We show you the countries of South America, with a complete and updated list, including maps, regions, flags and characteristics. Also, the most spoken languages.
South America occupies 42% of the American continent and 13% of the world’s emerged lands.
What are the countries of South America?
The territory of South America is divided into twelve sovereign countries and a French colony (French Guiana). The countries that make up South America are:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Bolivia
- Chili
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Guyana
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Surinam
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Most of these nations were colonies of Spain and Portugal from the 15th century until their emancipation at different times in the 19th century, through a long and bloody war of independence. Since then, they have been sovereign democratic republics.
South America, South America or Sudamérica is one of the three subcontinents into which the American continent is divided, along with North America and Central America and the Caribbean. As its name indicates, it is the southernmost region of the continent.
South America is one of the most biologically, demographically, culturally and socially diverse regions on the planet. It is home to the world’s largest tropical rainforest: the Amazon, whose 7,000,000 km2 are distributed among the territories of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
Map of South America
South America has a total area of 17,825,894 km2.
Argentina
Official name: Argentine Republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Currency: Argentine Peso
Official language: Spanish
Territory: 2,780,400 km2
Population: 45,195,000 inhabitants
Argentina is located in the Southern Cone of the subcontinent and shares borders with Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. It is a vast and geographically diverse nation, whose territory includes the Andes mountain range, the great plains of the Chaco-Pampeana plain, southern Patagonia, the islands of the South Atlantic (including the Falklands, over which there is a territorial dispute with Great Britain) and the Argentine Antarctic sector.
Bolivia
Official name: Plurinational State of Bolivia
Capital: La Paz
Currency: Boliviano
Official languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní and 33 other native languages
Territory: 1,098,581 km2
Population: 12,222,000 inhabitants
Bolivia is one of two South American states that do not have a coastline, although it has a territorial claim with Chile for access to the Pacific. It has borders with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru, and is one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity on the planet. Its territory was inhabited by various pre-Hispanic civilizations that have already disappeared, such as the Tiwanaku and the Moxeña culture, as well as many others that still exist, such as the Colla or the Aymara.
Brazil
Official name: Federative Republic of Brazil
Brasilia capital
Real coin
Official language: Portuguese
Territory: 8,515,770 km2
Population: 215,559,000 inhabitants
Brazil shares borders with all South American countries except Chile and Ecuador, and occupies more than half of the subcontinent’s total surface area. It is the fifth most populous country in the world, although it has a fairly low population density, since most of its inhabitants live in coastal regions. Its economy is the largest in the southern hemisphere, but at the same time it is one of the most unequal nations in the world.
Chili
Official name: Republic of Chile
Capital: Santiago de Chile
Currency: Chilean peso
Official language: Spanish
Territory: 756,950 km2
Population: 19,661,000 inhabitants
Chile is located in the south of the continent, next to Argentina, a country from which it is separated by the Andes mountain range. It also shares borders with Peru and Bolivia. Its territory covers three distinct regions: continental Chile, insular Chile in the Pacific and Oceania, and the Chilean Antarctic territory. For this reason, it is defined as a tricontinental country.
Colombia
Official name: Republic of Colombia
Capital: Bogota
Currency: Colombian peso
Official languages: Spanish and around 68 official native languages in its territories
Territory: 1,141,748 km2
Population: 51,872,000 inhabitants
Colombia is located in the northern region of South America. It shares borders with Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. It is the only nation in South America with coasts on both the Pacific and the Atlantic, and its territory is home to different climatic zones, mountain ranges and plains that make Colombia one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity on the planet.
Ecuador
Official name: Republic of Ecuador
Capital: Quito
Currency: US Dollar
Official languages: Spanish, Quechua, Shuar and eleven other native languages
Territory: 256,370 km2
Population: 17,643,000 inhabitants
Ecuador is a country located in the northwestern region of South America. It is bordered by Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Although it is one of the smallest countries on the continent, it is home to a vast variety of flora and fauna, especially in the Galapagos Islands, famous for inspiring Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The country is crossed by the 0° parallel or equatorial line, which divides the world into two hemispheres and gives it its name.
Guyana
Official name: Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Capital: Georgetown
Currency: Guyanese dollar
Official language: English
Territory: 214,969 km2
Population: 808,000 inhabitants
Guyana is the only South American country that was a British colony, from 1831 to 1966. It is located in the northeastern region of the subcontinent and shares borders with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela. With the latter country, it is involved in a territorial dispute that covers almost three-quarters of Guyanese territory, a region known as Essequibo. With Suriname, it is involved in another dispute over the Tigri region, a jungle area in the extreme south of both countries.
Paraguay
Official name: Republic of Paraguay
Capital: Asuncion
Currency: Guaraní
Official languages: Spanish and Guarani
Territory: 406,752 km2
Population: 7,132,000 inhabitants
Paraguay is a multicultural and bilingual country with no coastline and borders Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. Its territory is crossed by large navigable rivers, such as the Paraná and Paraguay, which give it access to the Atlantic Ocean. Its economy is predominantly agricultural and industrial, with a strong emphasis on the service sector.
Peru
Official name: Republic of Peru
Capital: Lima
Currency: Sol
Official languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara.
Territory: 1,285,216 km2
Population: 34,050,000 inhabitants
Peru is located between the Pacific coast, the Andes mountain range and the Amazon, and has borders with Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador. Its territory combines valleys, plateaus, coasts and deserts, and is one of the most biodiverse countries with the largest mineral deposits in the world. It has a very rich mestizo cultural tradition, which combines the Incan heritage with the Spanish colony, as well as a significant Asian migration.
Surinam
Official name: Republic of Suriname
Capital: Paramaribo
Currency: Surinamese dollar
Official language: Dutch
Territory: 163,820 km2
Population: 618,000 inhabitants
Suriname is the only sovereign Dutch-speaking country in South America. It shares borders with Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana, and has territorial claims to the latter two nations. It is the smallest country in South America both in size and population. Its territory is mostly covered by rainforests, making it one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet. It was a Dutch colony until 1975, when it gained independence, although cultural and economic ties to its former mother country remain strong.
Uruguay
Official name: Eastern Republic of Uruguay
Capital: Montevideo
Currency: Uruguayan peso
Official language: Spanish
Territory: 176,215 km2
Population: 3,423,000 inhabitants
Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America and shares borders only with Brazil and Argentina. It is a country with a fundamentally agricultural economy. Initially it was one of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, until its independence in 1828. The population of Uruguay is mostly of European descent, especially Spanish and Italian, although it also has Afro-descendant and indigenous communities.
Venezuela
Official name: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Capital: Caracas
Currency: Bolivar
Official language: Spanish
Territory: 916,445 km2
Population: 28,335,000 inhabitants
Venezuela is located on the shores of the Caribbean Sea and has borders with Brazil, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, a country with which it has a territorial claim over the Essequibo region. It is the seventh country with the greatest biodiversity in the world and one of the most diverse ecosystems, as it includes beaches, deserts, part of the Amazon rainforest, river plains and the Andean mountain range. In addition, it has one of the largest oil reserves on the planet and is one of the main crude oil exporters in the world.
Languages of South America by country
The most widely spoken languages in South America are Spanish and Portuguese. To a lesser extent, English, Dutch and French are also spoken. In addition, there are more than three hundred indigenous languages spoken by millions of people.
- SpanishIt is the official language in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.
- PortugueseIt is spoken only in Brazil, but is used as a native language by more than 200 million people.
- EnglishIt is the official language of Guyana.
- Dutch. Spoken only in Suriname.
- FrenchIt is the official language of French Guiana.
- QuechuaIt is one of the three official languages of Peru. It is spoken by more than 10 million people in Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile.
- GuaraniIt is the official language of Paraguay along with Spanish. It is spoken by more than 90% of the Paraguayan population. In addition, it is spoken by more than 12 million people in Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia.
- AymaraIt is recognized as an official language in Bolivia and Peru. It is spoken by more than 2 million people.
- Other indigenous languagesIn addition to Quechua, Guaraní and Aymara, there are more than three hundred indigenous languages spoken by millions of people descended from indigenous peoples in different countries of South America.
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