- What are the countries of South America?
- General characteristics of South America
- south american map
- South American countries
- Geography of South America
- Oceans bordering South America
We explain what the countries of South America are, their characteristics and flags. Also, general characteristics of South America.
What are the countries of South America?
South America, South America or South America is one of the three subcontinents into which the American continent, along with North and Central America and the Caribbean. As its name indicates, it is the southernmost region of the continent, comprised between the Colombian and Venezuelan coasts of the Caribbean Sea, the long continental coastline of the Pacific Ocean, and the circumpolar region where the Antarctica.
The territory of South America is divided into thirteen countries sovereigns: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as a Suburb French (French Guiana) and five other dependencies of state different. Most of these nations they were a colony of Spain and Portugal from the 16th century until their emancipation at different times in the 19th century, through a long and bloody war independentist. Since then, they constitute republics sovereign democrats.
Considered a historically unstable region from the political and economic point of view, South America is at the same time one of the most biologically, demographically, culturally and socially diverse regions on the planet. In it is the rain forest largest in the world: the Amazon, whose 7,000,000 square kilometers are distributed among the territories of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
General characteristics of South America
Some general data of the South American continent are:
- It comprises thirteen sovereign countries and six dependencies of other countries, in a total area of 17,825,894 km2. This represents 42% of the American continent and 13% of the world's emerged lands.
- Has a population total close to 442 million inhabitants (6.5% of the world population) and an average population density of 24.2 inhabitants/km2.
- The predominant language on the continent is Spanish, followed by Portuguese and lastly French, English and Dutch. There are also more than 300 native languages, the most prominent being Quechua, Guaraní and Aymara.
- The religion predominant is the Christianity Catholic, although there is also a significant presence of Protestant churches. To a lesser extent, Santeria or African religion is practiced, Judaism, the Hinduism and other forms of original mysticism.
- The Arts and the literature South American companies are world-renowned, with five Nobel Prizes of Literature and other authors of great importance such as Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Clarice Lispector, Rubem Fonseca or Nicanor Parra, among many others.
- The sport predominant in the subcontinent is the football, although at the same time other disciplines are practiced at an international level such as baseball, rugby or hockey. Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Chile have all hosted the FIFA World Cup, with the top three having won the title on nine separate occasions.
south american map
South America has a total area of 17,825,894 km2.South American countries
Argentinian republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Currency: Argentine peso
Official language: Spanish
Territory: 2,780,400 km2
Population: 45,195,774 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 10,448 USD
Argentina is located in the Southern Cone of the subcontinent, with borders with Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. It is a vast nation geography diverse, in whose territory the Mountain range Andina, the great plains of the South American pampas, southern Patagonia and the southern Atlantic coast, including the Malvinas Islands, for which there is a territorial dispute with Great Britain. It is a fundamentally agricultural nation, but with relatively high margins of industrialization.
Plurinational State of Bolivia
Capital: La Paz
Currency: Boliviano
Official languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani and 33 other native languages.
Territory: 1,098,581 km2
Population: 11,673,021 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 3,267 USD
Bolivia is one of the two South American states that does not have a sea coast, although it maintains a territorial claim to Chile for an outlet to the Pacific. It has borders with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru, and is one of the countries with the largest biodiversity of the planet. Various disappeared pre-Hispanic civilizations took place in its territory, such as the Tiwanaku and the Moxeño culture, as well as many others that still survive despite the Hispanization of the colony.
Federal Republic of Brazil
Brasilia capital
Currency: Brazilian Real
Official language: Portuguese.
Territory: 8,515,770 km2
Population: 212,559,417 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 8,464 USD
Brazil has borders with all the countries of the subcontinent, except Chile and Ecuador, and occupies more than half of the total area of South America. It is the fifth most populous country in the world, although it has a population density quite low, since most of its inhabitants live in the coastal regions. Their economy it is the largest in the southern hemisphere, but at the same time it is one of the most unequal nations in the world.In international terms, it is considered an emerging regional power.
the Republic of Chile
Capital: Santiago
Currency: Chilean Peso
Official language: Spanish.
Territory: 756,950 km2
Population: 19,116,201 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 17,702 USD
Located in the Southern Cone together with Argentina, a country from which it is separated by the Andes Mountains, Chile also has borders with Peru and Bolivia. Its territory covers three different regions: continental Chile, insular Chile in the Pacific and in Oceania, and the Chilean Antarctic territory. For this reason it is defined as a tricontinental country. It is a country with a high rate of economic development, considered “high income” by the World Bank.
Republic of Colombia
Capital: Bogota
Currency: Colombian Peso
Official languages: Spanish and around 65 co-official native languages.
Territory: 1,141,748 km2
Population: 50,882,891 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 6,186 USD
Located in the northern region of South America, Colombia is a fairly diverse country in terms of relief, geography and culture, which has borders with Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, although its maritime limits also coincide with Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Sea. It is the only South American nation with coasts on the Pacific and the Atlantic, and in its territory there are different climatic zones, mountain systems and plains, which make Colombia the second most biodiverse country on the planet.
Republic of Ecuador
Capital: Quito
Currency: US dollar
Official languages: Spanish, Quechua, Shuar and 11 other native languages.
Territory: 256,370 km2
Population: 17,643,054 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 5,884 USD
Located between Colombia and Peru, Ecuador is one of the nations with the highest concentration of rivers per square kilometer on the planet, whose territory is divided in two by the Andean mountain range: a coastal region towards the Pacific, which includes the famous Galapagos Islands and the archipelago Colon, and an Andean region that includes valleys, foothills and mountain. The country is crossed by the 0° parallel or equatorial line, which divides the world into two hemispheres, and which gives it its name.
Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Capital: Georgetown
Currency: Guyanese dollar
Official language: English.
Territory: 214,969 km2
Population: 786,552 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 17,163 USD
Guyana is the only South American country that was a British colony, from 1831 to 1966. Located in the northeastern region of the subcontinent, it has borders with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela. It has a territorial dispute with the latter country that covers almost three quarters of the Guyanese territory, a region known as Guayana Esequiba; and with Suriname another dispute over the Tigri region, a jungle area in the extreme south of both countries.
Despite its high economic indicators, almost a third of the Guyanese population lives below the poverty line. poverty, and it is the only South American country in which it is considered crime male homosexuality, with penalties ranging from two years in prison to life imprisonment.
Republic of Paraguay
Capital: Asuncion
Currency: Guarani
Official languages: Spanish and Guarani
Territory: 406,752 km2
Population: 7,132,538 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 5,207 USD
Paraguay is a multicultural and bilingual state, without sea coasts and with borders with Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. Its territory is crossed by large navigable rivers such as the Paraná and Paraguay, which give it indirect access to the Atlantic Ocean, and its economy is mainly agricultural and industrial, with a strong emphasis on the service sector.
It is considered a country with a high rate of human development, despite the fact that in the 19th century it lost a good part of its territory and population in a confrontation against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay that became known as the War against the Triple Alliance (1864-1870).
Republic of Peru
Capital: Lima
Currency: Sol
Official languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara and multiple other native languages.
Territory: 1,285,216 km2
Population: 32,971,854 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 13,410 USD
Located between the Pacific coast, the Andean mountain range and the Amazon, Peru is one of the most biodiverse countries with the most mineral deposits in the world. In addition, it has a tradition very rich mestizo culture, which combines the Inca heritage with the Spanish colony, and also an important migration Asian. The result is a complex culture, with a rich gastronomy and an upper-middle income economy. Peru has borders with Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador, and its territory combines valleys, plateaus, coasts and deserts.
Republic of Suriname
Capital: Paramaribo
Currency: Surinamese dollar
Official language: Dutch
Territory: 163,820 km2
Population: 586,632 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 15,362 USD
Formerly known as Dutch Guiana, Suriname is the only sovereign Dutch-speaking country in South America. It has borders with Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana, and has territorial claims with these last two nations.
Its population is made up of a diversity of Catholic, Hindu, Muslim and Protestant inhabitants, the result of the waves of immigrants that occurred in the 19th century after the abolition of slavery. Although it is no longer part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Suriname has a special relationship with that country that continues today.
Trinidad and Tobago
Capital: Port of Spain
Currency: Trinidadian dollar
Official language: English
Territory: 5,128 km2
Population: 1,399,491 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 16,323 USD
Composed of the islands Trinidad and Tobago, both in the northern region of South America and off the coast of Venezuela, this nation is considered both part of South America and the Caribbean Antilles. Initially colonized by the Spanish Empire, the islands were handed over to Great Britain in 1802 by the Treaty of Amiens, and have existed as an independent nation since 1962.
Recognized by the World Bank as a high-income economy, it is mainly dedicated to Petroleum and the petrochemical industry, as well as the extraction of natural gas. Its culture is a hybrid of African and Indian heritage, and is reflected in its lavish carnivals and its particular musical styles, such as calypso, parang or chutney.
Eastern Republic of Uruguay
Capital: Montevideo
Currency: Uruguayan peso
Official language: Spanish
Territory: 176,215 km2
Population: 3,473,730 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 16,931 USD
Uruguay was initially one of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, until its territory was occupied by the then United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarve, which led to war in 1825. The conflict ended three years later with the signing of a Preliminary Peace Convention and the creation of an independent nation.
From then on, Uruguay exists as an independent nation and for a long time was cataloged as the "Switzerland of America", given its high standards of living and well-being. It is the second smallest country in South America, it has borders only with Brazil and Argentina, and it is a country with a fundamentally agricultural economy.
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Capital: Caracas
Currency: Bolivar
Official language: Spanish
Territory: 916,445 km2
Population: 28,435,940 inhabitants.
GDP per capita: 5,273 USD
Venezuela is a South American country on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, which has borders with Brazil, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana, a country with which it has a territorial claim for Guyana Esequiba. It is the seventh most biodiverse country in the world and one of the most diverse in ecosystems, encompassing beaches, deserts, the Amazon jungle, river plains and the end of the Andean mountain range.
It is the country with the largest oil reserves on the planet and one of the main exporters of crude oil in the world. Since the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, it has been facing one of the social, political and economic severest ever seen in any country in peacetime.
Geography of South America
The geography of South America can be divided into three large well-differentiated regions:
- The Mountain range Andean. The Andes Mountain Range is the longest and youngest mountain formation on the planet, surpassed in height only by the Himalayas. It stretches vertically from Tierra del Fuego to the north of the subcontinent, where it opens into two distinct arms, one towards the Caribbean and the other towards the Isthmus of Panama, thus passing through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The highest peaks in this system are Aconcagua (6,961 masl), Nevado Ojos del Salado (6,893 masl) and Nevado Huascarán (6,768 masl).
- The Continental Shield. The continental shield includes two of the oldest relief segments on the planet: the Basel Massif and the Guayanés Massif, as well as the Patagonian Massif. In all three cases, they are dense and resistant geological structures, extremely stable and with low seismic activity.
- The interior lowlands.The lowlands are large plains and depressions of which there are three great examples: the plains of the Orinoco, the Amazon plain and the Plata plain or Chacopampeana plain, all in the proximity of these great rivers (Orinoco, Amazonas and the Río de the Silver). There are other smaller coastal plains in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in the vicinity of the Pacific; and in Brazil, Guyana and Suriname in the vicinity of the Atlantic.
Oceans bordering South America
The South American subcontinent is located between three oceans:
- The North and South Atlantic Ocean. In its northern region, this ocean comprises the Caribbean Sea and separates South America from the Antilles and North America. In its southern region, on the other hand, this ocean separates South America from the western coasts of Africa.
- The South Pacific Ocean. The southern region of the Pacific Ocean separates South America from the eastern coasts of Oceania, and is a region of intense seismic and telluric activity.
- The Antarctic Glacial Ocean. The southern coasts of South America are separated from the Antarctic continent by this ocean of icy waters, specifically by the so-called Drake Passage.