Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, often called Rio, serves as both the capital and largest city of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It ranks as Brazil’s second-most-populous city, behind São Paulo, and attracts more international tourists than any other Brazilian city. As of 2025, the city proper is home to about 6 million residents, while its metropolitan area holds 13 million. Across the Americas, it is the sixth-most-populous city.

Founded in 1565, Rio began as the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a territory under the Portuguese Empire. In 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil. When the Portuguese royal court relocated to Brazil in 1808, Rio became the seat of Queen Maria I’s court. Her son, Prince Regent John of Braganza, oversaw the elevation of Brazil to a kingdom within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves.

Rio remained the capital of this pluricontinental monarchy until 1822, when the Brazilian War of Independence began. This marked the only time in modern history that a colonizing country officially moved its capital to a city in one of its colonies. Rio then served as the capital of the Empire of Brazil until 1889 and of republican Brazil until 1960, when Brasília took over. The city holds the second-largest municipal GDP in Brazil and, as of 2008, ranked 30th globally, estimated at R$343 billion.

Major Brazilian oil, mining, and telecommunications companies have their headquarters here, including two of the country’s largest corporations—Petrobras and Vale—as well as Grupo Globo, Latin America’s biggest telemedia conglomerate. Rio is also a major research and development hub, ranking second in Brazil and accounting for 17 percent of national scientific output as of 2005. Despite a reputation for high crime, the city actually has a lower crime rate than most Brazilian state capitals.

Rio is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere, celebrated for its natural beauty, Carnival, samba, bossa nova, and iconic beaches like Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. Beyond the beaches, landmarks include the Christ the Redeemer statue atop Corcovado mountain—one of the New Seven Wonders of the World—Sugarloaf Mountain with its cable car, the Sambódromo parade avenue used during Carnival, and Maracanã Stadium, one of the world’s largest football stadiums.

The city hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, making it the first South American and Portuguese-speaking city to do so, and the third time the Olympics were held in a Southern Hemisphere city. Maracanã Stadium also hosted the finals of the 1950 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Rio additionally hosted the XV Pan American Games in 2007, the G20 summit in 2024, and will host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027.

Before European contact, the Rio region was inhabited by the Tupi, Puri, Botocudo, and Maxakalí peoples. Europeans first saw Guanabara Bay on 1 January 1502, naming it Rio de Janeiro (“January River”). This occurred during a Portuguese expedition under either Gaspar de Lemos, a captain in Pedro Álvares Cabral’s fleet, or Gonçalo Coelho. The Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci may have participated as an observer at King Manuel I’s invitation.

In 1555, French colonists under Admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon occupied Villegagnon Island in Guanabara Bay, building Fort Coligny as part of the France Antarctique colony. This settlement threatened the Portuguese colony, so in 1560 orders were given to remove them. Governor General Mem de Sá began a years-long military campaign, continued by his nephew Estácio de Sá. On 20 January 1567, the French were decisively defeated and permanently expelled from Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro was officially founded on 1 March 1565 by the Portuguese under Estácio de Sá. It was named São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, after Saint Sebastian, the namesake and patron of the Portuguese monarch Sebastião. The name Rio de Janeiro originally referred to Guanabara Bay. Until the early 18th century, the city faced threats or invasions from French pirates and buccaneers, including Jean-François Duclerc and René Duguay-Trouin.

In the late 17th century, bandeirantes discovered gold and diamonds in the neighboring captaincy of Minas Gerais, making Rio a more practical port for exporting wealth—gold, precious stones, and sugar—than Salvador, Bahia, which was much farther northeast. On 27 January 1763, the colonial administration of Portuguese America moved from Salvador to Rio. The city remained a colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family and many Lisbon nobles, fleeing Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal, relocated to Rio.

The kingdom’s capital was transferred to Rio, making it the only European capital located outside Europe. Since there was no physical space or urban structure to accommodate the court, significant changes followed.