Manaus is home to 1.71 million inhabitants. It is the eight most populated city in Brazil which comprises 49.9% of the population in the entire state of Amazonas and 10.89% of the entire population in Northern Brazil.

The early inhabitants of Manaus lived near the São José da Barra Fort that was erected in an attempt to ward off the foreign invaders who wanted to claim the Amazonas as their own. During this time it was the Portuguese who were colonizing the region.

The invasion attempts were unsuccessful and the Portuguese were able to maintain control in the Amazonas. That is why Portuguese influence is very evident in Manaus culture and Portuguese ancestry is predominant in the Manaus population.

Manaus has also seen products of their lineage that have risen to success and fame. Manaus is very well represented in every field. There are people that came from Manaus that are successful and are known in the world of sports. One prime example is Antonio Pizzonia a famous Formula 1 driver; Bibiano Fernandes a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champions Saulo Ribeiro and Xande Ribeiro; and Ronaldo Souza also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion and MMA athlete.

There is also a Manaus representative in the world of music, like Cláudio Santoro a famous classical music composer and conductor.

In the field of beauty pageants Terezinha Morango, Miss Brazil winner in 1957 and Larissa Ramos, winner of Miss Earth 2010 are the Manaus representatives.