Where the next stop is Antarctica
7 of the Southernmost Cities in the World
Patagonia, Tasmania and the southern tip of New Zealand — these are the cities at the very bottom of the inhabited world.
Far fewer people live near the South Pole than the North — there's simply less land. The southernmost cities are scattered across Patagonia, southern Australia and New Zealand, and most of them double as gateways to Antarctica.
Western Cape, South Africa · pop. 3,740,026
Cape Town isn't far enough south to compete on latitude, but it's the southernmost large city on the African continent.
Wellington, New Zealand · pop. 215,900
Wellington is the world's southernmost national capital — windy, hilly and packed against a deep natural harbour.
Tasmania, Australia
Hobart, on Tasmania's Derwent estuary, is Australia's second-oldest capital and the southernmost city on the continent.
Southland, New Zealand · pop. 49,900
Invercargill is the southernmost city of any size in New Zealand — a flat, green oyster-and-meat town facing the Foveaux Strait.
Santa Cruz, Argentina · pop. 115,585
Río Gallegos is the capital of Argentina's Santa Cruz province — a windswept Patagonian city of about 100,000.
Magallanes, Chile · pop. 123,403
Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan, was the southern hemisphere's pre-Panama-Canal shipping hub.
Tierra del Fuego, Argentina · pop. 79,538
Ushuaia, at 54°S, advertises itself as the southernmost city in the world — and most cruises to Antarctica leave from here.
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For entertainment only. Rankings on this page are editorial picks compiled from public sources for fun and discovery — they aren't a scientific measurement. Population figures and place details come from open data; see the linked place pages for sources.