1654) * ''subject to the Captaincy of Bahia'' (1654–1701) * ''subject to the Captaincy of Pernambuco'' (1701–1822) *

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

(1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Rio Grande do Norte *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Rio Grande do Norte

Rio Grande do Sul

Viamão Viamão is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In size it is the largest municipality in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre and the seventh most populous in the state. The origin of the name Viamão is controversial. The more common explan ...

(until 1773) *

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

(1773–1807) - named "Porto dos Casais" until 1773 *

(1807–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of São Pedro and Rio Grande do Sul *

(1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Rio Grande do Sul *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Rio Grande do Sul

Rio de Janeiro

* Niterói (1834–1889) - até 1835, named "Vila Real da Praia Grande"; seat city for the Province of Rio de Janeiro * Niterói (1889–1892) - seat city for the State of Rio de Janeiro *

Petrópolis Petrópolis (; ), also known as The Imperial City, is a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the city of Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2010 National Brazilian Census, Petr ...

(1894–1903) - seat city for the State of Rio de Janeiro * Niterói (1903–1975) - seat city for the State of Rio de Janeiro *

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

(1975–present) - seat city for the State of Rio de Janeiro

Rondônia

''Created in 1943 under the name of "territory do Guaporé", desmembrado do Mato Grosso. Reorganised into the State of Rondônia in 1988.'' *

Porto Velho Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital of the Brazilian state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin, and a Catholic Metropolitan Archbishopric. The population is 548,952 people (as of the IBGE 2021 estimation). Located on the border of ...

(1988–present)

Roraima

''Created in 1943 under the name of "territory do Rio Branco", desmembrado do Amazonas. Transformado in State of Roraima in 1988.'' * Boa Vista (1988–present) - anteriormente named "Rio Branco"

Santa Catarina

''created out of São Paulo'' * Nossa Senhora do Desterro (1738–1822) - seat city for the

Captaincy of Santa Catarina The Captaincy of Santa Catarina was an administrative division of colonial Brazil created on August 11, 1738, in the southernmost territories of the Captaincy of São Paulo. The government was officially installed on March 7, 1739, with the firs ...

* Nossa Senhora do Desterro (1822–1889) - seat city for the Province of Santa Catarina ** Laguna (1839) - seat city for the República Juliana * Florianópolis (1889–present) - até 1894, named "Nossa Senhora do Desterro"; seat city for the State of Santa Catarina

São Paulo

* São Vicente (1534–1709) - seat city for the Captaincy of São Vicente ** Santos (1534–1624) - seat city for the Captaincy of Santo Amaro *

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

(1709–1720) - seat city for the Captaincy of São Paulo and Minas de Ouro *

(1720–1821) - seat city for the Captaincy of São Paulo *

(1821–1889) - seat city for the Province of São Paulo *

(since 1889) - seat city for the

State of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Sergipe

''created out of Bahia'' * São Cristóvão (1820–1822) - seat city for the Captaincy of Sergipe * São Cristóvão (1822–1855) - seat city for the Province of Sergipe *

Aracaju Aracaju () is the capital of the state of Sergipe, Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country on the coast, about 350 km (217 mi) north of Salvador. According to the 2020 estimate, the city has 664,908 inhabitants, which rep ...

(1855–1889) - seat city for the Province of Sergipe *

(1889–present) - seat city for the State of Sergipe

Tocantins

''created out of Goiás'' * Palmas (1988–present)

Extinct federated units

Guanabara

''Created in 1960 out of the territory of former Distrito Federal. Merged with the State of Rio de Janeiro in 1975.'' *

(1960–1975)

Fernando de Noronha

''Created in 1943 under the name of "territory de Fernando de Noronha". Incorporated by Pernambuco state.'' * Vila dos Remédios (main inhabited nucleus of Fernando de Noronha (1943–1988) )

Iguaçu

''Created in 1943 under the name de "territory do Iguaçu". Merged back to Paraná and the Santa Catarina.'' *

Laranjeiras do Sul Laranjeiras do Sul is a municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin Ame ...

(1943–1946)

Ponta-Porã

''Created in 1943 under the name de "territory de Ponta-Porã". Merged back to Mato Grosso.'' *

Ponta Porã Ponta Porã is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Its population is 93,937 (2020) and its area is 5,329 km2. It has a dry border and a conurbation with the city of Pedro Juan Caballero in Paraguay. Ponta Po ...

(1943–1946)

São João da Palma

''Built in 1808 as captaincy by decree of King

João VI , house = Braganza , father = Peter III of Portugal , mother = Maria I of Portugal , birth_date = , birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal , death_date = , death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal ...

under the name "São João das Duas Barras", was abolished in 1814. Recreated as an autonomous province in 1821 under the name of "São João da Palma", extinct in 1823 by Pedro I of Brazil. Today part of Pará and Tocantins.''Diário do Senado Federal - 14 de março de 2004
- Senado Federal do Brasil * Barra do Tacay-Una (currently Marabá) (1808-1810) * Vila de Palma (currently Paranã) (1810-1814) * Cavalcante (1821-1823)

Former territories of Brazil

Cisplatina

* Montevidéu (1809–1828)

Guiana Francesa

Caiena Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's mo ...

(1809–1817)

References

{{Authority control *Capitals

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...