The Fifth World Congress on Social Simulation was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil on 4-7 November 2014. It was jointly organised by PAAA (Pacific and Asia), CSSSA (North America) and ESSA (Europe). It was co-sponsored by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), FAPESP and CAPES Foundation. Invited speakers were Shu-Heng Chen (Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan), Arnaud Banos (CNRS Paris, France) and H. Van Dyke Parunak (Soar Technology, Ann Arbor, USA).