# Greater Buenos Aires

Greater Buenos Aires (Spanish: Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (Spanish: Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adjacent 24 partidos (districts) in the Province of Buenos Aires. Thus, it does not constitute a single administrative unit. The conurbation spreads south, west and north of Buenos Aires city. To the east, the River Plate serves as a natural boundary.
Urban sprawl, especially between 1945 and 1980, created a vast metropolitan area of over 3,800 km² (1,500 mi²) – or 19 times the area of Buenos Aires proper. The 24 suburban partidos (counties) grew more than sixfold in population between the 1947 and 2022 censuses – or nearly 2.5% annually, compared to 1.4% for the nation as a whole.
While annual growth for the suburban area slowed to 0.8% between 2010 and 2022, the 14 million inhabitants in the entire 30-county area plus the City of Buenos Aires account for a third of the total population of Argentina and generate nearly half (48%) of the country's GDP.

## History

The term Gran Buenos Aires ("Greater Buenos Aires") was first officially used in 1948, when Domingo Mercante, the Governor of Buenos Aires Province, signed a bill delineating as such an area covering 14 municipalities surrounding the City of Buenos Aires. The term is also related to other expressions that are not necessarily well defined: the "Buenos Aires' conurbation" (Conurbano Bonaerense), the "Greater Buenos Aires Agglomeration" (Aglomerado Gran Buenos Aires), and the "Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires" (Área Metropolitana Buenos Aires, AMBA). In colloquial speech, people refer to the "Buenos Aires' conurbation" as the set of municipalities that surround the City of Buenos Aires and which are mostly populated by working-class or middle-class communities.

## Definition

The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) has defined Greater Buenos Aires. There are three main groups within the Buenos Aires conurbation. The first two groups (24 partidos) comprise the traditional conurbation, or the "conurbation proper", while the third group of six partidos is in the process of becoming fully integrated with the rest.

### Fourteen fully urbanized partidos

* Avellaneda
* General San Martín
* Hurlingham
* Ituzaingó
* José C. Paz
* Lanús
* Lomas de Zamora
* Malvinas Argentinas
* Morón
* Quilmes
* San Isidro
* San Miguel
* Tres de Febrero
* Vicente López

### Ten partidos partially urbanized

* Almirante Brown
* Berazategui
* Esteban Echeverría
* Ezeiza
* Florencio Varela
* La Matanza
* Merlo
* Moreno
* San Fernando
* Tigre

### Six partidos not yet conurbated

As urbanization continues and the conurbation grows, six additional partially urbanized partidos (totaling 1,062,991 population of as the 2022 census) are now fully connected with the conurbation:
* Escobar (256,449)
* General Rodríguez (143,211)
* Marcos Paz (67,154)
* Pilar (395,072)
* Presidente Perón (102,128)
* San Vicente (98,977)
| Rank | Partido | Seat | 2010 Census | % growth from 2001 Census | 2022 Census | % growth from 2010 Census |
| * | Buenos Aires | | 2,890,151 | 4.1 | 3,120,612 | 8.0 |
| 1 | La Matanza | San Justo | 1,775,816 | 41.5 | 1,837,774 | 3.5 |
| 2 | Lomas de Zamora | Lomas de Zamora | 616,279 | 4.2 | 694,330 | 12.7 |
| 3 | Quilmes | Quilmes | 582,943 | 12.4 | 636,026 | 9.1 |
| 4 | Almirante Brown | Adrogué | 552,902 | 7.2 | 585,852 | 6.0 |
| 5 | Merlo | Merlo | 528,494 | 12.4 | 580,806 | 9.9 |
| 6 | Moreno | Moreno | 452,505 | 18.9 | 574,374 | 26.9 |
| 7 | Florencio Varela | Florencio Varela | 426,005 | 22.1 | 497,818 | 16.9 |
| 8 | Lanús | Lanús | 459,263 | 1.4 | 462,051 | 0.6 |
| 9 | General San Martín | San Martín | 414,196 | 2.8 | 450,335 | 8.7 |
| 10 | Tigre | Tigre | 376,381 | 25.0 | 447,785 | 19.0 |
| 11 | Avellaneda | Avellaneda | 342,677 | 4.2 | 370,939 | 8.2 |
| 12 | Tres de Febrero | Caseros | 340,071 | 1.1 | 366,377 | 7.7 |
| 13 | Berazategui | Berazategui | 324,344 | 12.6 | 360,582 | 11.2 |
| 14 | Malvinas Argentinas | Los Polvorines | 322,375 | 10.9 | 351,788 | 9.1 |
| 15 | Esteban Echeverría | Monte Grande | 300,959 | 23.4 | 339,030 | 12.6 |
| 16 | Morón | Morón | 321,109 | 3.8 | 334,178 | 4.1 |
| 17 | San Miguel | San Miguel | 276,190 | 9.1 | 326,215 | 18.1 |
| 18 | José C. Paz | José C. Paz | 265,981 | 15.5 | 323,918 | 21.8 |
| 19 | San Isidro | San Isidro | 292,878 | 0.5 | 298,777 | 2.0 |
| 20 | Vicente López | Olivos | 269,420 | -1.7 | 283,510 | 5.2 |
| 21 | Ezeiza | Ezeiza | 163,722 | 37.8 | 203,283 | 24.2 |
| 22 | Hurlingham | Hurlingham | 181,241 | 5.2 | 187,122 | 3.2 |
| 23 | Ituzaingó | Ituzaingó | 167,824 | 6.1 | 179,788 | 7.1 |
| 24 | San Fernando | San Fernando | 163,240 | 8.0 | 172,524 | 5.7 |

## List of cities

| Rank | City | Partido | 2001 Census |
| 1 | Buenos Aires | | 2,776,138 |
| 2 | Merlo | Merlo | 244,168 |
| 3 | Quilmes | Quilmes | 230,810 |
| 4 | Banfield | Lomas de Zamora | 223,898 |
| 5 | José Clemente Paz | José Clemente Paz | 216,637 |
| 6 | Lanús | Lanús | 212,152 |
| 7 | Gregorio de Laferrère | La Matanza | 175,670 |
| 8 | Hurlingham | Hurlingham | 174,165 |
| 9 | Berazategui | Berazategui | 167,498 |
| 10 | González Catán | La Matanza | 163,815 |
| 11 | San Miguel | San Miguel | 157,532 |
| 12 | Moreno | Moreno | 148,290 |
| 13 | San Fernando | San Fernando | 145,165 |
| 14 | Isidro Casanova | La Matanza | 131,981 |
| 15 | Bernal | Quilmes | 130,790 |
| 16 | Florencio Varela | Florencio Varela | 120,678 |
| 17 | Avellaneda | Avellaneda | 112,980 |
| 18 | Lomas de Zamora | Lomas de Zamora | 111,897 |
| 19 | Temperley | Lomas de Zamora | 111,160 |
| 20 | Monte Grande | Esteban Echeverría | 109,644 |
| 21 | San Justo | La Matanza | 105,274 |
| 22 | Ituzaingó | Ituzaingó | 104,712 |
| 23 | Castelar | Morón | 104,019 |
| 24 | Rafael Castillo | La Matanza | 103,992 |
| 25 | Libertad | Merlo | 100,324 |
| 26 | Ramos Mejía | La Matanza | 97,076 |
| 27 | Ezeiza | Ezeiza | 93,246 |
| 28 | Morón | Morón | 92,725 |
| 29 | Caseros | Tres de Febrero | 90,313 |
| 30 | Parque San Martín | Merlo | 89,073 |
| 31 | Burzaco | Almirante Brown | 86,113 |
| 32 | Grand Bourg | Malvinas Argentinas | 85,189 |
| 33 | Monte Chingolo | Lanús | 85,060 |
| 34 | San Francisco Solano | Quilmes Almirante Brown | 81,707 |
| 35 | Remedios de Escalada | Lanús | 81,465 |
| 36 | La Tablada | La Matanza | 80,389 |
| 37 | Ciudad Madero | La Matanza | 75,582 |
| 38 | Olivos | Vicente López | 75,527 |
| 39 | El Palomar | Morón Tres de Febrero | 74,757 |
| 40 | Boulogne Sur Mer | San Isidro | 73,496 |
| 41 | Ciudadela | Tres de Febrero | 73,155 |
| 42 | Ezpeleta | Quilmes | 72,557 |
| 43 | Ciudad Evita | La Matanza | 68,650 |
| 44 | Bella Vista | San Miguel | 67,936 |
| 45 | Wilde | Avellaneda | 65,881 |
| 46 | Martínez | San Isidro | 65,859 |
| 47 | Don Torcuato | Tigre | 64,867 |
| 48 | Gerli | Avellaneda Lanús | 64,640 |
| 49 | Ciudad Jardín | Tres de Febrero | 61,780 |
| 50 | Sarandí | Avellaneda | 60,752 |
| 51 | Villa Tesei | Hurlingham | 60,165 |
| 52 | Florida | Vicente López | 59,844 |
| 53 | Villa Domínico | Avellaneda | 58,824 |
| 54 | Béccar | San Isidro | 58,811 |
| 55 | Glew | Almirante Brown | 57,878 |
| 56 | Rafael Calzada | Almirante Brown | 56,419 |
| 57 | Mariano Acosta | Merlo | 54,081 |
| 58 | Los Polvorines | Malvinas Argentinas | 53,354 |
| 59 | Lomas del Mirador | La Matanza | 51,488 |
| 60 | Villa Centenario | Lomas de Zamora | 49,737 |
| 61 | William Morris | Hurlingham | 48,916 |
| 62 | Longchamps | Almirante Brown | 47,622 |
| 63 | San Isidro | San Isidro | 45,190 |
| 64 | Villa Adelina | Vicente López | 44,587 |
| 65 | San José | Lomas de Zamora | 44,437 |
| 66 | Villa de Mayo | Malvinas Argentinas | 43,405 |
| 67 | General Pacheco | Tigre | 43,287 |
| 68 | Villa Fiorito | Lomas de Zamora | 42,904 |
| 69 | Paso del Rey | Moreno | 41,775 |
| 70 | Llavallol | Lomas de Zamora | 41,463 |
| 71 | Tortuguitas | Malvinas Argentinas José C. Paz | 41,310 |
| 72 | Claypole | Almirante Brown | 41,176 |
| 73 | Valentín Alsina | Lanús | 41,155 |
| 74 | Virreyes | San Fernando | 39,507 |
| 75 | Victoria | San Fernando | 39,447 |
| 76 | Pablo Nogués | Malvinas Argentinas | 38,470 |
| 77 | Haedo | Morón | 38,068 |
| 78 | San Antonio de Padua | Merlo | 37,775 |
| 79 | Munro | Vicente López | 35,844 |
| 80 | Villa Ballester | San Martín | 35,301 |
| 81 | Pontevedra | Merlo | 33,515 |
| 82 | Villa Udaondo | Ituzaingó | 31,490 |
| 83 | Villa La Florida | Quilmes | 31,268 |
| 84 | Tigre | Tigre | 31,106 |
| 85 | San Martín | San Martín | 28,339 |
| 86 | Adrogué | Almirante Brown | 28,265 |
| 87 | Tristán Suárez | Ezeiza | 27,746 |
| 88 | Muñiz | San Miguel | 26,221 |
| 89 | Villa Martelli | Vicente López | 26,059 |
| 90 | Villa Bosch | Tres de Febrero | 24,702 |
| 91 | Villa Maipú | San Martín | 24,447 |
| 92 | Vicente López | Vicente López | 24,078 |
| 93 | Don Bosco | Quilmes | 20,876 |
| 94 | Billinghurst | San Martín | 19,138 |
| 95 | Martín Coronado | Tres de Febrero | 19,121 |
| 96 | Villa Sarmiento | Morón | 17,737 |
| 97 | Ranelagh | Berazategui | 15,262 |
| 98 | Tapiales | La Matanza | 15,148 |
| 99 | Aldo Bonzi | La Matanza | 13,410 |

## Gallery

* Berazategui
* Ciudad Evita (La Matanza Partido)
* Florencio Varela
* General San Martín
* Monte Grande (Esteban Echeverría Partido)
* Olivos (Vicente López Partido)
* Quilmes
* Tigre
* Pan-American Expressway, north of Buenos Aires