MA · Northeast · State capital
Population: 1,090,229 (IBGE estimate 2026)
Machine translation of the Portuguese Wikipedia article (November 2026 version).
São Luís, also known as São Luís do Maranhão, is the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. It is the only Brazilian state capital founded by the French, on 8 September 1612; it was later invaded by the Dutch and finally colonized by the Portuguese. It is located on Upaon-Açu Island in the South Atlantic, between the São Marcos and São José de Ribamar bays, in the Golfão Maranhense. In 1621, when Brazil was divided into two administrative units, the State of Maranhão and the State of Brazil, São Luís was the capital of the first unit. In 1997 the city's Historic Centre was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
With an estimated population of 1,090,229 inhabitants in 2026, São Luís is the most populous municipality in Maranhão and the fourth in the Northeast Region. Its area is 583 km², of which 211 km² is urban perimeter (the 12th largest urban area in the country). The municipality is the seat of the Ilha do Maranhão Planning Region (made up of the four municipalities on Upaon-Açu Island) and of the São Luís Metropolitan Region, which consisted of 13 municipalities with a total of 1,726,262 inhabitants in 2016. According to United Nations data from 2010, São Luís's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.768, the 3rd best among the capitals of Brazil's Northeast Region and the 4th among all 1,794 municipalities in the region.
Text: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Read the full article on Wikipedia (in Portuguese)
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Well-known places within 50 km of the city center, closest first. Source: Wikidata (public domain).
0 to 100, compared with Brazilian municipalities of 100,000+ residents (rent: compared among the 36 cities with rent data).
MA average (10 cities): 55 · All 338 cities: 76
Intentional violent deaths per 100k (police records)
21.56 per 100k residents
Source: Ministério da Justiça – Sinesp VDE (ocorrências por município) · Reference: 2025 · License: Open data
Personal safety (SPI)
51.33 score 0–100
Source: Índice de Progresso Social Brasil · Reference: SPI Brazil 2026 (2024 data) · License: CC BY 4.0 (report)
All 36 cities: 46
Asking rent (BRL/m²)
Higher rent Shown as a band among the 36 cities with rent data (thirds). See the source for exact prices.
Source: Índice FipeZAP de Locação Residencial · Reference: Sep 2026 · License: Proprietary
MA average (10 cities): 17 · All 338 cities: 34
Formal jobs per 1,000 residents
385.39 per 1,000 residents
Source: IBGE – Cadastro Central de Empresas (Cempre) · Reference: 2024 · License: Open data
Average monthly wage of formal jobs (BRL)
3,960.43 BRL/month
Source: IBGE – Cadastro Central de Empresas (Cempre) · Reference: 2024 · License: Open data
MA average (10 cities): 23 · All 338 cities: 34
Hospital beds per 1,000
4.02 per 1,000 residents
Source: CNES / DATASUS (TabNet) · Reference: Sep 2026 · License: Public data
Doctors per 1,000
3.07 per 1,000 residents
Source: CNES / DATASUS (TabNet) · Reference: Sep 2026 · License: Public data
MA average (10 cities): 43 · All 338 cities: 54
Ideb – late grades (9th grade), public schools
4.6 score 0–10
Source: INEP – Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (Ideb) · Reference: 2025 · License: Open data
Ideb – early grades (5th grade), public schools
6 score 0–10
Source: INEP – Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (Ideb) · Reference: 2025 · License: Open data
MA average (10 cities): 53 · All 338 cities: 65
Fixed broadband per 100 homes
25.79 per 100 households
Source: Anatel – Acessos de Banda Larga Fixa · Reference: Aug 2026 · License: Open data
Home connections at 100 Mbps or faster (%)
98.71 %
Source: Anatel – Acessos de Banda Larga Fixa · Reference: Aug 2026 · License: Open data
MA average (10 cities): 22 · All 338 cities: 60
Distance to intl. airport (km)
480.81 km
Source: ANAC – Voo Regular Ativo e Aeródromos · Reference: Sep 2025–Aug 2026 · License: Open data
International departures within 100 km
0 departures in 12 months
Source: ANAC – Voo Regular Ativo e Aeródromos · Reference: Sep 2025–Aug 2026 · License: Open data
Nearest international airport
Internacional de Belém/Val de Cans/Júlio Cezar Ribeiro (SBBE), 481 km in a straight line · 895 international departures in 12 months
score 0–100 · Source: Índice de Progresso Social Brasil · Reference: SPI Brazil 2026 (2024 data) · License: CC BY 4.0 (report)
Hot Average temperature: 27.8 °C (Average temperature 25 °C (77 °F) or higher)
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. high (°C) | 31.1 | 30.6 | 30.3 | 30.6 | 31.3 | 31.5 | 31.5 | 32.0 | 32.3 | 32.5 | 32.5 | 32.2 |
| Avg. low (°C) | 24.2 | 24.0 | 23.8 | 23.8 | 23.9 | 23.5 | 23.4 | 23.7 | 24.4 | 24.7 | 24.9 | 25.0 |
| Rain (mm) | 235 | 308 | 453 | 431 | 312 | 174 | 111 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 55 |
Weather station São Luis, 10 km away · climate normals 1991-2020 · Source: INMET Normais Climatológicas · License: Public data
Up to 150 km in a straight line. Scores use your weights.
Topic scores closest to those of São Luís. Scores use your weights.
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