{{Short description|Continent}}{{Redirect|Southern America|the region of the United States|Southern United States|the botanical continent defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions|World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions#8 Southern America{{!}}Southern America (WGSRPD)}}{{pp-move}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}{{Use American English|date=August 2016}}

*factoids*

(Continent#Area and population>4th)South America}} ({{UN_PopulationList of continents and continental subregions by population>5th){{UN_Population|ref}}|density = 21.4/km2 (56.0/sq mi)$7.61 trillion (2022 est; List of continents by GDP#Continents by GDP (PPP))HTTPS://WWW.IMF.ORG/EXTERNAL/DATAMAPPER/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLDPUBLISHER=INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUNDACCESS-DATE=16 JANUARY 2022ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20210122001107/HTTPS://WWW.IMF.ORG/EXTERNAL/DATAMAPPER/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD, live, }}List of continents by GDP#Continents by GDP (nominal)>4th)GDP NOMINAL, CURRENT PRICES>URL=HTTPS://WWW.IMF.ORG/EXTERNAL/DATAMAPPER/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLDDATE=2022ARCHIVE-DATE=25 FEBRUARY 2017URL-STATUS=LIVE, List of continents by GDP#Continents by GDP per capita (nominal)>5th)HTTPS://WWW.IMF.ORG/EXTERNAL/DATAMAPPER/NGDPDPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD>TITLE=NOMINAL GDP PER CAPITADATE=2022ARCHIVE-DATE=11 JANUARY 2020URL-STATUS=LIVE, |religions = {{unbulleted listReligion in South America#Christianity>Christianity (90.0%)HTTPS://WWW.PEWFORUM.ORG/FILES/2014/01/GLOBAL-RELIGION-FULL.PDF>TITLE=THE GLOBAL RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPEARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20170125173538/HTTPS://WWW.PEWFORUM.ORG/FILES/2014/01/GLOBAL-RELIGION-FULL.PDFARCHIVE-DATE=25 JANUARY 2017, Irreligion>No religion (7.7%)Religion in South America>Other (2.3%)}}Demographics of South America>South American|countries = {{Collapsible list|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;List of sovereign states and dependent territories in South America#Sovereign states>12â€“14Argentina}}Bolivia}}Brazil}}Chile}}Colombia}}Ecuador}}Guyana}}Panama}}{{efnList of transcontinental countries#North America and South America>definition of North Americaâ€“South America boundary, Panama could be classified as a transcontinental country. Panama is a member state of Atletismo Sudamericano and ODESUR.}}Paraguay}}Peru}}Suriname}}Trinidad and Tobago}}{{efn#Outlying islands>a part of South America, but geopolitically United Nations geoscheme for the Americas#Caribbean of North America.>name=“OI“}}Uruguay}}Venezuela}}}}|list_countries = |dependencies = {{Collapsible list|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;Dependent territory>External (2â€“5)Aruba}}{{efn#Outlying islands>a part of South America, but geopolitically United Nations geoscheme for the Americas#Caribbean of North America. Aruba is a member nation of ODESUR.}} (Kingdom of the Netherlands>Netherlands)Bouvet Island}}{{efnAfrican Plate and the Antarctic Plate, Bouvet Island is Antarctic realm>biogeographically and geologically List of Antarctic and Subantarctic islands#List of Antarctic islands north of 60Â° S with Antarctica. Despite being closer to Antarctica and Africa geographically, the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas#South America>United Nations geoscheme has included Bouvet Island in South America instead.}} (Norway)CuraÃ§ao}}{{efn#Outlying islands>a part of South America, but geopolitically United Nations geoscheme for the Americas#Caribbean of North America. CuraÃ§ao is a member nation of ODESUR.}} (Kingdom of the Netherlands>Netherlands)Falkland Islands}} (United Kingdom)South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands}}{{efnSouth Georgia>South Georgia Island and the southernmost portion of mainland South America are both on the Scotia Plate while the South Sandwich Islands is on the nearby South Sandwich Plate. Antarctic realm>Biogeographically and Antarctic Convergence, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is List of Antarctic and Subantarctic islands#List of Antarctic islands north of 60Â° S>associated with Antarctica. The United Nations geoscheme for the Americas#South America has included the list of territorial disputes>disputed territory in South America.}} (United Kingdom)

}}
{hide}Collapsible list|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;

List of administrative divisions by country>Internal (1â€“3)Ascension Island{edih}{{efnSouth American Plate, Ascension Island is geologically #Outlying islands>a part of South America, but geopolitically a part of Africa.}} (United Kingdom)Bonaire}}{{efn|name=“OI“}} (Netherlands)French GuianaFrench Fifth Republic>France)

}}|languages =

{hide}Plainlist|

{edih}|time = (UTCâˆ’02:00) to (UTCâˆ’05:00)|cities = {hide}Collapsible list|titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;

List of cities in South America>10 largest cities in South America (2015)|

{{flagicon|Brazil{edih} SÃ£o Paulo
{{flagicon|Peru}} Lima
{{flagicon|Colombia}} BogotÃ¡
{{flagicon|Brazil}} Rio de Janeiro
{{flagicon|Chile}} Santiago
{{flagicon|Venezuela}} Caracas
{{flagicon|Argentina}} Buenos Aires
{{flagicon|Brazil}} Salvador
{{flagicon|Brazil}} BrasÃlia
{{flagicon|Brazil}} Fortaleza

}}|m49 = 005 â€“ South America419 â€“ Latin America and the Caribbean019 â€“ Americas001 â€“ World

}}File:SACN member states.jpg|thumb|Scheme for geographic regions and subregions used by the United Nations Statistics Division United Nations Statistics DivisionSouth America is a continent{{efn|In some parts of the world, for example, Latin America, Latin Europe, and Iran, South America is viewed as a subcontinent of the Americas (a single continent named America).WEB,www.brasilemb.org/embassy/embaixador_regional.shtml, Mercosul in the Regional Context, 19 May 2007, Ambassador Rubens A. Barbosa, dead,www.brasilemb.org/embassy/embaixador_regional.shtml," title="web.archive.org/web/20060930140034www.brasilemb.org/embassy/embaixador_regional.shtml,">web.archive.org/web/20060930140034www.brasilemb.org/embassy/embaixador_regional.shtml, 30 September 2006, However, in many countries with English as an official language, it is considered a continent; see Americas (terminology).}} entirely in the Western Hemisphere{{efn|Except Bouvet Island, which has occasionally been included as a part of South America.}} and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern subregion of the Americas.South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent includes twelve sovereign states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela; two dependent territories: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;{{efn|Both administered as British Overseas Territories under The Crown, claimed by Argentina.}} and one internal territory: French Guiana.{{efn|An overseas department and region of France.}} Additionally the territories of the ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (located north of Venezuela in the Western Caribbean), the British Overseas Territory of Ascension, Saint Helena, & Tristan da Cunha (located in the Southern Atlantic), Bouvet Island (a dependency of Norway), Panama, and the island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago may also be considered parts of South America.South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 sq mi). Its population {{As of|{{UN_Population|Year}}|lc=y}} has been estimated at more than {{#expr:floor({{replace|{{UN_Population|South America}}|,||}}/1e6)}} million.{{UN_Population|ref}} South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America). Brazil is by far the most populous South American country, with almost half of the continent’s population, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and Peru. In recent decades, Brazil has also generated half of the continent’s GDP and has become the continent’s first regional power.JOURNAL,www.academia.edu/12944490, Unveiling the South American Balance, Estudos Internacionais 2(2): 215â€“232., 1 January 1970, 8 December 2016, Schenoni, Luis L., 12 May 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200512003355/https://www.academia.edu/12944490/_Unveiling_the_South_American_Balance_in_Estudos_Internacionais_2_2_215-232, live, Most of the population lives near the continent’s western or eastern coasts while the interior and the far south are sparsely populated. The geography of western South America is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern part contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such as the Amazon, Orinoco and ParanÃ¡ flow. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of the Southern Cone located in the middle latitudes.The continent’s cultural and ethnic outlook has its origin with the interaction of Indigenous peoples with European conquerors and immigrants and, more locally, with African slaves. Given a long history of colonialism, the overwhelming majority of South Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese, and societies and states are rich in Western traditions. Relative to Europe, Asia and Africa, post-1900 South America has been a peaceful continent with few wars,Holsti 1996, p. 155JOURNAL, Taxonomy of interstate conflicts: is South America a peaceful region?, Brazilian Political Science Review, Franchi, TÃ¡ssio, 11, 2, Ferreira Glaser Migon, Eduardo Xavier, 10.1590/1981-3821201700020008, 2017, JimÃ©nez Villarreal, Roberto Xavier, free, {{efn|Despite relative peace, some international tensions persist and intra-state levels of violence are high.ENCYCLOPEDIA,oxfordre.com/internationalstudies/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.001.0001/acrefore-9780190846626-e-587, The Latin American Long Peace, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, NicolÃ¡s, Terradas, 26 May 2021, oxfordre.com, 10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.587, 978-0-19-084662-6, }} although high rates of violent crime remain a concern in some countries.WEB,www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/gsh/2023/GSH_2023_LAC_web.pdf, Homicide and Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2023, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 15 May 2024, WEB,www.statista.com/statistics/947781/homicide-rates-latin-america-caribbean-country/, Homicide rates in selected Latin American and Caribbean countries 2023, Statista, 15 May 2024,

Geography

(File:South America - Blue Marble orthographic.jpg|thumb|upright=1|A composite relief image of South America)South America occupies the southern portion of the Americas. The continent is generally delimited on the northwest by the DariÃ©n watershed along the Colombiaâ€“Panama border, although some may consider the border instead to be the Panama Canal. GeopoliticallyCohen, Saul Bernard. 2003. “North and Middle America” (Ch. 5) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101123048books.google.com/books?id=QkMD8HKRlgoC&pg=PA141 |date=1 January 2016 }}. Geopolitics of the World System, {{ISBN|0847699072}} and geographically, all of Panama â€“ including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus â€“ is typically included in North America alone“Americas” {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226004109unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#americas |date=26 December 2018 }} Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49), United Nations Statistics DivisionWEB,atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/north_america/referencemap_image_view, North America, Atlas of Canada, 14 November 2003, 21 May 2012, dead,atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/north_america/referencemap_image_view," title="web.archive.org/web/20080303233306atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/north_america/referencemap_image_view,">web.archive.org/web/20080303233306atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/reference/international/north_america/referencemap_image_view, 3 March 2008, North America Atlas {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200525180734www.nationalgeographic.org/education/?xpop=1 |date=25 May 2020 }} National Geographic and among the countries of Central America.ENCYCLOPEDIA,www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/440722/Panama, Panama, Britannica.com, 31 December 1999, 21 May 2012, 2 May 2015,www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/440722/Panama," title="web.archive.org/web/20150502193816www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/440722/Panama,">web.archive.org/web/20150502193816www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/440722/Panama, live, WEB,www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/panama/, Panama, The World Factbook, Cia.gov, 21 May 2012, 23 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210123023447/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/panama/, live, Almost all of mainland South America sits on the South American Plate.South America is home to several superlatives, including, the world’s highest uninterrupted waterfall, Angel Falls in Venezuela; the highest single-drop waterfall Kaieteur Falls in Guyana; the largest river by volume, the Amazon River; the longest mountain range, the Andes (whose highest mountain is Aconcagua at {{convert|6,962|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}); the driest non-polar place on earth, the Atacama Desert;WEB,ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/, Parts of Chile’s Atacama Desert haven’t seen a drop of rain since recordkeeping began. Somehow, more than a million people squeeze life from this parched land, National Geographic Magazine, 18 April 2009, 15 August 2014,ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140815172530ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/,">web.archive.org/web/20140815172530ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0308/feature3/, dead, WEB,www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htm, Driest Place | Driest Desert Atacama Desert, Extremescience.com, 25 January 2007, 18 April 2009, dead,www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090408100840www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20090408100840www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htm, 8 April 2009, JOURNAL, McKay, C.P., Mayâ€“June 2002, 14, 30, Two dry for life: The Atacama Desert and Mars, 3,quest.nasa.gov/challenges/marsanalog/egypt/AtacamaAdAstra.pdf, Ad Astra, dead,quest.nasa.gov/challenges/marsanalog/egypt/AtacamaAdAstra.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20090826151945quest.nasa.gov/challenges/marsanalog/egypt/AtacamaAdAstra.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20090826151945quest.nasa.gov/challenges/marsanalog/egypt/AtacamaAdAstra.pdf, 26 August 2009, the wettest place on earth, LÃ³pez de Micay in Colombia; the largest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest; the highest capital city, La Paz, Bolivia; the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca; and, excluding research stations in Antarctica, the world’s southernmost permanently inhabited community, Puerto Toro, Chile.South America’s major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin, and petroleum. These resources have brought high income to its countries, especially in times of war or of rapid economic growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However, the concentration in producing one, or few major export commodities has often hindered the development and diversification of its economies. The fluctuation in the price of commodities in international markets has led historically to major highs and lows, booms and busts, in the economies of South American states, often causing political instability.WEB,www.americasquarterly.org/article/why-latin-america-lost-at-globalization-and-how-it-can-win-now/, Why Latin America Lost at Globalizationâ€”and How It Can Win Now, This has lead for calls to diversify production and increase trade within South America itself.Brazil is the largest country in South America, covering a little less than half of the continent’s land area and encompassing around half of the continent’s population.WEB,www.bacctravel.com/about-brazil, Bacc Travel brazilian Vacation Experts, www.bacctravel.com, 15 April 2021, 7 March 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210307064450/https://www.bacctravel.com/about-brazil, live, The remaining countries and territories are divided among four subregions: the Andean states, Caribbean South America, The Guianas, and the Southern Cone.WEB, 4 January 2012, South America: Physical Geography,education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/south-america-physical-geography/, 19 February 2021, National Geographic Society, en, 10 February 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210210204912/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/south-america-physical-geography/, live,

Outlying islands

File:Village_Gran_Roque.jpg|thumb|The Gran Roque village, the largest settlement of the Los Roques Archipelago Los Roques ArchipelagoPhysiographically, South America also includes some of the nearby islands. The Dutch ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and CuraÃ§ao), the islands of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad Island and Tobago Island etc.), the State of Nueva Esparta, and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela sit on the northern portion of the South American continental shelf and are sometimes considered parts of the continent. Geopolitically, all the island countries and territories in the Caribbean have generally been grouped as a subregion of North America instead. By contrast, Aves Island (administered by Venezuela) and the Archipelago of San AndrÃ©s, Providencia and Santa Catalina (San AndrÃ©s Island, Providencia Island, and Santa Catalina Island etc., which are administered by Colombia) are politically parts of South American countries but physiographically parts of North America.South America Atlas {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116135938www.nationalgeographic.org/education/?xpop=1 |date=16 November 2018 }} National GeographicWEB,unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#americas, United Nations Statistics Division â€“ Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49), Unstats.un.org, 20 September 2011, 21 May 2012, 26 December 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181226004109/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#americas, live, Other islands often associated with geopolitical South America are the ChiloÃ© Archipelago and Robinson Crusoe Island (both administered by Chile), Easter Island (culturally a part of Oceania, also administered by Chile), the GalÃ¡pagos Islands (administered by Ecuador, sometimes considered part of Oceania),BOOK, Review of the Protected Areas System in Oceania, 1986, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources,wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30152/RevOceania.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, 17 January 2022, Easter Island on the east has been included on the basis of its Polynesian and biogeographic affinities even though it is politically apart. The other islands of the eastern Pacific (Galapagos, Juan Fernandez, etc.) have sometimes been included in Oceania., 20 January 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220120062626/https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/30152/RevOceania.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, live, BOOK, Hull, Frank M., A Check List of the Syrphidae of Oceania, 1937, Department of Biology, University of Missouri,hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op13-10.pdf, 17 January 2022, Oceania is primarily considered as the restricted region treated in this paper, but for comparative purposes, in the table only, it is also considered in a broad sense as including New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Antipodes, and Galapagos., 26 January 2022,hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op13-10.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20220126074835hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op13-10.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20220126074835hbs.bishopmuseum.org/pubs-online/pdf/op13-10.pdf, live, JOURNAL, Oceania Bibliography, Helictite: Journal of Australasian Cave Research, 1987, 25, 1,helictite.caves.org.au/pdf4/25.01.Issue.Print.pdf, 16 March 2022, This paper covers the region from Irian Jaya (Western New Guinea, a province of New Guinea) in the west to Galapagos Islands (Equador) and Easter Island (Chile) in the east., 22 March 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220322012745/https://helictite.caves.org.au/pdf4/25.01.Issue.Print.pdf, live, and Tierra del Fuego (split between Argentina and Chile). In the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil administers Fernando de Noronha, Trindade and Martim Vaz, and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago, while the Falkland Islands () and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (biogeographically and hydrologically associated with Antarctica)BOOK, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, 2017, have been administered as two British Overseas Territories under the Crown, whose sovereignty over the islands is disputed by Argentina.

Special cases

An isolated volcanic island on the South American Plate, Ascension Island is geologically a part of South America.WEB,mcee.ou.edu/bweaver/Ascension/ai-geol.htm, Ascension Island Geology, mcee.ou.edu, 25 October 2020, 19 February 2020,mcee.ou.edu/bweaver/Ascension/ai-geol.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20200219213042mcee.ou.edu/bweaver/Ascension/ai-geol.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20200219213042mcee.ou.edu/bweaver/Ascension/ai-geol.htm, live, Administered as a dependency of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, the island is geopolitically a part of Africa.

Climate

File:Koppen-Geiger Map South America present.svg|thumb|upright=1.7|KÃ¶ppen-Geiger climate classification map for South AmericaJOURNAL, Beck, Hylke E., Zimmermann, Niklaus E., McVicar, Tim R., Vergopolan, Noemi, Berg, Alexis, Wood, Eric F., Present and future KÃ¶ppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution, Scientific Data, 30 October 2018, 5, 180214, 10.1038/sdata.2018.214, 30375988, 6207062, 2018NatSD...580214B, ]]All of the world’s major climate zones are present in South America.BOOK, Climates of the World, Martyn, Danuta, 1992, 0-444-98739-8, 308, Senn, Peter, The climates of South America, Elsevier, The distribution of the average temperatures in the region presents a constant regularity from the 30Â° of latitude south, when the isotherms tend, more and more, to be confused with the degrees of latitude.O CLIMA. In: Atlas Mundial. SÃ£o Paulo: Cia. Melhoramentos de SÃ£o Paulo, 1999, pp. 20â€“21 {{ISBN|85-06-02889-2}}In temperate latitudes, winters and summers are milder than in North America. This is because the most extensive part of the continent is in the equatorial zone (the region has more areas of equatorial plains than any other region), therefore giving the Southern Cone more oceanic influence, which moderates year round temperatures.The average annual temperatures in the Amazon basin oscillate around {{convert|27|C|||}}, with low thermal amplitudes and high rainfall indices. Between the Maracaibo Lake and the mouth of the Orinoco, predominates an equatorial climate of the type Congolese, that also includes parts of the Brazilian territory.The east-central Brazilian plateau has a humid and warm tropical climate. The northern and eastern parts of the Argentine pampas have a humid subtropical climate with dry winters and humid summers of the Chinese type, while the western and eastern ranges have a subtropical climate of the dinaric type. At the highest points of the Andean region, climates are colder than the ones occurring at the highest point of the Norwegian fjords. In the Andean plateaus, the warm climate prevails, although it is tempered by the altitude, while in the coastal strip, there is an equatorial climate of the Guinean type. From this point until the north of the Chilean coast appear, successively, Mediterranean oceanic climate, temperate of the Breton type and, already in Tierra del Fuego, cold climate of the Siberian type.(File:Tropical cyclones 1945 2006 wikicolor.png|thumb|upright=1.7|Map of all tropical cyclone tracks from 1945 to 2006)The distribution of rainfall is related to the regime of winds and air masses. In most of the tropical region east of the Andes, winds blowing from the northeast, east and southeast carry moisture from the Atlantic, causing abundant rainfall. However, due to a consistently strong wind shear and a weak Intertropical Convergence Zone, South Atlantic tropical cyclones are rare.WEB,www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G6.html, Why doesn’t the South Atlantic Ocean experience tropical cyclones?, Landsea, Chris, 13 July 2005, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, 9 June 2018, 16 July 2012,www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G6.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120716182608www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G6.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120716182608www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G6.html, live, In the Orinoco Llanos and in the Guianas Plateau, the precipitation levels go from moderate to high. The Pacific coast of Colombia and northern Ecuador are rainy regions, with ChocÃ³ in Colombia being the rainiest place in the world along with the northern slopes of Indian Himalayas.WEB, Wettest Places On Earth By Annual Rainfall,www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-ten-wettest-places-in-the-world.html, World Atlas, 27 March 2019, 12 May 2019, 12 May 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190512220428/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-ten-wettest-places-in-the-world.html, live, The Atacama Desert, along this stretch of coast, is one of the driest regions in the world. The central and southern parts of Chile are subject to extratropical cyclones, and most of the Argentine Patagonia is desert. In the Pampas of Argentina, Uruguay and South of Brazil the rainfall is moderate, with rains well distributed during the year. The moderately dry conditions of the Chaco oppose the intense rainfall of the eastern region of Paraguay. In the semiarid coast of the Brazilian Northeast the rains are linked to a monsoon regime.Important factors in the determination of climates are sea currents, such as the current Humboldt and Falklands. The equatorial current of the South Atlantic strikes the coast of the Northeast and there is divided into two others: the current of Brazil and a coastal current that flows to the northwest towards the Antilles, where there it moves towards northeast course thus forming the most Important and famous ocean current in the world, the Gulf Stream.WEB, ApresentaÃ§Ã£o da Corrente do Golfo, pt, Presentation of the Gulf Stream, knoow.net,www.knoow.net/ciencterravida/geografia/correntegolfo.htm, 26 January 2017, dead,www.knoow.net/ciencterravida/geografia/correntegolfo.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20150411062149www.knoow.net/ciencterravida/geografia/correntegolfo.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20150411062149www.knoow.net/ciencterravida/geografia/correntegolfo.htm, 11 April 2015,

Fauna

South America is one of the most biodiverse continents on Earth. It is home to many unique species of animals including the llama, anaconda, piranha, jaguar, vicuÃ±a, and tapir, and to one of the largest known insects in the world, the Titan beetle. The Amazon rainforests possess high biodiversity, with Brazil estimated to contain 10% of Earth’s species.JOURNAL, Lewinsohn, Thomas M, Prado, Paulo InÃ¡cio, 7 June 2005, How Many Species Are There in Brazil?, Conservation Biology, 19, 3, 619â€“624, 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00680.x, 2005ConBi..19..619L, 84691981, 83% of South America’s large mammals (megafauna) became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene around 11,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event, among the highest of any continent, with the casualties including saber-toothed cats, ground sloths, glyptodonts, gomphotheres, the equines Hippidion and Equus neogeus, and all remaining South American native ungulates.JOURNAL, Prado, JosÃ© L., Martinez-Maza, Cayetana, Alberdi, MarÃa T., May 2015, Megafauna extinction in South America: A new chronology for the Argentine Pampas,linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0031018215000899, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, en, 425, 41â€“49, 10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.02.026, 2015PPP...425...41P,

History

Prehistory

{{Further|History of South America#Pre-Columbian era}}File:SantaCruz-CuevaManos-P2210651b.jpg|thumb|The prehistoric Cueva de las Manos Cueva de las ManosSouth America is thought to have been first inhabited by humans when people were crossing the Bering Land Bridge (now the Bering Strait) at least 15,000 years ago from the territory that is present-day Russia. They migrated south through North America, and eventually reached South America through the Isthmus of Panama.Amongst the oldest evidence for human presence in South America is the Monte Verde II site in Chile, suggested to date to around 14,500 years ago.JOURNAL, Pino, Mario, Dillehay, Tom D., May 2023, Monte Verde II: an assessment of new radiocarbon dates and their sedimentological context, Antiquity, en, 97, 393, 524â€“540, 10.15184/aqy.2023.32, 257854108, 0003-598X, free, From around 13,000 years ago, the Fishtail projectile point style became widespread across South America, with its disppearance around 11,000 years ago coincident with the disappearance of South America’s megafauna.JOURNAL, Prates, Luciano, Perez, S. Ivan, 2021-04-12, Late Pleistocene South American megafaunal extinctions associated with rise of Fishtail points and human population, Nature Communications, en, 12, 1, 2175, 10.1038/s41467-021-22506-4, 2041-1723, 8041891, 33846353, 2021NatCo..12.2175P, Maize was present in northern South America by around 6,000 years ago.JOURNAL, PagÃ¡n-JimÃ©nez, Jaime R., RodrÃguez-Ramos, Reniel, Reid, Basil A., van den Bel, Martijn, Hofman, Corinne L., September 2015, Early dispersals of maize and other food plants into the Southern Caribbean and Northeastern South America,linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379115300445, Quaternary Science Reviews, en, 123, 231â€“246, 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.005, 2015QSRv..123..231P, By 2000 BC, many agrarian communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along the coast, helping establish fish as a primary source of food. Irrigation systems were also developed at this time, which aided in the rise of an agrarian society.O’Brien, Patrick. (General Editor). Oxford Atlas of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. p. 25South American cultures began domesticating llamas, vicuÃ±as, guanacos, and alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BC. Besides their use as sources of meat and wool, these animals were used for transportation of goods.

Pre-Columbian civilizations

File:Machu Picchu, PerÃº, 2015-07-30, DD 39.JPG|alt=|thumb|The Inca estate of Machu Picchu, Peru is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.]]The rise of plant growing and the subsequent appearance of permanent human settlements allowed for the multiple and overlapping beginnings of civilizations in South America.One of the earliest known South American civilizations was at Caral-Supe, on the central Peruvian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Caral-Supe created one of the first cities of the world, generally dated to around 3500 BC, at Huaricanga in the Fortaleza area, contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, one of the oldest-known civilization in the Americas and one of the six sites where civilisation separately originated in the ancient world.NEWS, The Ancient Andes,historyguild.org/the-ancient-andes/, 2 April 2023, History Guild, Caral-Supe governing class established a trade network and developed agriculture then followed by ChavÃn by 900 BC, according to some estimates and archaeological finds. Artifacts were found at a site called ChavÃn de Huantar in modern Peru at an elevation of {{convert|3177|m|sp=us||}}. ChavÃn civilization spanned 900 BC to 300 BC.In the central coast of Peru, around the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, Moche (100 BC â€“ 700 AD, at the northern coast of Peru), Paracas and Nazca (400 BC â€“ 800 AD, Peru) cultures flourished with centralized states with permanent militia improving agriculture through irrigation and new styles of ceramic art. At the Altiplano, Tiahuanaco or Tiwanaku (100 BC â€“ 1200 AD, Bolivia) managed a large commercial network based on religion.Around the 7th century, both Tiahuanaco and Wari or Huari Empire (600â€“1200, Central and northern Peru) expanded its influence to all the Andean region, imposing the Huari urbanism and Tiahuanaco religious iconography.The Muisca were the main indigenous civilization in what is now Colombia. They established the Muisca Confederation of many clans, or cacicazgos, that had a free trade network among themselves. They were goldsmiths and farmers.Other important Pre-Columbian cultures include: the CaÃ±aris (in south central Ecuador), ChimÃº Empire (1300â€“1470, Peruvian northern coast), Chachapoyas, and the Aymaran kingdoms (1000â€“1450, Western Bolivia and southern Peru).Holding their capital at the great city of Cusco, the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as Tawantin suyu, and “the land of the four regions,” in Quechua, the Inca Empire was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some nine to fourteen million people connected by a 25,000 kilometer road system. Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming was a useful form of agriculture.The Mapuche in Central and Southern Chile resisted the European and Chilean settlers, waging the Arauco War for more than 300 years.{{Clear}}

European colonization

File:Desembarque de Pedro Ãlvares Cabral em Porto Seguro em 1500 by Oscar Pereira da Silva (1865â€“1939).jpg|thumb|The Portuguese explorer Pedro Ãlvares Cabral Pedro Ãlvares CabralIn 1494, Portugal and Spain, the two great maritime European powers of that time, on the expectation of new lands being discovered in the west, signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, by which they agreed, with the support of the Pope, that all the land outside Europe should be an exclusive duopoly between the two countries.Horst Pietschmann, Atlantic history : history of the Atlantic System 1580â€“1830 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518225523books.google.it/books?id=z8ZnAAAAMAAJ&q=Julius+II+ratified+tordesillas+1505&dq=Julius+II+ratified+tordesillas+1505&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBsojxkrzlAhWN2aQKHcY6BhEQ6AEINTAC |date=18 May 2021 }}, GÃ¶ttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2002, p. 239File:Inca-Spanish confrontation.JPG|thumb|The Incaâ€“Spanish confrontation in the Battle of Cajamarca Battle of CajamarcaThe treaty established an imaginary line along a northâ€“south meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, roughly 46Â° 37’ W. In terms of the treaty, all land to the west of the line (known to comprise most of the South American soil) would belong to Spain, and all land to the east, to Portugal. As accurate measurements of longitude were impossible at that time, the line was not strictly enforced, resulting in a Portuguese expansion of Brazil across the meridian.Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign conquistadors, first from Spain and later from Portugal. These competing colonial nations claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it into colonies.European infectious diseases (smallpox, influenza, measles, and typhus) â€“ to which the native populations had no immune resistance â€“ caused large-scale depopulation of the native population under Spanish control. Systems of forced labor, such as the haciendas and mining industry’s mit’a also contributed to the depopulation. After this, enslaved Africans, who had developed immunities to these diseases, were quickly brought in to replace them.(File:Imperios EspaÃ±ol y PortuguÃ©s 1790.svg|thumb|An interpretation of the extent of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas in 1790)The Spaniards were committed to converting their native subjects to Christianity and were quick to purge any native cultural practices that hindered this end; however, many initial attempts at this were only partially successful, as native groups simply blended Catholicism with their established beliefs and practices. Furthermore, the Spaniards brought their language to the degree they did with their religion, although the Roman Catholic Church’s evangelization in Quechua, Aymara, and GuaranÃ actually contributed to the continuous use of these native languages albeit only in the oral form.Eventually, the natives and the Spaniards interbred, forming a mestizo class. At the beginning, many mestizos of the Andean region were offspring of Amerindian mothers and Spanish fathers. After independence, most mestizos had native fathers and European or mestizo mothers.Many native artworks were considered pagan idols and destroyed by Spanish explorers; this included many gold and silver sculptures and other artifacts found in South America, which were melted down before their transport to Spain or Portugal. Spaniards and Portuguese brought the western European architectural style to the continent, and helped to improve infrastructures like bridges, roads, and the sewer system of the cities they discovered or conquered. They also significantly increased economic and trade relations, not just between the old and new world but between the different South American regions and peoples. Finally, with the expansion of the Portuguese and Spanish languages, many cultures that were previously separated became united through that of Latin American.Guyana was initially colonized by the Dutch before coming under British control, though there was a brief period during the Napoleonic Wars when it was occupied by the French. The region was initially partitioned between the Dutch, French and British before fully coming under the control of Britain.Suriname was first explored by the Spanish in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century. It became a Dutch colony in 1667.BOOK, The Dutch Seaborne Empire, C.R. Boxer, C. R. Boxer, 271â€“272, Penguin, 978-0140136180, 1990,

Slavery in South America

{{See also|European enslavement of Indigenous Americans|Atlantic slave trade}}(File:Johann Moritz Rugendas in Brazil 2.jpg|thumb|Public flogging of a slave in 19th-century Brazil){{Slavery}}The indigenous peoples of the Americas in various European colonies were forced to work in European plantations and mines; along with enslaved Africans who were also introduced in the proceeding centuries via the slave trade. European colonists were heavily dependent on indigenous labor during the initial phases of settlement to maintain the subsistence economy, and natives were often captured by expeditions. The importation of African slaves began midway through the 16th century, but the enslavement of indigenous peoples continued well into the 17th and 18th centuries. The Atlantic slave trade brought enslaved Africans primarily to South American colonies, beginning with the Portuguese since 1502.Anstey, Roger: The Atlantic Slave Trade and British abolition, 1760â€“1810. London: Macmillan, 1975, p. 5. The main destinations of this phase were the Caribbean colonies and Brazil, as European nations built up economically slave-dependent colonies in the New World. Nearly 40% of all African slaves trafficked to the Americas went to Brazil. An estimated 4.9 million slaves from Africa came to Brazil during the period from 1501 to 1866.WEB, Vergonha Ainda Maior: Novas informaÃ§Ãµes disponÃveis em um enorme banco de dados mostram que a escravidÃ£o no Brasil foi muito pior do que se sabia antes (,veja.abril.com.br/blog/ricardo-setti/tema-livre/vergonha-ainda-maior-novas-informacoes-disponiveis-em-um-enorme-banco-de-dados-mostram-que-a-escravidao-no-brasil-foi-muito-pior-do-que-se-sabia-antes/, Veja, 16 March 2015, pt, dead,veja.abril.com.br/blog/ricardo-setti/tema-livre/vergonha-ainda-maior-novas-informacoes-disponiveis-em-um-enorme-banco-de-dados-mostram-que-a-escravidao-no-brasil-foi-muito-pior-do-que-se-sabia-antes/," title="web.archive.org/web/20150313000755veja.abril.com.br/blog/ricardo-setti/tema-livre/vergonha-ainda-maior-novas-informacoes-disponiveis-em-um-enorme-banco-de-dados-mostram-que-a-escravidao-no-brasil-foi-muito-pior-do-que-se-sabia-antes/,">web.archive.org/web/20150313000755veja.abril.com.br/blog/ricardo-setti/tema-livre/vergonha-ainda-maior-novas-informacoes-disponiveis-em-um-enorme-banco-de-dados-mostram-que-a-escravidao-no-brasil-foi-muito-pior-do-que-se-sabia-antes/, 13 March 2015, Stephen D. Behrendt, David Richardson, and David Eltis, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research, Harvard University. Based on “records for 27,233 voyages that set out to obtain slaves for the Americas”. BOOK, Stephen Behrendt, Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, 1999, Basic Civitas Books, New York, 978-0-465-00071-5, Transatlantic Slave Trade,archive.org/details/africanaencyclop00appi, In contrast to other European colonies in the Americas which mainly used the labor of African slaves, Spanish colonists mainly enslaved indigenous Americans. In 1750, the Portuguese Crown abolished the enslavement of indigenous peoples in colonial Brazil, under the belief that they were unfit for labor and less effective than enslaved Africans. Enslaved Africans were brought to the Americas on slave ships, under inhuman conditions and ill-treatment, and those who survived were sold in slave markets.JOURNAL, Yeager, Timothy J., Encomienda or Slavery? The Spanish Crown’s Choice of Labor Organization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America, The Journal of Economic History, December 1995, 55, 4, 842â€“859, 10.1017/S0022050700042182, 155030781, After independence, all South American countries maintained slavery for some time. The first South American country to abolish slavery was Chile in 1823, Uruguay in 1830, Bolivia in 1831, Colombia and Ecuador in 1851, Argentina in 1853, Peru and Venezuela in 1854, Suriname in 1863, Paraguay in 1869, and in 1888 Brazil was the last South American nation and the last country in western world to abolish slavery.ENCYCLOPEDIA, Encyclopedia of emancipation and abolition in the Transatlantic world, The “Golden Law” Abolishing Slavery in Brazil, 2007, Routledge, London, United Kingdom,

Independence from Spain and Portugal

The European Peninsular War (1807â€“14), a theater of the Napoleonic Wars, changed the political situation of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. First, Napoleon invaded Portugal, but the House of Braganza avoided capture by escaping to Brazil. Napoleon captured King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and appointed his own brother instead. This appointment provoked popular resistance, which created Juntas to rule in the name of the captured king.File:CoroaÃ§ao pedro I 001.jpg|thumb|Coronation of Pedro I as 1st Emperor of Brazil Emperor of BrazilMany cities in the Spanish colonies, however, considered themselves equally authorized to appoint local Juntas like those of Spain. This began the Spanish American wars of independence between the patriots, who promoted such autonomy, and the royalists, who supported Spanish authority over the Americas. The Juntas, in both Spain and the Americas, promoted the ideas of the Enlightenment. Five years after the beginning of the war, Ferdinand VII returned to the throne and began the Absolutist Restoration, as the royalists got the upper hand in the conflict.The independence of South America was secured by SimÃ³n BolÃvar (Venezuela) and JosÃ© de San MartÃn (Argentina), the two most important Libertadores. BolÃvar led a great uprising in the north, then led his army south towards Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Meanwhile, San MartÃn led an army across the Andes Mountains, along with Chilean expatriates, and liberated Chile. He organized a fleet to reach Peru by sea, and sought the military support of various rebels from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1822 the two men met at the Guayaquil Conference in Ecuador, where they failed to agree on governance strategies for the liberated nations. Two years later BolÃvar’s forces beat the Spanish at the Battle of Ayacucho, securing the independence of Peru and the rest of South America.WEB,www.britannica.com/event/Guayaquil-Conference, Guayaquil Conference | Latin America, Ecuador, Independence | Britannica, www.britannica.com, In the Portuguese Kingdom of Brazil, Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese King Dom JoÃ£o VI, proclaimed the independent Kingdom of Brazil in 1822, which later became the Empire of Brazil. Despite the Portuguese loyalties of garrisons in Bahia, Cisplatina and ParÃ¡, independence was diplomatically accepted by Portugal in 1825, on condition of a high compensation paid by Brazil mediated by the United Kingdom.

Nation-building and fragmentation

File:Juan Manuel Blanes - El Juramento de los Treinta y Tres Orientales.jpg|thumb|The Thirty-Three Orientals proclaimed the independence of Cisplatine Province Cisplatine ProvinceFile:Oscar Pereira da Silva - Cena de Batalha no Sul do Brasil.jpg|thumb|Battle of Fanfa, battle scene in Southern Brazil during the Ragamuffin War Ragamuffin WarThe newly independent nations began a process of fragmentation, with several civil and international wars. However, it was not as strong as in Central America. Some countries created from provinces of larger countries stayed as such up to modern times (such as Paraguay or Uruguay), while others were reconquered and reincorporated into their former countries (such as the Republic of Entre RÃos and the Riograndense Republic).The first separatist attempt was in 1820 by the Argentine province of Entre RÃos, led by a caudillo.WEB,brasilescola.uol.com.br/historia-da-america/caudilhismo.htm, Caudilhismo, Brasil Escola, 22 March 2021, 14 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210414154311/https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historia-da-america/caudilhismo.htm, live, In spite of the “Republic” in its title, General RamÃrez, its caudillo, never really intended to declare an independent Entre Rios. Rather, he was making a political statement in opposition to the monarchist and centralist ideas that back then permeated Buenos Aires politics. The “country” was reincorporated at the United Provinces in 1821.In 1825, the Cisplatine Province declared its independence from the Empire of Brazil, which led to the Cisplatine War between the imperials and the Argentine from the United Provinces of the RÃo de la Plata to control the region. Three years later, the United Kingdom intervened in the question by proclaiming a tie and creating in the former Cisplatina a new independent country: The Oriental Republic of Uruguay.Later in 1836, while Brazil was experiencing the chaos of the regency, Rio Grande do Sul proclaimed its independence motivated by a tax crisis. With the anticipation of the coronation of Pedro II to the throne of Brazil, the country could stabilize and fight the separatists, which the province of Santa Catarina had joined in 1839. The Conflict came to an end by a process of compromise by which both Riograndense Republic and Juliana Republic were reincorporated as provinces in 1845.WEB,www.brasilescola.com/historiab/guerra-farrapos.htm, Ragamuffin War, Day, Peter, 17 December 1997, Brasil Escola, 27 March 2007, dead,www.brasilescola.com/historiab/guerra-farrapos.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20070303074424www.brasilescola.com/historiab/guerra-farrapos.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20070303074424www.brasilescola.com/historiab/guerra-farrapos.htm, 3 March 2007, WEB,www.brasilescola.com/historiab/revolucao-farroupilha.htm, Ragamuffin Revolution, Souza, Rainer, 20 January 2002, RioGrande, 27 March 2007, 18 July 2012,www.brasilescola.com/historiab/revolucao-farroupilha.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120718095538www.brasilescola.com/historiab/revolucao-farroupilha.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20120718095538www.brasilescola.com/historiab/revolucao-farroupilha.htm, live, File:Batalla de Chorrillos.jpg|thumb|The Chilean Army in the battlefield of the Battle of Chorrillos Battle of ChorrillosThe Peruâ€“Bolivian Confederation, a short-lived union of Peru and Bolivia, was blocked by Chile in the War of the Confederation (1836â€“39) and again during the War of the Pacific (1879â€“83). Paraguay was virtually destroyed by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in the Paraguayan War.

Wars and conflicts

Despite the Spanish American wars of independence and the Brazilian War of Independence, the new nations quickly began to suffer with internal conflicts and wars among themselves. Most of the 1810 borders countries had initially accepted on the uti possidetis iuris principle had by 1848 either been altered by war or were contested.Holsti 1996, p. 153In 1825, the proclamation of independence of Cisplatina led to the Cisplatine War between historical rivals the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the RÃo de la Plata, Argentina’s predecessor. The result was a stalemate, ending with the British government arranging for the independence of Uruguay. Soon after, another Brazilian province proclaimed its independence leading to the Ragamuffin War which Brazil won.Between 1836 and 1839, the War of the Confederation broke out between the short-lived Peru-Bolivian Confederation and Chile, with the support of the Argentine Confederation. The war was fought mostly in the actual territory of Peru and ended with a Confederate defeat and the dissolution of the Confederacy and annexation of many territories by Argentina.Meanwhile, the Argentine Civil Wars plagued Argentina since its independence. The conflict was mainly between those who defended the centralization of power in Buenos Aires and those who defended a confederation. During this period it can be said that “there were two Argentines”: the Argentine Confederation and the Argentine Republic. At the same time, the political instability in Uruguay led to the Uruguayan Civil War among the main political factions of the country. All this instability in the platine region interfered with the goals of other countries such as Brazil, which was soon forced to take sides. In 1851, the Brazilian Empire, supporting the centralizing unitarians, and the Uruguayan government invaded Argentina and deposed the caudillo, Juan Manuel Rosas, who ruled the confederation with an iron hand. Although the Platine War did not put an end to the political chaos and civil war in Argentina, it brought temporary peace to Uruguay where the Colorados faction won, supported by Brazil, Britain, France and the Unitarian Party of Argentina.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=khU0sFxgyjMC&q=chapter+twenty-five&pg=RA2-PA1844, Latin America’s Wars, Robert L., Scheina, 2003, Potomac Books, Inc., Google Books, 978-1597974776, 28 October 2020, 14 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210414173957/https://books.google.com/books?id=khU0sFxgyjMC&q=chapter+twenty-five&pg=RA2-PA1844, live, Peace lasted only a short time: in 1864, the Uruguayan factions faced each other again in the Uruguayan War. The Blancos supported by Paraguay started to attack Brazilian and Argentine farmers near the borders. The Empire made an initial attempt to settle the dispute between Blancos and Colorados without success. In 1864, after a Brazilian ultimatum was refused, the imperial government declared that Brazil’s military would begin reprisals. Brazil declined to acknowledge a formal state of war, and, for most of its duration, the Uruguayanâ€“Brazilian armed conflict was an undeclared war which led to the deposition of the Blancos and the rise of the pro-Brazilian Colorados to power again. This angered the Paraguayan government, which even before the end of the war invaded Brazil, beginning the longest and bloodiest inter-state war in Latin American history: the Paraguayan War.BOOK, Bethell, Leslie, 2018, Brazil: Essays on History and Politics, London, University of London, 3. The Paraguayan War (1864â€“70), 93â€“112, 978-1-908857-61-3, File:Brazilians during the siege of Paysandu.jpg|thumb|Imperial Brazilian Navy siege of PaysandÃº siege of PaysandÃºThe Paraguayan War began when the Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano LÃ³pez ordered the invasion of the Brazilian provinces of Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul. His attempt to cross Argentinian territory without Argentinian approval led the pro-Brazilian Argentine government into the war. The pro-Brazilian Uruguayan government showed its support by sending troops. In 1865 the three countries signed the Treaty of the Triple Alliance against Paraguay. At the beginning of the war, the Paraguayans took the lead with several victories, until the Triple Alliance organized to repel the invaders and fight effectively. This was the second total war experience in the world after the American Civil War. It was deemed the greatest war effort in the history of all participating countries, taking almost 6 years and ending with the complete devastation of Paraguay. The country lost 40% of its territory to Brazil and Argentina and lost 60% of its population, including 90% of the men. The dictator Lopez was killed in battle and a new government was instituted in alliance with Brazil, which maintained occupation forces in the country until 1876.WEB, pt,www.historiadobrasil.net/guerraparaguai/, A Guerra do Paraguai â€“ HistÃ³ria â€“ Resumo, Borges, Fernando Tadeu de Miranda, Historiadobrasil.net, 26 January 2017, 8 March 2017,historiadobrasil.net/guerraparaguai/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170308172856historiadobrasil.net/guerraparaguai/,">web.archive.org/web/20170308172856historiadobrasil.net/guerraparaguai/, live, The last South American war in the 19th century was the War of the Pacific with Bolivia and Peru on one side and Chile on the other. In 1879 the war began with Chilean troops occupying Bolivian ports, followed by Bolivia declaring war on Chile which activated an alliance treaty with Peru. The Bolivians were completely defeated in 1880 and Lima was occupied in 1881. Peace was signed with Peru in 1883 while a truce was signed with Bolivia in 1884. Chile annexed territories of both countries leaving Bolivia landlocked.WEB, Carlos, Rossi, 9 July 2007, pt, AmÃ©rica Latina â€“ Guerra do PacÃfico,pt.shvoong.com/humanities/h_history/1628182-amÃ©rica-latina-guerra-pacÃfico/, dead,pt.shvoong.com/humanities/h_history/1628182-am%C3%A9rica-latina-guerra-pac%C3%ADfico/," title="web.archive.org/web/20090304002203pt.shvoong.com/humanities/h_history/1628182-am%C3%A9rica-latina-guerra-pac%C3%ADfico/,">web.archive.org/web/20090304002203pt.shvoong.com/humanities/h_history/1628182-am%C3%A9rica-latina-guerra-pac%C3%ADfico/, 4 March 2009, File:Brazilian battleship Minas Geraes firing a broadside.jpg|left|thumb|The Brazilian Minas Geraes class kindled an Argentineâ€“Brazilianâ€“Chilean naval arms race.]]In the new century, as wars became less violent and less frequent, Brazil entered into a small conflict with Bolivia for the possession of the Acre, which was acquired by Brazil in 1902. In 1917 Brazil declared war on the Central Powers, joined the allied side in the First World War and sent a small fleet to the Mediterranean Sea and some troops to be integrated with the British and French forces in the region. Brazil was the only South American country that participated in the First World War.Woodard, James P. “A Place in Politics: SÃ£o Paulo, Brazil; From Seigneurial Republicanism to Regionalist Revolt” Duke University Press 2009 Chapter 3 “War and the Health of the State” especially pp. 77â€“81 visualization on Google Books {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421193251books.google.com/books?id=RS7kgAPs430C&pg=PA77&dq=Brazil+%22A+Place+in+Politics%22+pickets+pestilence&hl=pt-BR&sa=X&ei=WaFPUefhOOfK0AH_iYGQAw&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Brazil%20%22A%20Place%20in%20Politics%22%20pickets%20pestilence&f=false |date=21 April 2020 }}Conniff, Michael L. and McCann, Frank D. “Modern Brazil, Elites and Masses in Historical Perspective” University of Nebraska Press 1991 {{ISBN|0803263481}} p. 168 visualization on Google Books {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216013933books.google.com/books?id=UhbQdNXVtKYC&pg=PA168&dq=strike+brazil+1917+brazil&hl=pt-BR&sa=X&ei=tZpPUbwfktXSAcG1gOgK&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=strike%20brazil%201917%20brazil&f=false |date=16 February 2017 }} Later in 1932 Colombia and Peru entered a short armed conflict for territory in the Amazon. In the same year Paraguay declared war on Bolivia for possession of the Chaco, in a conflict that ended three years later with Paraguay’s victory. Between 1941 and 1942 Peru and Ecuador fought for territories claimed by both that were annexed by Peru, usurping Ecuador’s frontier with Brazil.WEB,ucdp.uu.se/#country/135, Uppsala Conflict Data Program, Uppsala Universitet, Peru, 29 May 2019, 20 December 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211220062811/https://ucdp.uu.se/#country/135, live, Also in this period, the first major naval battle of World War II took place in the South Atlantic close to the continental mainland: the Battle of the River Plate, between a British cruiser squadron and a German pocket battleship.JOURNAL, Smyers, Richard P., Review: Panzerschiff “Admiral Gragg Spee” by Siegfried Breyer, Warship International, 1990, 27, 1, 44, 44891302, ;, BOOK, Landsborough, Gordon, The Battle of the River Plate: the First Naval Battle of the Second World War, 2016, Frontline Books, 978-1473878952, The Germans still made numerous attacks on Brazilian ships on the coast, causing Brazil to declare war on the Axis powers in 1942, being the only South American country to fight in this war (and in both World Wars). Brazil sent naval and air forces to combat German and Italian submarines off the continent and throughout the South Atlantic, in addition to sending an expeditionary force to fight in the Italian Campaign.Maximiano, Cesar. with Bonalume, Ricardo N. & Bujeiro, Ramiro. Brazilian Expeditionary Force in World War II {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105203029books.google.com/books?id=L6HVtOSmWAEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Brazilian+Expeditionary+Force+WWII&hl=pt-BR&sa=X&ei=kgVwUslnwaaRB7_hgaAB&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Brazilian%20Expeditionary%20Force%20WWII&f=false |date=5 January 2016 }}. Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2011. {{ISBN|978-1849084833}} (Print version).Frank D. MacCann â€“ ‘Estudios Interdisciplinarios de America Latina y el Caribe’, vol. 6, No. 2, 1995.A brief war was fought between Argentina and the UK in 1982, following an Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, which ended with an Argentine defeat. The last international war to be fought on South American soil was the 1995 Cenepa War between Ecuador and the Peru along their mutual border.

Rise and fall of military dictatorships

Wars became less frequent in the 20th century, with Bolivia-Paraguay and Peru-Ecuador fighting the last inter-state wars. Early in the 20th century, the three wealthiest South American countries engaged in a vastly expensive naval arms race which began after the introduction of a new warship type, the “dreadnought”. At one point, the Argentine government was spending a fifth of its entire yearly budget for just two dreadnoughts, a price that did not include later in-service costs, which for the Brazilian dreadnoughts was sixty percent of the initial purchase.Richard Hough, The Big Battleship (London: Michael Joseph, 1966), 19. {{oclc|8898108}}.Robert Scheina, Latin America: A Naval History, 1810â€“1987 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1987), 86. {{ISBN|0-87021-295-8}}. {{oclc|15696006}}.File:Soldadosargentinos3.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|left|Argentine soldiers during the Falklands War Falklands WarThe continent became a battlefield of the Cold War in the late 20th century. Some democratically elected governments of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay were overthrown or displaced by military dictatorships in the 1960s and 1970s. To curtail opposition, their governments detained tens of thousands of political prisoners, many of whom were tortured or killed on inter-state collaboration. Economically, they began a transition to neoliberal economic policies. They placed their own actions within the US Cold War doctrine of “National Security” against internal subversion. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Peru suffered from an internal conflict.In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British dependent territory. The Falklands War began and 74 days later Argentine forces surrendered.WEB, June 14, 1982: Falklands War comes to an end as Britain accepts Argentina’s surrender,home.bt.com/news/on-this-day/june-14-1982-falklands-war-comes-to-an-end-as-britain-accepts-argentinas-surrender-11363986434075, BT Group, 6 December 2020, 6 August 2020,home.bt.com/news/on-this-day/june-14-1982-falklands-war-comes-to-an-end-as-britain-accepts-argentinas-surrender-11363986434075," title="web.archive.org/web/20200806081007home.bt.com/news/on-this-day/june-14-1982-falklands-war-comes-to-an-end-as-britain-accepts-argentinas-surrender-11363986434075,">web.archive.org/web/20200806081007home.bt.com/news/on-this-day/june-14-1982-falklands-war-comes-to-an-end-as-britain-accepts-argentinas-surrender-11363986434075, live, Colombia has had an ongoing, though diminished internal conflict, which started in 1964 with the creation of Marxist guerrillas (FARC-EP) and then involved several illegal armed groups of leftist-leaning ideology as well as the private armies of powerful drug lords. Many of these are now defunct, and only a small portion of the ELN remains, along with the stronger, though also greatly reduced, FARC.Revolutionary movements and right-wing military dictatorships became common after World War II, but since the 1980s, a wave of democratization passed through the continent, and democratic rule is widespread now.“The Cambridge History of Latin America”, edited by Leslie Bethell, Cambridge University Press (1995) {{ISBN|0-521-39525-9}} Nonetheless, allegations of corruption are still very common, and several countries have developed crises which have forced the resignation of their governments, although, on most occasions, regular civilian succession has continued.International indebtedness became a significant problem in the late 1980s, and some countries, despite having strong democracies, have not developed political institutions capable of handling such crises without resorting to unorthodox economic policies. This was illustrated by Argentina’s default in the early 21st century.BOOK, Leslie Bethell, Bibliographical Essays,books.google.com/books?id=6tNWbywFXhkC, 1995, Cambridge University Press, 978-0-521-39525-0, 17 October 2015, 1 January 2016,web.archive.org/web/20160101123048/https://books.google.com/books?id=6tNWbywFXhkC, live, There has been an increased push towards regional integration, with the creation of uniquely South American institutions such as the Andean Community, Mercosur and Unasur. Starting with the election of Hugo ChÃ¡vez in Venezuela in 1998, the region experienced a pink tide â€“ the election of several leftist and center-left administrations in most countries, except the Guianas and Colombia.

Contemporary issues

South America’s political geography since the 1990s has been characterized by a desire to reduce foreign influence.WEB, Society, National Geographic, South America: Human Geography,education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/south-america-human-geography/, National Geographic Society, National Geographic, 7 November 2021, en, 4 January 2012, 7 November 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211107175007/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/south-america-human-geography/, live, The nationalization of industries, by which the state controls entire economic sectors (as opposed of private companies doing it), has become a prominent political issue in the region. Some South American nations have nationalized their electricity industries.

Countries and territories

{| class=“wikitable sortable” style="float:center; text-align:center;”! class=“unsortable” | Flag! Country / Territory! Area{{efn|Land areas and population estimates are taken from The 2008 World Factbook which currently uses July 2007 data, unless otherwise noted.}}! Population({{UN_Population|Year}}){{UN_Population|ref}}! Populationdensity! Capital! Name(s) in official language(s)pxxsize=45}}| Argentina {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Argentina}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| Buenos Aires| Argentinapxxsize=45}}| Bolivia {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Bolivia (Plurinational State of)}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}La Paz,Sucre{{efn>La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia; Sucre is the constitutional and judicial capital of Bolivia.}}| Bolivia/Mborivia/Wuliwya/Puliwyapxxsize=45}}| Brazil {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Brazil}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| BrasÃlia| Brasilpxxsize=45}}Chile{{efn>Includes Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean, a Chilean territory frequently reckoned in Oceania.}} {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Chile}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}Santiago, Chile>Santiago{{efnSantiago, Chile>Santiago is the administrative capital of Chile; ValparaÃso is the site of legislative meetings.}}| Chilepxxsize=45}}| Colombia {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Colombia}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| BogotÃ¡| Colombiapxxsize=45}}| Ecuador {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Ecuador}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| Quito| Ecuador/Ikwayur/EkuaturpxxFalkland Islands|size=45}}Falkland Islands(British Overseas Territories>United Kingdom) {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Falkland Islands (Malvinas)}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}Stanley, Falkland Islands>Stanley| Falkland Islands50px)French Guiana(Overseas France>France) {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|French Guiana}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}Cayenne(Prefectures in France>PrÃ©fecture)| Guyanepxxsize=45}}| Guyana {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Guyana}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}Georgetown, Guyana>Georgetown| Guyanapxxsize=45}}| Paraguay {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Paraguay}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| AsunciÃ³n| Paraguay/ParaguÃ¡ipxxsize=45}}| Peru {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Peru}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| Lima| PerÃº/Piruw/Piruwpxxsize=45}}South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands(British Overseas Territories>United Kingdom){{efnSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in the Atlantic Ocean>South Atlantic Ocean has no permanent population, only hosting a periodic contingent of about 100 researchers and visitors.}} {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} 20 {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| King Edward Point| South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islandspxxsize=45}}| Suriname {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Suriname}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| Paramaribo| Surinamepxxsize=45}}| Uruguay {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Uruguay}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| Montevideo| Uruguay/Uruguaipxxsize=45}}| Venezuela {{cvtkm2sortable=on}} {{UN_Population|Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)}} {{cvt/km2sortable=on}}| Caracas| Venezuela class=“sortbottom“! colspan=“2” | Total! style="text-align:right;“| {{cvt|17824513|km2|disp=br()|sortable=on}}! style="text-align:right;“| {{UN_Population|South America}}! style="text-align:right;“| {{cvt|21.5|/km2|disp=br()|sortable=on}}! colspan=“3” |

Government and politics

{{See also|Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean}}File:UNASUR (Ecuador).jpg|thumb|Headquarters of the UNASUR in Quito, Ecuador EcuadorHistorically, the Hispanic countries were founded as Republican dictatorships led by caudillos. Brazil was the only exception, being a constitutional monarchy for its first 67 years of independence, until a coup d’Ã©tat proclaimed a republic. In the late 19th century, the most democratic countries were Brazil,BOOK, Lira, Heitor, 1977, pt, HistÃ³ria de Dom Pedro II (1825â€“1891): FastÃgio (1870â€“1880), 2, Itatiaia, Belo Horizonte, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=R1KBWX329uIC&q=late+19th+century+most+democratic+South+American+countries&pg=PA219, Toward Pro-poor Policies: Aid, Institutions, and Globalization, Tungodden, Bertil, Stern, Nicholas Herbert, Stern, Nicholas, Kolstad, Ivar, 2004, World Bank Publications, 978-0821353882, 219, en, 28 October 2020, 14 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210414154848/https://books.google.com/books?id=R1KBWX329uIC&q=late+19th+century+most+democratic+South+American+countries&pg=PA219, live, All South American countries are presidential republics with the exception of Suriname, a parliamentary republic. French Guiana is a French overseas department, while the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are British overseas territories. It is currently the only inhabited continent in the world without monarchies; the Empire of Brazil existed during the 19th century and there was an unsuccessful attempt to establish a Kingdom of AraucanÃa and Patagonia in southern Argentina and Chile. Also in the twentieth century, Suriname was established as a constituent kingdom of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Guyana retained the British monarch as head of state for 4 years after its independence.Recently, an intergovernmental entity has been formed which aims to merge the two existing customs unions: Mercosur and the Andean Community, thus forming the third-largest trade bloc in the world.WEB,www.globalpolicy.org/nations/sovereign/integrate/2008/1029newconsensus.htm, Globalpolicy.org, Globalpolicy.org, 29 October 2008, 24 October 2010, 29 April 2009,www.globalpolicy.org/nations/sovereign/integrate/2008/1029newconsensus.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090429161020www.globalpolicy.org/nations/sovereign/integrate/2008/1029newconsensus.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20090429161020www.globalpolicy.org/nations/sovereign/integrate/2008/1029newconsensus.htm, live, This new political organization, known as Union of South American Nations, seeks to establish free movement of people, economic development, a common defense policy and the elimination of tariffs.

Demographics

{{See also|List of South American countries by population|List of South American countries by life expectancy}}File:South America night.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Satellite view of South America at night from NASA NASASouth America has a population of over 428 million people. They are distributed as to form a “hollow continent” with most of the population concentrated around the margins of the continent. On one hand, there are several sparsely populated areas such as tropical forests, the Atacama Desert and the icy portions of Patagonia. On the other hand, the continent presents regions of high population density, such as the great urban centers. The population is formed by descendants of Europeans (mainly Spaniards, Portuguese and Italians), Africans and Amerindians. There is a high percentage of Mestizos that vary greatly in composition by place. There is a population of about 5 million Asians, mostly East Asians, especially in Brazil, Peru, and Argentina. The two main languages are by far Spanish and Portuguese, followed by English, French and Dutch in smaller numbers.

Language

(File:Languages of South America (en).svg|thumb|Official languages in South America)Spanish and Portuguese are the most spoken languages in South America, with approximately 200 million speakers each. Spanish is the official language of most countries, along with other native languages in some countries. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil. Dutch is the official language of Suriname; English is the official language of Guyana, although there are at least twelve other languages spoken in the country, including Portuguese, Chinese, Hindustani and several native languages.WEB,www.studycountry.com/guide/GY-language.htm, The Languages spoken in Guyana, Studylands, en-US, 12 April 2016, 11 May 2016,www.studycountry.com/guide/GY-language.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20160511235912www.studycountry.com/guide/GY-language.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20160511235912www.studycountry.com/guide/GY-language.htm, live, English is also spoken in the Falkland Islands. French is the official language of French Guiana and the second language in AmapÃ¡, Brazil.Indigenous languages of South America include Quechua in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Colombia; Wayuunaiki in northern Colombia (La Guajira) and northwestern Venezuela (Zulia); GuaranÃ in Paraguay and, to a much lesser extent, in Bolivia; Aymara in Bolivia, Peru, and less often in Chile; and Mapudungun is spoken in certain pockets of southern Chile. At least three South American indigenous languages (Quechua, Aymara, and Guarani) are recognized along with Spanish as national languages.Other languages found in South America include Hindustani and Javanese in Suriname; Italian in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela; and German in certain pockets of Argentina, Chile and Brazil. German is also spoken in many regions of the southern states of Brazil, Riograndenser HunsrÃ¼ckisch being the most widely spoken German dialect in the country; among other Germanic dialects, a Brazilian form of East Pomeranian is also well represented and is experiencing a revival. Welsh remains spoken and written in the historic towns of Trelew and Rawson in the Argentine Patagonia, Croatian is spoken in southern Chile, Arabic speakers, often of Lebanese, Syrian, or Palestinian descent, can be found in Arab communities in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela and in Paraguay.JOURNAL, 10.1017/S0022216X13001156, On the Trail and Trial of a Palestinian Diaspora: Mapping South America in the Arabâ€“Israeli Conflict, 1967â€“1972, Journal of Latin American Studies, 45, 4, 2013, 751â€“777, Karam, John Tofik, 145423526,

Religion

File:Santuario de Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia, 2015-07-21, DD 21-23 HDR-Edit.JPG|thumb|Las Lajas Sanctuary, Ipiales, Colombia Colombia{{see also|History of the Jews in Latin America and the Caribbean|Buddhism in Brazil|Islam in Argentina}}An estimated 90% of South Americans are ChristiansWEB,www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx, Christians, 18 December 2012, Pewforum.org, 11 November 2017, 5 July 2013,www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20130705090247www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20130705090247www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx, live, (82% Roman Catholic, 8% other Christian denominations mainly traditional Protestants and Evangelicals but also Orthodox), accounting for 19% of Christians worldwide.African descendent and Indigenous religions are common throughout South America; some examples are Santo Daime, CandomblÃ©, and Umbanda. Crypto-Jews or Marranos, conversos, and Anusim were an important part of colonial life in Latin America. Buenos Aires and SÃ£o Paulo figure among the largest Jewish populations by urban area.East Asian religions such as Japanese Buddhism, Shintoism, and Shinto-derived Japanese New Religions are common in Brazil and Peru. Korean Confucianism is especially found in Brazil, while Chinese Buddhism and Chinese Confucianism have spread throughout the continent. Kardecist Spiritism can be found in several countries.Hindus form 25% of the Guyanese population and 22% of Suriname’s.WEB, Guyana â€“ The World Factbook,www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guyana/#people-and-society, 4 January 2021, www.cia.gov, 7 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210107032754/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guyana/#people-and-society, live, WEB, Suriname â€“ The World Factbook,www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/, 4 January 2021, www.cia.gov, 7 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210107182748/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/, live, Muslims account for 7% of the Guyanese population and 14% of the Surinamese population. Almost all Muslims in Suriname are either Indonesian or Indians and in Guyana, most are Indian.Part of Religions in South America (2013):WEB, Las religiones en tiempos del Papa Francisco,www.latinobarometro.org/latNewsShow.jsp, LatinobarÃ³metro, 4 April 2015, 10 May 2015,www.latinobarometro.org/latNewsShow.jsp," title="web.archive.org/web/20150510104033www.latinobarometro.org/latNewsShow.jsp,">web.archive.org/web/20150510104033www.latinobarometro.org/latNewsShow.jsp, 7, es, PDF, April 2014, dead, {| class=“wikitable sortable“|+ Religion in South America! Countries! Christians! Roman Catholics! Other Christians! No religion (atheists and agnostics)77%11%74%4%64%8%57%25%80%7%87%2%81%3%29%5%47%41%71%8%

Ethnic demographics

File:Japanese Brazilian Miko Curitiba ParanÃ¡.jpg|thumb|upright|A Japanese-Brazilian Miko during a festival in Curitiba CuritibaFile:Festuva.jpg|thumb|President of Brazil Lula and members of the Italian Brazilian community during the Grape Festival at Caxias do Sul Caxias do SulFile:Quechuawomanandchild.jpg|thumb|Peruvian Peruvian Genetic admixture occurs at high levels in South America. In Argentina, European influence accounts for 65â€“80% of the genetic background, Amerindian (indigenous people) 17â€“31% and sub-Saharan African 2â€“4%. In Colombia, the sub-Saharan African genetic background varied 1% to 89%, while the European genetic background varied from 20 to 79%, depending on the region.In Peru, European ancestries ranged from 1% to 31%, while the African contribution was only 1-3%.JOURNAL, 3983580, 24764751, 37, 1 Suppl, Interethnic admixture and the evolution of Latin American populations, 2014, Genet. Mol. Biol., 151â€“170, Salzano, FM, Sans, M, 10.1590/s1415-47572014000200003, The Genographic Project determined the average Peruvian from Lima had about 25% European ancestry, 68% Native American, 3% Southwest Asian ancestry and 2% sub-Saharan African.WEB,genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations/, Your Regional Ancestry: Reference Populations, Genographic.nationalgeographic.com, 31 December 2016, 27 February 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170227020449/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations/, dead, Descendants of indigenous peoples, such as the Quechua and Aymara, or the UrarinaDean, Bartholomew 2009 Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia, Gainesville: University Press of Florida {{ISBN|978-0-8130-3378-5}}. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717170729www.upf.com/book.asp?id=DEANXS07|date=17 July 2011}} of Amazonia, make up the majority of the population in Bolivia (56%) and Peru (44%).WEB,www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/peru/, Peru, World Factbook, CIA, 18 April 2009, 19 November 2021,web.archive.org/web/20211119135020/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/peru/, live, WEB,www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bolivia/, Bolivia, World Factbook, CIA, 18 April 2009, 27 September 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210927041747/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bolivia/, live, In Ecuador, Amerindians comprise two-fifths of the population. The native European population is also a significant element in most other former Portuguese colonies.People who identify as of primarily or totally European descent, or identify their phenotype as corresponding to such group, are a majority in Argentina,WEB,www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/argentina/, Argentina, World Factbook, CIA, 18 April 2009, 17 April 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210417040319/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/argentina/, live, UruguayWEB,www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm, Argentina y Uruguay, su poblaciÃ³n estÃ¡ formada casi exclusivamente por una poblaciÃ³n blanca e blanca mestiza procedente del sur de Europa, mÃ¡s del 90% E. GarcÃa Zarza, 1992, 19, Geografia.fflch.usp.br, 18 April 2009, 4 June 2009,www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20090604052317www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20090604052317www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm, dead, and Chile (64.7%),JOURNAL, 1050080, Genetic epidemiology of single gene defects in Chile, 7815439, 1994, Cruz-Coke, R, Moreno, RS, 31, 9, 702â€“706, Journal of Medical Genetics, 10.1136/jmg.31.9.702, and are 48% of the population in Brazil.WEB,www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/protabl.asp?c=261&i=P&nome=on¬arodape=on&tab=261&unit=0&pov=1&opc1=1&poc2=1&OpcTipoNivt=1&opn1=2&nivt=0&poc1=1&sec58=0&orp=6&qtu3=27&opv=1&sec1=0&opc2=1&pop=1&opn2=2&orv=2&orc2=4&opc58=1&qtu2=5&sev=93&sec2=0&opp=1&opn3=0&orc1=3&poc58=1&qtu1=1&cabec=on&orc58=5&opn7=0&decm=99&ascendente=on&sep=43343&orn=1&qtu7=9&pon=2&OpcCara=44&proc=1, PopulaÃ§Ã£o residente por situaÃ§Ã£o, sexo e grupos de idade, Sidra.ibge.gov.br, 21 May 2012, 5 February 2016,www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/protabl.asp?c=261&i=P&nome=on¬arodape=on&tab=261&unit=0&pov=1&opc1=1&poc2=1&OpcTipoNivt=1&opn1=2&nivt=0&poc1=1&sec58=0&orp=6&qtu3=27&opv=1&sec1=0&opc2=1&pop=1&opn2=2&orv=2&orc2=4&opc58=1&qtu2=5&sev=93&sec2=0&opp=1&opn3=0&orc1=3&poc58=1&qtu1=1&cabec=on&orc58=5&opn7=0&decm=99&ascendente=on&sep=43343&orn=1&qtu7=9&pon=2&OpcCara=44&proc=1," title="web.archive.org/web/20160205071058www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/protabl.asp?c=261&i=P&nome=on¬arodape=on&tab=261&unit=0&pov=1&opc1=1&poc2=1&OpcTipoNivt=1&opn1=2&nivt=0&poc1=1&sec58=0&orp=6&qtu3=27&opv=1&sec1=0&opc2=1&pop=1&opn2=2&orv=2&orc2=4&opc58=1&qtu2=5&sev=93&sec2=0&opp=1&opn3=0&orc1=3&poc58=1&qtu1=1&cabec=on&orc58=5&opn7=0&decm=99&ascendente=on&sep=43343&orn=1&qtu7=9&pon=2&OpcCara=44&proc=1,">web.archive.org/web/20160205071058www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/protabl.asp?c=261&i=P&nome=on¬arodape=on&tab=261&unit=0&pov=1&opc1=1&poc2=1&OpcTipoNivt=1&opn1=2&nivt=0&poc1=1&sec58=0&orp=6&qtu3=27&opv=1&sec1=0&opc2=1&pop=1&opn2=2&orv=2&orc2=4&opc58=1&qtu2=5&sev=93&sec2=0&opp=1&opn3=0&orc1=3&poc58=1&qtu1=1&cabec=on&orc58=5&opn7=0&decm=99&ascendente=on&sep=43343&orn=1&qtu7=9&pon=2&OpcCara=44&proc=1, live, WEB,revistas.ucm.es/fll/02104547/articulos/ALHI8383110228A.PDF, Latinoamerica., Revistas.ucm.es, 24 October 2010, 18 March 2009,revistas.ucm.es/fll/02104547/articulos/ALHI8383110228A.PDF," title="web.archive.org/web/20090318213911revistas.ucm.es/fll/02104547/articulos/ALHI8383110228A.PDF,">web.archive.org/web/20090318213911revistas.ucm.es/fll/02104547/articulos/ALHI8383110228A.PDF, dead, WEB,www.studentsgoabroad.com/en/internships/internship-in-chile/general-information.html, The Chilean population is rather homogeneous with 95.4% of its population having European ancestors, Studentsgoabroad.com, 11 September 1973, 24 October 2010,www.studentsgoabroad.com/en/internships/internship-in-chile/general-information.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110107043856www.studentsgoabroad.com/en/internships/internship-in-chile/general-information.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110107043856www.studentsgoabroad.com/en/internships/internship-in-chile/general-information.html, 7 January 2011, dead, In Venezuela, according to the census, 42% of the population is of primarily Spanish, Italian or Portuguese descendence.WEB,www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf, Calendario de Publicaciones del Censo 2011, Ine.gov.ve, 11 November 2017, 15 November 2018,www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20181115145751www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20181115145751www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf, live, In Colombia, people who identify as from European descendants are about 37%.WEB,www.schwartzman.org.br/simon/coesion_etnia.pdf, Ã‰tnia, condiciones de vida y discriminaciÃ³n, Simon, Schwartzman, 27 January 2008, es, 3 April 2014, 11 September 2018,www.schwartzman.org.br/simon/coesion_etnia.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20180911195451www.schwartzman.org.br/simon/coesion_etnia.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20180911195451www.schwartzman.org.br/simon/coesion_etnia.pdf, live, In Peru, European descendants are the third group in number (15%).WEB,www.fppmedia.com/pdfs/html/moperu.html, Peru â€“ An Overview of the Market, Fppmedia.com, dead,www.fppmedia.com/pdfs/html/moperu.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110711022032www.fppmedia.com/pdfs/html/moperu.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110711022032www.fppmedia.com/pdfs/html/moperu.html, 11 July 2011, Mestizos (mixed European and Amerindian) are the largest ethnic group in Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela, ColombiaBushnell, David & Rex A. Hudson (2010) “The Society and Its Environment {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605232154lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Colombia.pdf |date=5 June 2011 }}”; Colombia: a country study: 87. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. and Ecuador and the second group in Peru and Chile.South America is home to one of the largest populations of Africans. This group is significantly present in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Venezuela and Ecuador. Brazil, followed by Peru, has the largest Japanese, Korean and Chinese communities in South America. Lima has the largest ethnic Chinese community in Latin America.WEB,search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080115i1.html=search.japantimes.co.jp,search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080115i1.html%3Dsearch.japantimes.co.jp," title="web.archive.org/web/20081204041835search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080115i1.html%3Dsearch.japantimes.co.jp,">web.archive.org/web/20081204041835search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080115i1.html%3Dsearch.japantimes.co.jp, dead, 4 December 2008, Japan, Brazil mark a century of settlement, family ties, Japan Times, Nakamura, Akemi, 15 January 2008, Guyana and Suriname have the largest ethnic East Indian community.{|class=“wikitable sortable”web.archive.org/web/20190106010801/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html, dead, JOURNAL, Lizcano FernÃ¡ndez, Francisco, Mayâ€“August 2005, ComposiciÃ³n Ã‰tnica de las Tres Ãreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI, Convergencia, 38, 185â€“232; table on p. 218, 1405-1435,convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf, es, dead,convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20080920172933convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20080920172933convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf, 20 September 2008, WEB,statisticsguyana.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Final_2012_Census_Compendium2.pdf, Compendium 2: Population Composition, Bureau of Statistics, Guyana, July 2016, 28 September 2021, live, 5 January 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210105002255/https://statisticsguyana.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Final_2012_Census_Compendium2.pdf, ! Country! Amerindians! White people! Mestizos / Pardos! Mullatos! Black people! Zambos! Asian peopleArgentina85% >| 0%Bolivia48% >|

- content above as imported from Wikipedia
- "South America" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
- time: 10:44am EDT - Wed, May 22 2024

[ this remote article is provided by Wikipedia ]

CONNECT