The continent of South America is divided up into 12 countries and 3 dependent territories. South America makes up the southern half of the Americas supercontinent and the fourth largest continent of the seven continents. The continent is located mostly in the southern hemisphere and entirely in the western hemisphere. South America is also commonly referred to as Latin America and/or the Southern Cone.
Dividing Lines of South America
South America is 99% surrounded by water. To the west sits the Pacific ocean and the Atlantic ocean sets the boundary on the eastern side. The Carribean Sea sits on the northern border. There is a small stretch of land in the northwest that connects South America to North America where the country of Panama (North America) connects to the country of Columbia (South America).
List of Countries in South America
The South American Continent is split into 12 seperate countries which are listed below by population along with their respective captial city.
| South American Countries | Capital City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Brasília | 202,241,714 |
| Colombia | Bogotá | 46,920,257 |
| Argentina | Buenos Aires | 40,482,489 |
| Venezuela | Caracas | 31,768,930 |
| Peru | Lima | 29,132,013 |
| Chile | Santiago | 16,928,873 |
| Ecuador | Quito | 14,573,101 |
| Bolivia | La Paz and Sucre[23] | 9,863,224 |
| Paraguay | Asunción | 6,831,306 |
| Uruguay | Montevideo | 3,477,780 |
| Guyana | Georgetown | 772,298 |
| Suriname | Paramaribo | 472,155 |
| Total | 403,464,140 |
List of Dependent Territories in South America
This list includes territories that are considered a dependent territory, area, or region. These territories generally do not have complete control over their political interests but often do have significant independence compared to the controlling countries political system. We have noted the country that each territory is linked to in parenthesis next to the name. You can learn more about dependent territories here.
Listed below you will find the name of the territory, the capital city, and the population of the territory.
| Dependent Territories | Captial City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| French Guiana (France) | Cayenne (Préfecture) | 221,591 |
| Falkland Islands (UK) | Stanley | 3,140 |
| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) | King Edward Point | 20 |
| Total | 224,751 |
South America has seen little change in its makeup of countries in recent history which gives us assurance that this list is likely to remain relevant for years to come. If changes do occur in country names, number, or population we will be sure to update this list as soon as the information is available.