South America – Land, Population, Climate & Facts

South America is a continent that is located mainly in the Southern Hemisphere and entirely in the Western Hemisphere, with a minor section located near the northern tip of the continent in the Northern Hemisphere.

Boundaries

The Atlantic and Pacific oceans encircle South America to the west and east, and to the northwest are North America and the Caribbean Sea.

Sovereign States and Dependent Territories

The continent comprises the following twelve sovereign states: Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Bolivia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, and Peru; two dependent territories: The South Sandwich Islands, and the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. There is also one internal territory, which is French Guiana.

Area and Population

The total area of South America is 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 square miles). Over 434 million people are expected to live there as of 2021. After Asia, Africa, and North America, South America comes in fourth place in terms of area and fifth place in terms of people. With over half of the continent’s population, Brazil is by far the most populous nation in South America. Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru are the next most populous countries.

Language

There are over 200 million speakers of each of the two most common languages in South America: Spanish and Portuguese. Along with other native languages in some countries, Spanish is the official language of most of them. Brazil’s official language is Portuguese. Although there are at least twelve additional languages spoken in the nation, including Portuguese, Chinese, Hindustani, and many native tongues, Dutch is the official language of Suriname and English is the official language of Guyana. The Falkland Islands are home to English speakers as well. French is the second language in Amapa, Brazil, and the official language of French Guiana.

Climate

South America contains all of the major climate zones in the planet. The average temperature distribution in the area has a consistent pattern starting about 30° latitude south, after which the isotherms begin to increasingly resemble latitude degrees. The regime of winds and air masses affects how rainfall is distributed. Winds from the northeast, east, and southeast bring moisture from the Atlantic to much of the tropical region east of the Andes, resulting in an abundance of rainfall. Nonetheless, South Atlantic tropical cyclones are uncommon because of persistently high wind shear and a feeble Intertropical Convergence Zone.

Fauna

Of all the continents on Earth, South America has the highest level of biodiversity. Many rare animal species can be found in South America, such as the tapir, jaguar, vicuña, llama, anaconda, and piranha. A significant portion of all species on Earth can be found in the Amazon jungles, which are rich in biodiversity.

South America and North America together constitute the landmass known as the Americas or simply America. The majority of the Western Hemisphere of Earth is made up of the Americas, which together make up the New World. South America is a continent that is totally located in the Western Hemisphere and primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. North America is a continent located in both the Northern and Western Hemispheres.