Around 1.8 million people live in Montevideo’s wider urban area as of 2026 estimates, and about 1.3 million live in the city proper.

Quick Scoop

  • Urban area: About 1,79–1,80 million residents in the Montevideo agglomeration, including surrounding suburbs.
  • City proper: Roughly 1.3 million people within the official city limits.
  • Share of Uruguay: Montevideo concentrates close to one-third of Uruguay’s total population, making it by far the country’s largest city.

Montevideo’s population has been growing slowly in recent years, adding only a few thousand people per year, which fits broader trends of modest growth in many South American capital cities.