Ecuador's cities at a glance
Dots sized by population · Quito in orange
Ecuador has 2 cities with more than a million inhabitants and 17 with more than 100,000 (city-proper figures). The largest is Quito with 2,781,641 people, followed by Guayaquil (2,723,665) and Cuenca (636,996). The three largest cities together hold about 33.2% of the country's 18.5 million people.
The capital, Quito, is also the largest city.
By region, the most large cities are in Guayas (7), El Oro (4), Manabí (3).
Country-level figures — live population, births and deaths, growth, density and history — are on the Ecuador population page; provinces, terrain, rivers and society maps are in the Ecuador atlas.
Ecuador cities by population
| # | City | Region | Population | Share of Ecuador |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QuitoCapital | Pichincha | 2,781,641 | 15% |
| 2 | Guayaquil | Guayas | 2,723,665 | 14.7% |
| 3 | Cuenca | Azuay | 636,996 | 3.4% |
| 4 | Santo Domingo de los Colorados | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | 458,580 | 2.5% |
| 5 | Ambato | Tungurahua Province | 387,309 | 2.1% |
| 6 | Portoviejo | Manabí | 321,800 | 1.7% |
| 7 | Eloy Alfaro | Guayas | 315,724 | 1.7% |
| 8 | Machala | El Oro | 289,141 | 1.6% |
| 9 | Loja | Loja | 274,112 | 1.5% |
| 10 | Manta | Manabí | 264,281 | 1.4% |
| 11 | Riobamba | Chimborazo Province | 264,048 | 1.4% |
| 12 | Ibarra | Imbabura | 221,149 | 1.2% |
| 13 | Esmeraldas | Esmeraldas | 218,727 | 1.2% |
| 14 | Quevedo | Los Ríos | 213,842 | 1.2% |
| 15 | Latacunga | Cotopaxi | 205,624 | 1.1% |
| 16 | Daule | Guayas | 173,684 | 0.9% |
| 17 | Milagro | Guayas | 133,508 | 0.7% |
| 18 | Tulcán | Carchi | 86,498 | 0.5% |
| 19 | Babahoyo | Los Ríos | 76,279 | 0.4% |
| 20 | La Libertad | Guayas | 75,881 | 0.4% |
| 21 | El Empalme | Guayas | 48,754 | 0.3% |
| 22 | Puerto Francisco de Orellana | Orellana Province | 48,144 | 0.3% |
| 23 | Pasaje | El Oro | 44,860 | 0.2% |
| 24 | Chone | Manabí | 44,751 | 0.2% |
| 25 | Salinas | Santa Elena | 43,862 | 0.2% |
| 26 | Santa Elena | Santa Elena | 42,214 | 0.2% |
| 27 | Rosa Zarate | Esmeraldas | 42,121 | 0.2% |
| 28 | Santa Rosa | El Oro | 41,816 | 0.2% |
| 29 | Balzar | Guayas | 40,115 | 0.2% |
| 30 | Huaquillas | El Oro | 39,757 | 0.2% |
Cities with 300,000 or more people link to their own page. The list keeps every city of 100,000+ and at least the 30 largest places of the country.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest city in Ecuador?
Quito, with about 2,781,641 inhabitants (city proper).
What is the capital of Ecuador?
Quito — population 2,781,641, the largest city in the country.
How many cities in Ecuador have over one million people?
2: Quito, Guayaquil.
Are these metropolitan-area populations?
No. They are city-proper figures (the administrative city) from GeoNames, based on the latest census or official estimate. Metropolitan areas, which include suburbs and satellite towns, are larger — often several times larger for the biggest cities.
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ParaguayCite or link to this page
Glostats. (2026). Largest Cities in Ecuador 2026: Population Ranking. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/ecuador/<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/ecuador/">Largest Cities in Ecuador 2026: Population Ranking</a> — GlostatsFigures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.
City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.