São Paulo is the capital of the surrounding state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest state in Brazil. It is the world's 12th largest city proper by population and also the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world. São Paulo is located in Southeastern Brazil, in southeastern São Paulo State, approximately halfway between Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro. The city’s name derives from its having been founded by Jesuit missionaries on January 25, 1554, the anniversary of the conversion of St. Paul.

São Paulo is a cosmopolitan, melting pot city, home to the largest Arab, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese diasporas. São Paulo is also home to the largest Jewish population in Brazil, with about 75,000 Jews. In 2016, inhabitants of the city were native to over 200 different countries. People from the city are known as paulistanos, while paulistas designates anyone from the state, including the paulistanos. The city's Latin motto, which it has shared with the battleship and the aircraft carrier named after it, is Non ducor, duco, which translates as "I am not led, I lead."

• As of 2018, its population was accounted to be 12,176,866.
• According to the 2010 IBGE Census, there were 11,244,369 people residing in the city of São Paulo. The census found 6,824,668 Whitepeople (60.6%), 3,433,218 Pardo (multiracial) people (30.5%), 736,083 Black people (6.5%), 246,244 Asian people (2.2%) and 21,318 Amerindian people (0.2%).
• The population of São Paulo was 52.6% female and 47.4% male.
• The city has the 11th largest GDP in the world, representing alone 10.7% of all Brazilian GDP.
  36% of the production of goods and services are produced in the state of São Paulo.
• The city has been responsible for 28% of the national scientific production in 2005.
• The citywide homicide rate was 9.0 in 2011, less than half the 22.3 national rate.
• According to data of IBGE, its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 was R$450 billion, approximately US$220
  São Paulo Stock Exchange (BM&F Bovespa) trades about R$6 billion (US$3.5 billion) every day.
• São Paulo is home to 75% of the country's leading business fairs.

As the capital of the state of São Paulo, the city is home to the Bandeirantes Palace (state government) and the Legislative Assembly. The Executive Branch of the municipality of São Paulo is represented by the mayor and his cabinet of secretaries, following the model proposed by the Federal Constitution.

São Paulo is divided into 32 regional prefectures, each with a regional administration ("prefeitura regional") divided into several districts ("distritos").The city also has a radial division into nine zones for purpose of traffic control and bus lines, which don't fit into the administrative divisions. These zones are identified by colors in the street signs. The historical core of São Paulo, which includes the inner city and the area of Paulista Avenue, is in the Regional Prefecture of Sé. Most other economic and tourist facilities of the city are inside an area officially called Centro Expandido (Portuguese for "Broad Centre", or "Broad Downtown"), which includes Sé and several other regional prefectures, and areas immediately located around it.

São Paulo is considered the "financial capital of Brazil", as it is the location for the headquarters of major corporations and of banks and financial institutions. São Paulo is Brazil's highest GDP city and the 10th largest in the world, using Purchasing power parity. Having the largest economy by GDP in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere, the city is home to the São Paulo Stock Exchange. Paulista Avenue is the economic core of São Paulo.

It represents alone 10.7% of all Brazilian GDP and 36% of the production of goods and services in the state of São Paulo, being home to 63% of established multinationals in Brazil, and has been responsible for 28% of the national scientific production in 2005.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, São Paulo has been one of the main economic center of Latin America. From a population of only 32.000 people in 1880, São Paulo now has 8.5 million inhabitants in 1980. The rapid population growth has brought many problems for the city.

São Paulo is practically all served by the water supply network. The city consumes an average of 221 liters of water/inhabitant/day while the UN recommends the consumption of 110 liters/day. The water loss is 30.8%. However, between 11 and 12.8% of households do not have a sewage system, depositing waste in pits and ditches. Sixty percent of the sewage collected is treated. According to data from IBGE and Eletropaulo, the electricity grid serves almost 100% of households. The fixed telephony network is still precarious, with coverage of 67.2%. Household garbage collection covers all regions of the municipality but is still insufficient, reaching around 94% of the demand in districts such as Parelheiros and Perus. About 80% of the garbage produced daily by Paulistas is exported to other cities, such as Caieiras and Guarulhos. Recycling accounts for about 1% of the 15,000 tonnes of waste produced daily.

Automobiles are the main means to get into the city. In March 2011, more than 7 million vehicles were registered. Heavy traffic is common on the city's main avenues and traffic jams are relatively common on its highways.The city is crossed by 10 major motorways. Rodoanel Mário Covas (official designation SP-021) is the beltway of the Greater São Paulo, Brazil. Upon its completion, it will have a length of 177 km (110 mi), with a radius of approximately 23 km (14 mi) from the geographical center of the city. Bus transport (government and private) is composed of 17,000 buses (including about 290 trolley buses). The traditional system of informal transport (dab vans) was later reorganized and legalized.São Paulo Tietê Bus Terminal is the second largest bus terminal in the world.

São Paulo has two main airports, São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport (IATA: GRU) for international flights and national hub, and Congonhas-São Paulo Airport (IATA: CGH) for domestic and regional flights. Another airport, the Campo de Marte Airport, serves private jets and light aircraft. The three airports together moved more than 58.000.000 passengers in 2015, making São Paulo one of the top 15 busiest in the world, by number of air passenger movements. The region of Greater São Paulo is also served by Viracopos-Campinas International Airport, São José dos Campos Airport and Jundiaí Airport. São Paulo has the largest number of helicopters in the world.

São Paulo has three urban rail transit systems: the São Paulo Metro (locally known as the Metrô), an underground system with six lines, which includes the monorail of the Line 15 (Silver), and the commuter rail system of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM), with seven lines that serve cities in the metropolitan region. The underground and railway lines carry some 7 million people on an average weekday together. The systems combined form a 370 km (230 mi) long network of urban rail transit.