Map of São Luís, Brazil

São Luís is the administrative centre of Maranhão, Brazil, with a population of about 917,237. It lies at 2.5297°S, 44.3028°W. São Luís is about 1,526 km (948 mi) north of Brasília, the capital. The nearest city on our map is São José de Ribamar, 27 km to the east.

São Luís at a glance

Where is São Luís?

• The 16th largest city in Brazil by recorded population.
• The largest city in Maranhão on this site.
• Located in the Southern and Western hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 11 h 58 min on the shortest day to 12 h 16 min on the longest day (around 21 June and 21 December).

Cities near São Luís

• São José de Ribamar — 27 km east
• São Bento — 60 km west
• Pinheiro — 87 km west
• Itapecuru Mirim — 96 km south
• Viana — 109 km southwest
• Santa Helena — 116 km west
• Vargem Grande — 121 km south
• Urbano Santos — 125 km southeast
• Turiaçu — 153 km northwest
• Chapadinha — 171 km southeast

Largest cities in Maranhão

• Imperatriz — 273,110
• São José de Ribamar — 259,164
• Timon — 174,465
• Caxias — 163,546
• Codó — 114,275
• Bacabal — 107,755
• Balsas — 105,974
• Barra do Corda — 88,492
• Santa Inês — 85,014
• Pinheiro — 83,777

Largest cities in Brazil

• São Paulo — 12,400,232
• Rio de Janeiro — 6,747,815
• Belo Horizonte — 2,721,564
• Salvador — 2,711,840
• Fortaleza — 2,400,000
• Manaus — 2,219,580
• Brasília — 2,207,718
• Curitiba — 1,948,626
• Recife — 1,653,461
• Goiânia — 1,536,097

Map of Brazil and all its cities →

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.