South America is a continent in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It may also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas, or America, which is how it is viewed in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of the Americas.
South American Countries By Population and Area
No | Country or territory | Capital | Area | Population (2018) |
1 | ![]() |
Buenos Aires | 2,766,890 km2 (1,068,300 sq mi) |
44,361,150 |
2 | ![]() |
La Paz, Sucre |
1,098,580 km2 (424,160 sq mi) |
11,353,142 |
3 | Bouvet Island (Norway) |
— | 49 km2 (19 sq mi) |
0 |
4 | ![]() |
Brasília | 8,514,877 km2 (3,287,612 sq mi) |
209,469,323 |
5 | ![]() |
Santiago | 756,950 km2 (292,260 sq mi) |
18,729,160 |
6 | ![]() |
Bogotá | 1,141,748 km2 (440,831 sq mi) |
49,661,048 |
7 | ![]() |
Quito | 283,560 km2 (109,480 sq mi) |
17,084,358 |
8 | ![]() |
Stanley | 12,173 km2 (4,700 sq mi) |
3,234 |
9 | ![]() |
Cayenne (Préfecture) | 91,000 km2 (35,000 sq mi) |
282,938 |
10 | ![]() |
Georgetown | 214,999 km2 (83,012 sq mi) |
779,006 |
11 | ![]() |
Asunción | 406,750 km2 (157,050 sq mi) |
6,956,066 |
12 | ![]() |
Lima | 1,285,220 km2 (496,230 sq mi) |
31,989,260 |
13 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (United Kingdom) |
King Edward Point | 3,093 km2 (1,194 sq mi) |
20 |
14 | ![]() |
Paramaribo | 163,270 km2 (63,040 sq mi) |
575,990 |
15 | ![]() |
Montevideo | 176,220 km2 (68,040 sq mi) |
3,449,285 |
16 | ![]() |
Caracas | 916,445 km2 (353,841 sq mi) |
28,887,118 |
Total | 17,824,513 km2 (6,882,083 sq mi) |
423,581,078 |
South American population by country (top 10)
- Brazil (49.4%)
- Colombia (11.8%)
- Argentina (10.5%)
- Peru (7.6%)
- Venezuela (6.7%)
- Chile (4.4%)
- Ecuador (4.1%)
- Bolivia (2.7%)
- Paraguay (1.6%)
- Uruguay (0.8%)
- Other (0.4%)
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