Rio Grande do Norte in numbers

3,302,729residents · 2022 Census

Rank: 17th among the 27 states
Share of Brazil: 1.6% of Brazil's 203,080,756 people
Municipalities: 167
Capital: Natal
Region: Northeast
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census (SIDRA table 4714)

Rio Grande do Norte has 3,302,729 inhabitants (2022 Census), the 17th most populous state in the country, behind São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and 13 others, and holds 1.6% of Brazilians. The capital, Natal, has 751,300 people, 22.7% of the state. The state has 167 municipalities.

Rio Grande do Norte on the map of Brazil

Dark outline: Rio Grande do Norte. Color: state population, in millions.

Population rank among the states in the same region (Northeast):

State	People
Bahia	14,141,626
Pernambuco	9,058,931
Ceará	8,794,957
Maranhão	6,776,699
Paraíba	3,974,687
Rio Grande do Norte	3,302,729
Piauí	3,271,199
Alagoas	3,127,683
Sergipe	2,210,004

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The 10 most populous municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte

#	Municipality	People	% of state
1	Natal	751,300	22.7%
2	Mossoró	264,577	8.0%
3	Parnamirim	252,716	7.7%
4	São Gonçalo do Amarante	115,838	3.5%
5	Macaíba	82,249	2.5%
6	Ceará-Mirim	79,115	2.4%
7	Extremoz	61,635	1.9%
8	Caicó	61,146	1.9%
9	Assú	56,496	1.7%
10	São José de Mipibu	47,286	1.4%

Municipalities by size

Size	Municipalities	Population	% of state
up to 5,000	52	181,233	5.5%
5,000 to 20,000	88	846,376	25.6%
20,000 to 100,000	23	890,689	27.0%
over 100,000	4	1,384,431	41.9%

4 municipalities have over 100,000 inhabitants and hold 41.9% of the state's population.

See all 167 municipalities in Rio Grande do Norte (2022 Census population)

#	Municipality	People	% of state
1	Natal	751,300	22.7%
2	Mossoró	264,577	8.0%
3	Parnamirim	252,716	7.7%
4	São Gonçalo do Amarante	115,838	3.5%
5	Macaíba	82,249	2.5%
6	Ceará-Mirim	79,115	2.4%
7	Extremoz	61,635	1.9%
8	Caicó	61,146	1.9%
9	Assú	56,496	1.7%
10	São José de Mipibu	47,286	1.4%
11	Currais Novos	41,313	1.3%
12	Santa Cruz	37,313	1.1%
13	Apodi	36,093	1.1%
14	Nova Cruz	34,269	1.0%
15	João Câmara	33,290	1.0%
16	Touros	33,035	1.0%
17	Nísia Floresta	31,942	1.0%
18	Pau dos Ferros	30,479	0.9%
19	Canguaretama	29,668	0.9%
20	Macau	27,369	0.8%
21	Baraúna	26,913	0.8%
22	Goianinha	26,741	0.8%
23	Areia Branca	24,093	0.7%
24	São Miguel	23,537	0.7%
25	Monte Alegre	23,031	0.7%
26	Santo Antônio	22,177	0.7%
27	Parelhas	21,499	0.7%
28	Caraúbas	19,727	0.6%
29	Jucurutu	17,793	0.5%
30	Tibau do Sul	16,929	0.5%
31	São Paulo do Potengi	16,786	0.5%
32	Lagoa Nova	15,573	0.5%
33	Guamaré	15,295	0.5%
34	Ipanguaçu	14,131	0.4%
35	Jardim de Piranhas	13,977	0.4%
36	Pedro Velho	13,824	0.4%
37	Alexandria	13,640	0.4%
38	Upanema	13,577	0.4%
39	Tangará	13,281	0.4%
40	Arez	13,251	0.4%
41	Serra do Mel	13,091	0.4%
42	Alto do Rodrigues	12,484	0.4%
43	Santana do Matos	12,456	0.4%
44	Poço Branco	12,390	0.4%
45	Pendências	12,278	0.4%
46	Brejinho	12,202	0.4%
47	Governador Dix-Sept Rosado	11,938	0.4%
48	Jardim do Seridó	11,655	0.4%
49	Angicos	11,632	0.4%
50	Ielmo Marinho	11,615	0.4%
51	Montanhas	11,444	0.3%
52	Taipu	11,422	0.3%
53	São José do Campestre	11,121	0.3%
54	Patu	11,007	0.3%
55	Cerro Corá	11,000	0.3%
56	Passa e Fica	10,896	0.3%
57	Afonso Bezerra	10,839	0.3%
58	Vera Cruz	10,735	0.3%
59	Espírito Santo	10,620	0.3%
60	Acari	10,597	0.3%
61	Rio do Fogo	10,351	0.3%
62	Tenente Ananias	10,262	0.3%
63	Maxaranguape	10,255	0.3%
64	São Miguel do Gostoso	10,221	0.3%
65	Campo Redondo	10,215	0.3%
66	Florânia	10,196	0.3%
67	Serra Caiada	10,125	0.3%
68	Umarizal	10,078	0.3%
69	São Tomé	9,972	0.3%
70	Bom Jesus	9,952	0.3%
71	Grossos	9,924	0.3%
72	Lajes	9,866	0.3%
73	Campo Grande	9,730	0.3%
74	Carnaubais	9,714	0.3%
75	Pureza	9,362	0.3%
76	Luís Gomes	9,070	0.3%
77	Januário Cicco	9,051	0.3%
78	Baía Formosa	8,825	0.3%
79	Lagoa Salgada	8,319	0.3%
80	Martins	8,179	0.2%
81	Cruzeta	8,005	0.2%
82	Carnaúba dos Dantas	7,992	0.2%
83	Marcelino Vieira	7,896	0.2%
84	Jaçanã	7,834	0.2%
85	São Rafael	7,711	0.2%
86	Portalegre	7,601	0.2%
87	Serra Negra do Norte	7,597	0.2%
88	Riachuelo	7,389	0.2%
89	Lagoa de Pedras	7,338	0.2%
90	Itajá	7,292	0.2%
91	Doutor Severiano	7,044	0.2%
92	Lagoa d'Anta	6,654	0.2%
93	Antônio Martins	6,577	0.2%
94	Jandaíra	6,562	0.2%
95	Serrinha	6,436	0.2%
96	São Vicente	6,310	0.2%
97	Caiçara do Norte	6,293	0.2%
98	Pedro Avelino	6,242	0.2%
99	Encanto	6,016	0.2%
100	Senador Elói de Souza	5,965	0.2%
101	São João do Sabugi	5,956	0.2%
102	Felipe Guerra	5,944	0.2%
103	Tenente Laurentino Cruz	5,891	0.2%
104	José da Penha	5,803	0.2%
105	São Pedro	5,776	0.2%
106	Serra de São Bento	5,703	0.2%
107	Severiano Melo	5,487	0.2%
108	Rafael Fernandes	5,432	0.2%
109	Tibau	5,382	0.2%
110	Equador	5,360	0.2%
111	Itaú	5,320	0.2%
112	Várzea	5,233	0.2%
113	Porto do Mangue	5,228	0.2%
114	Coronel Ezequiel	5,117	0.2%
115	Japi	5,117	0.2%
116	Ouro Branco	4,913	0.1%
117	Santa Maria	4,847	0.1%
118	Bento Fernandes	4,807	0.1%
119	Parazinho	4,801	0.1%
120	Lajes Pintadas	4,787	0.1%
121	Janduís	4,746	0.1%
122	Almino Afonso	4,687	0.1%
123	Serrinha dos Pintos	4,659	0.1%
124	Sítio Novo	4,654	0.1%
125	São José do Seridó	4,558	0.1%
126	Messias Targino	4,274	0.1%
127	Rodolfo Fernandes	4,242	0.1%
128	Coronel João Pessoa	4,237	0.1%
129	São Francisco do Oeste	4,161	0.1%
130	Riacho de Santana	4,127	0.1%
131	Frutuoso Gomes	4,122	0.1%
132	Senador Georgino Avelino	4,065	0.1%
133	Barcelona	3,986	0.1%
134	Paraná	3,934	0.1%
135	Major Sales	3,924	0.1%
136	Olho d'Água do Borges	3,905	0.1%
137	São Bento do Trairí	3,792	0.1%
138	Jundiá	3,739	0.1%
139	Pedra Grande	3,618	0.1%
140	Paraú	3,579	0.1%
141	São Fernando	3,492	0.1%
142	Lucrécia	3,490	0.1%
143	Triunfo Potiguar	3,376	0.1%
144	São Bento do Norte	3,304	0.1%
145	Caiçara do Rio do Vento	3,268	0.099%
146	Ruy Barbosa	3,206	0.097%
147	Vila Flor	3,174	0.096%
148	Passagem	3,115	0.094%
149	Venha-Ver	3,014	0.091%
150	Pilões	2,965	0.090%
151	Água Nova	2,946	0.089%
152	Fernando Pedroza	2,938	0.089%
153	Rafael Godeiro	2,934	0.089%
154	Riacho da Cruz	2,701	0.082%
155	Francisco Dantas	2,700	0.082%
156	Santana do Seridó	2,696	0.082%
157	Lagoa de Velhos	2,567	0.078%
158	Pedra Preta	2,441	0.074%
159	Jardim de Angicos	2,437	0.074%
160	Timbaúba dos Batistas	2,348	0.071%
161	Taboleiro Grande	2,338	0.071%
162	Bodó	2,306	0.070%
163	Monte das Gameleiras	2,276	0.069%
164	Galinhos	2,104	0.064%
165	João Dias	2,076	0.063%
166	Ipueira	2,035	0.062%
167	Viçosa	1,822	0.055%

Intermediate geographic regions

IBGE division that groups municipalities around a hub city.

Intermediate region	People	% of state	Municipalities
Natal	2,103,416	63.7%	75
Mossoró	915,105	27.7%	68
Caicó	284,208	8.6%	24

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Rio Grande do Norte?

Rio Grande do Norte had 3,302,729 inhabitants in IBGE's 2022 Census. It is the 17th most populous state in the country, behind São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and 13 others.

How many municipalities are there in Rio Grande do Norte?

Rio Grande do Norte has 167 municipalities. The most populous is Natal, with 751,300 inhabitants.

What is the capital of Rio Grande do Norte and how many people live there?

The capital is Natal, with 751,300 inhabitants in the 2022 Census (22.7% of the state's population).

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Download the data and cite it

Municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte with their 2022 Census population: CSV. Updated on Oct 26, 2026. How to cite: dadobruto.com. Rio Grande do Norte in numbers. Data: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census (SIDRA table 4714). https://dadobruto.com/en/states/rio-grande-do-norte

License: You may copy and republish the data and charts, including commercially, under the CC BY 4.0 license. The condition is to credit "dadobruto.com" and, when published online, to link to dadobruto.com or to the page the data came from. The original numbers follow the rules of IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census (SIDRA table 4714).