Americas

Americas
Area	43,316,000 km²
Population	1,022,000,000
Density	23.6/km²
Demonym	American Pan-American
Countries	35 countries  Antigua and Barbuda  Argentina  Bahamas  Barbados  Belize  Bolivia  Brazil  Canada  Chile  Colombia  Costa Rica  Cuba  Dominica  Ecuador  El Salvador  United States  Grenada  Guatemala  Guyana  Haiti  Honduras  Jamaica  Mexico  Nicaragua  Panama  Paraguay  Peru  Dominican Republic  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Saint Lucia  Suriname  Trinidad and Tobago  Uruguay  Venezuela
Dependencies	25 dependencies  Anguilla  Aruba  Bermuda  Bonaire  Curaçao  Greenland  Guadeloupe  French Guiana  Cayman Islands  Clipperton Island  Navassa Island  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands  Falkland Islands  Turks and Caicos Islands  British Virgin Islands  United States Virgin Islands  Martinique  Montserrat  Puerto Rico (Commonwealth associated with the United States)  Caribbean Netherlands  Saint Barthélemy Saint Pierre and Miquelon  Sint Eustatius  Sint Maarten  Saint Martin
Most populous cities	1. Mexico City 2. New York 3. São Paulo 4. Los Angeles 5. Buenos Aires 6. Rio de Janeiro 7. Chicago 8. Lima 9. Bogotá 10. Santiago
Languages	Romance, Indigenous and Germanic languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Danish, Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní, Haitian Creole, Nahuatl, Mixtec, Mapudungun, Zapotec, Maya, Otomi, etc.
Time zones	UTC −10 to UTC −2
HDI	0.734

The Americas are the second largest continent on Earth, after Asia. They occupy a large part of the planet's Western Hemisphere. They extend from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Diego Ramírez Islands in the south, at the confluence of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which in turn bound the continent on the east and the west respectively.

With an area of more than 43,316,000 km², they are the second largest landmass on the globe, covering 8.4% of the total surface of the planet and 30.2% of its land area, and also concentrating about 12% of the human population. The largest urban agglomerations of the Americas are Mexico City, New York, São Paulo, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Lima, Bogotá and Santiago.

Because of their great size and geographical characteristics, in some cultures the Americas are traditionally divided into North America, Central America and South America. Some geographers consider Central America a subregion within North America. On the basis of their cultural characteristics, Anglo-America and Latin America are distinguished.

The Americas were peopled from eastern Asia and evolved for thousands of years without contact with other continents, with diverse cultures becoming established throughout their territory and generating their own Neolithic revolutions. From the arrival of the Spaniards in 1492, the continent established a significant social and ecological exchange with Afro-Eurasia.

Toponymy

Universalis Cosmographia, by Martin Waldseemüller (1507), was the first world map to call that continent "America". The map charts the Pacific Ocean and the Central American isthmus before the "discovery" attributed to Balboa in 1513. The map is known as America's Birth Certificate and is kept in the Treasures Gallery of the Library of Congress of the United States.

The first time the name "America" was used in Europe to designate the lands reached by Columbus was in a treatise entitled Cosmographiae Introductio, written by Matthias Ringmann and others to accompany the wall planisphere Universalis Cosmographia, drawn by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, in which, moreover, for the first time America appeared surrounded by water and clearly distinguished from Asia, with Castilian flags and legends indicating that those lands had been discovered per mandatum regis Castelle.

Map of the Americas by the cartographer Jodocus Hondius, made c. 1640

The name "America" appeared over South America, still separated from North America by a narrow interoceanic passage. The treatise corrected the Ptolemaic conceptions by incorporating the discoveries of the Spaniards and Portuguese, but named the new continent America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, to whom both the treatise and the map attributed the discovery. Vespucci, a navigator of Florentine origin who made some voyage in the service of Spain, was probably the first European to propose that those lands were in fact a new continent and not part of Asia, as Christopher Columbus thought. Following the pattern of the other continents with feminine names, the explorer's name was Latinized and feminized, resulting in America. Thanks to the development of the printing press, Waldseemüller's names spread rapidly in the scientific circles of Europe.

To refer to the islands and the whole continental landmass of the Western Hemisphere, the geographer of Flemish origin Gerardus Mercator used the same word America for the first time in his cartographic works with a world map published in 1538. On the other hand, the Spanish Monarchy legally named its American possessions the Castilian Kingdoms of the Indies. The British Crown called them the West Indies.

Other theories, which no longer provide documentation, are later and also less widespread, claim that the name America comes from a merchant, Richard Amerike, who allegedly financed the voyage of John Cabot, to Newfoundland in 1497, or from a region called Amerrique, located in present-day Nicaragua, which possessed great resources of gold that both Columbus and Vespucci allegedly discovered, and that the latter even supposedly changed his name in honor of that area.

In modern times, ancient indigenous names have been claimed as autochthonous names for the continent, among them Abya Yala, used by the Kuna ethnic group, and Cem Ānáhuac by the Aztecs.

In other languages

The words América and americano are understood in different ways in other languages, which can cause misunderstandings. In the Germanic languages such as English, the English word "America" is a false friend; it usually does not mean América (the continent), but the United States. América is translated into English as The Americas. A similar situation is found in Spanish, where norteamericano sometimes does not mean of North America but, specifically, of the United States (estadounidense); a usage that is not recommended, as the Royal Spanish Academy makes clear in its «Diccionario panhispánico de dudas».

History

Main article: History of the Americas

Map of the first human migrations according to the Out of Africa theory.
■ Homo sapiens
■ Neanderthals
■ Early hominids

Until recent decades the late peopling theory predominated, which holds that human beings arrived in the Americas from Siberia some 12–14 thousand years ago, entering across the Bering land bridge during the Würm glaciations. However, more recently scientists from different fields have questioned the earlier theory with increasing evidence, shaping a new early peopling theory that holds not only a much earlier peopling (probably between 20,000 and 50,000 years BC), but also the use of other routes alternative to Beringia to enter from Siberia, Mongolia and even other places of origin.

In the Americas two Neolithic revolutions took place independently of those that occurred in Africa and Asia; one in Mesoamerica around 8000 BC, and another in the Andean region of South America in 3500 BC. Between 4000 and 3000 BC the great Indo-American linguistic groups were formed.

Maya Ballcourt at Copán, Republic of Honduras.

Important civilizations developed in the Americas, such as Caral (the oldest civilization in the Americas, which developed in the central zone of Peru), the Anasazi, the Pueblo peoples, the Quimbaya, Nazca, Chimú, Chavín, Paracas, Moche, Wari, Lima, Zapotec, Mixtec, Totonac, Toltec, Olmec and Chibcha, and the advanced civilizations corresponding to the empires of Teotihuacan, Tiwanaku, the Maya, the Aztecs and the Incas, among many others.

Viking settlement of L'Anse aux Meadows (Newfoundland, Canada), discovered in 1960 and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Some historians hold that the Viking colonization of the Americas was the first coming from present-day European territory, although there are theories that hold an earlier presence. Erik the Red allegedly established the first colonies in Greenland in the year 985. His son, Leif Erikson, allegedly established colonies in present-day Newfoundland around the year 1000, which eventually disappeared with the passing of the years.

Christopher Columbus takes possession of the island of Guanahani.

From the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the introduction of new diseases such as smallpox produced a demographic catastrophe that some researchers estimate at up to the death of 93% of the population. In that context, some European empires conquered and colonized a part of the continent occupied by already established cultures and civilizations. Spain defeated the great Aztec and Inca civilizations and established its Empire along the entire Pacific coast and the basin of the Río de la Plata, while Portugal would colonize the coastal strip of what is today Brazil. France established some colonies on the Atlantic coastal strip from present-day Canada to northern Brazil. The United Kingdom settled on the eastern coast of North America and in some sectors of the Caribbean coast. Holland and Denmark established colonies on small islands of the Caribbean, and Russia finally conquered the area of Alaska. The Jesuits organized in the region of the Upper Paraná a network of mission-towns, inhabited exclusively by priests and indigenous Guaraní, with the exclusive use of the Guaraní language, enjoying great autonomy, which were regarded as a State within the Spanish Empire.

Spanish and Portuguese Empires in 1790.

It should also be noted that European conquest was rejected in various parts of the continent. Several native peoples successfully resisted European invasions over vast territories and maintained dominion over them until the end of the 19th century. Araucanía, Patagonia, the Pampean plain, Mato Grosso, the Amazon Region and the great prairies of the North American West remained under the dominion of nations such as the Mapuche, Uros, Het, Ranquel, Wichí, Qom, Amazonian peoples, Algonquians, Hopi, Comanche, Inuit, etc.

The diseases introduced by the Europeans, such as smallpox, caused the mass death of the native populations and a demographic collapse that, according to some researchers, exceeded 90% of the total population.

Cave paintings of the Cueva de las Manos, Santa Cruz, Argentina. These cave paintings, dated to 7350 BC, are among the oldest artistic expressions in the Americas.

Republics of peoples of African origin who managed to escape the slavery to which they had been reduced by the Portuguese were also established in South America, such as the Quilombo dos Palmares or the Quilombo de Macaco.

United States Declaration of Independence. It opened the way to the end of colonialism.

After three centuries of colonial rule, the American peoples began to declare their independence, claiming their right to organize themselves as national states, confronting the European powers militarily and thereby opening the worldwide process of decolonization. The first to do so were the British Thirteen Colonies through the American Revolution, which gave rise to the United States of America, in 1776, organizing a new type of society based on novel political concepts such as independence, constitution, federalism and the rights of Man.

In 1804, the slaves of African origin in Haiti rose up against the French colonists, declaring the independence of this country and creating the first modern state with Afro-American rulers.

From 1809 onward, the peoples under the rule of Spain carried out a Spanish American War of Independence, continental in scope, which led, after complex processes, to the emergence of several nations: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. In 1844 and 1898 the process would be completed with the independence of the Dominican Republic and Cuba, respectively.

In 1816, an enormous independent South American state was formed, called Gran Colombia, which covered the territories of present-day Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador and areas of Brazil, Costa Rica, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru. The Republic dissolved in 1830.

In 1822, Brazil was organized as an independent monarchy, the Empire of Brazil, upon the dissolution of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves, until 1889 when the monarchy was abolished to establish a republic. For their part, the United States and Great Britain negotiated in 1867 a process of independence with restrictions for Canada, which was consolidated during the 20th century.

In the second half of the 20th century, owing to the pressure of the decolonization process promoted by the United Nations, several Caribbean peoples obtained their independence from Great Britain: Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago. At the same time, Suriname became independent from the Netherlands and Guyana from the United Kingdom. At present, there still exist several peoples and territories under British, French, Dutch and Danish colonial rule.

After their emancipation, the countries of the Americas have followed uneven development. During the 19th century, the United States established itself as a power of world standing and replaced Europe as the dominant power in the region.

The 20th century saw the gap in development between North America and the rest of the continent increase. Thus, while the United States became a world superpower from mid-century, Latin America and the Caribbean became the region with the greatest social inequality in the world, including countries, such as Haiti or Bolivia, that record development indices among the lowest on the planet.

Among the most important political events in the contemporary history of the Americas are the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917), the Cold War (1945–1991), which pitted the United States directly against the Soviet Union and led to a succession of dictatorships in Latin America, and the Cuban Revolution (1959). In the 1960s and 1970s the appearance of rock and roll, as a result of the fusion of Afro-American cultures and its worldwide spread, and of radical youth movements, led to a profound cultural change. From the 1980s the concentration of companies and universities and the technological innovations produced in Silicon Valley in California turned the region into the hub of the Information Society.

Since the end of the 19th century, the countries of the Americas sought to form a system of Pan-American unity, resulting in the creation of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1948. Moreover, since the end of the 20th century, the countries of the Americas have intensified efforts to integrate subregionally in various bodies such as UNASUR, Mercosur (Southern Common Market), the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA), Caricom (Caribbean Community) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Physical geography

Main article: Geography of the Americas

Physical map of the Americas (click to see in detail)

The Americas are the second largest landmass on the planet, after Eurasia. They have an approximate area of 42,978,000 km². They extend from north to south from Cape Columbia (87° N, Canada) in the Arctic Ocean to the Diego Ramírez Islands (57° S, Chile), located in the Drake Passage that separates the American continent from Antarctica. Its easternmost point is Cape Branco in Brazil (34° W), while the westernmost is the Commander (Bering) islands in the Aleutian Islands (178° E), next to the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from the Asian continent.

They are composed of three subcontinents, North America, Central America and South America, and an island arc known as the Antilles. According to the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics, what would become North America and South America remained separated for millions of years. After the division of Gondwana and Laurasia, both subcontinents traveled to their present positions, becoming joined by Central America, a land bridge that arose between them through the action of the tectonic plates, which was first an island arc and later became continuous land. The narrowest point of this union is the Isthmus of Panama, formed three million years ago. Another island arc, the Antilles, constitutes a second connection between the subcontinents.

• Subdivisions and geographical zones
• 
  North America:
  Canadian Arctic
  Great Basin
  Great Plains
  Great Lakes
  Sierra Madre Occidental
  Sierra Madre Oriental
  Sierra Madre del Sur
  Mesoamerica
• 
  The Antilles:
  The Bahamas
  Greater Antilles
  Lesser Antilles
• 
  Central America:
  Caribbean Plate
  Cordillera Central
  American Caribbean
• 
  South America:
  South American deserts
  South American Caribbean
  Chocó biogeográfico
  Llanos of the Orinoco
  Amazon Plain
  Andes
  Altiplano
  Gran Chaco
  Guianas
  Pampa
  Southern Cone
  Patagonia
  Cuyo
  La Plata Basin
  Brasília
  Yungas
  Arid Diagonal of South America
  South Atlantic islands

Relief

Angel Falls, located in Canaima National Park in Venezuela, is the highest waterfall in the world.

Yellowstone National Park, located in the western United States, was the first national park created in the world, in 1872.

In American territory, the plates of the Earth's crust (North American, Caribbean and South American), in their displacement from the middle of the Atlantic toward the west, form the mountain chain along the western edge of the Americas as a product of the subduction of the Pacific plate. It is basically composed of a series of high mountain ranges on the western coast (mainly the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Andes, all part of the Ring of Fire), a product of the collision of the continental plates with the oceanic one, and of plains in the eastern zones where the two largest river basins in the world are located: that of the Mississippi River in North America and that of the Amazon River in South America.

The coast, although largely regular, presents fragmented stretches mainly at its extremities, giving rise to the islands of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland in the north, and Chile and Tierra del Fuego in the far south. Other important groups of islands are the Aleutian Islands at the northwestern end, the Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, the Galápagos Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and the Malvinas Islands in the South Atlantic.

Apart from the Brazilian massif and the Guiana Shield, the mountain massif separated from a strip of mountainous relief such as the Andes range, the mountain complex of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, is considered the largest mountain massif in the world located near a coastline; it rises abruptly from the shores of the Caribbean Sea to reach a height of 5,775 meters in its snowy peaks, located only 42 kilometers from it.

Hydrography

Aerial view of Niagara Falls, which connects lakes Ontario and Eire.

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world.

Lake Cocibolca, in Nicaragua, is the largest in Central America and the second largest in Latin America.

Most of the rivers of the Americas flow from the mountain systems of the west and are distributed among the drainages of the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In the Atlantic drainage flow the longest rivers, forming important basins that benefit in every way the inhabitants of those areas.

Lake Osdalia on the Vadalcadar Peninsula

In North America rivers of all three existing drainages can be identified: the Mackenzie River, which flows into the Arctic drainage; the Yukon, Colorado and Columbia rivers are the longest rivers of the Pacific Ocean drainage, while in the Atlantic drainage the Bravo del Norte river, the Mississippi–Missouri system and the Saint Lawrence river stand out. Of all of them the Mississippi stands out as the longest and with the largest basin in this zone of the continent, being the main river of the United States. Among lakes, those of the Great Lakes region stand out, where lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Eire are found. All the above lakes share a lake system of glacial origin, whose waters accumulate mainly owing to winter thaws. These lakes are connected by rivers, canals and locks, flowing into the Atlantic through the Saint Lawrence River.

In Central America, the rivers are short and belong mainly to the Atlantic drainage. These rivers fulfill several functions, even serving as borders; such is the case of the Segovia or Coco river (between Honduras and Nicaragua), the Lempa river (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras) and the San Juan river (between Costa Rica and Nicaragua). In this zone, the lakes are also smaller in extent, notably lakes Nicaragua, Managua and Gatún, the latter man-made and located in the Panama Canal, to which it provides the water needed for ships to overcome the differences in level.

In South America, the Pacific drainage reappears, even though the rivers of the Atlantic drainage are longer and more important. In the southern part of the continent the Orinoco river, the Paraná–Río de la Plata system and the Amazon stand out. The Amazon River is the river with the greatest flow and the longest in the world, and forms the largest drainage basin on the planet. Among the most important lakes of South America are Lake Maracaibo, Titicaca, Poopó and Buenos Aires/General Carrera.

The Guarani Aquifer is the groundwater reserve with the largest surface area on the entire planet, located in large territorial portions of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Longest rivers of the Americas

River	Length (km)	Countries crossed
Amazon	6968	Peru,  Brazil,  Colombia
Mississippi–Missouri	6019	United States
Mackenzie	4240	Canada
Paraná	4030	Argentina,  Brazil,  Paraguay
Purús	3590	Peru,  Brazil
Madeira	3239	Bolivia,  Brazil
San Francisco	3201	Brazil
Yukon	3185	Canada,  United States
Bravo del Norte or Grande	3034	Mexico,  United States
Paraguay	2860	Argentina,  Bolivia,  Brazil,  Paraguay
Saskatchewan	2576	Canada
Colorado	2334	United States,  Mexico
Orinoco	2150	Venezuela,  Colombia
Mamoré	2002	Bolivia
Columbia	1953	Canada,  United States
Ucayali	1900	Peru
Xingu River	1870	Brazil
Putumayo	1820	Colombia,  Ecuador,  Peru,  Brazil
Uruguay	1780	Argentina,  Brazil,  Uruguay
Marañón	1730	Peru
Pilcomayo	1690	Argentina,  Bolivia,  Paraguay
Magdalena	1543	Colombia
Bermejo	1456	Argentina,  Bolivia
Cauca	1350	Colombia
Usumacinta	1203	Guatemala,  Mexico

Flora and fauna

The flora and fauna of the Americas are very varied and diverse because of their great territorial extent and their diverse ecosystems, climates and biodiversity, making it the continent with the greatest biodiversity on the planet.

North America

As for the flora of North America, the area in which the United States, Canada and Mexico are located, we can find pine, mahogany, cedar, conifer, cactus, agave; in short, more than 17,000 species of vascular plants and more than 1,800 species of flowering plants.

As regards the fauna of North America, this continent has great diversity: it has more than 400 species of mammals, almost 1,000 species of birds, more than 500 species of reptiles and amphibians and some 100,000 species of insects. Worth noting are bears, eagles, turkeys, seals, American bison, wolves, snakes, among others.

Continental Central America

In Central America, the flora is represented by species from North America and South America, in addition to species endemic and exclusive to the territory, with more than 44,000 species of plants; its main species represented in the flora are Annona macroprophyllata, Gliricidia sepium, Mammea americana, Manilkara zapota, Pithecellobium dulce, Myrciaria floribunda, pines, mahogany, avocado, guava, tamarind, palm trees, bananas (guineos), cherry, pineapples, Couma macrocarpa, Lepanthes guatemalensis and Tithonia rotundifolia.

The fauna of Central America has large numbers of mammals, which are most common in Guatemala (230 species), Panama (229 species), Nicaragua (225 species), Costa Rica (211 species), El Salvador (210 species) and Honduras (207 species). Mainly found are deer, jaguars, pumas, hummingbirds, torogoz, quetzals (the symbol bird of Guatemala), zopilotes, tapirs and macaws. The most common animals in Central America are the Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), the green frog (Agalychnis callidryas), the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), the black howler monkey (Alouatta palliata), the jaguar, the tapir, the anteater, the harpy eagle (Harpya harpija), the puma and the tapir.

The Caribbean or the Antilles

In the Caribbean Sea are located the Island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), Cuba, the Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Saint Martin and other islands. As for the flora of the Caribbean, there are species of trees and plants exceeding 13,000 different species, of which 6,500 are endemic to the area; the best known are Olea europaea, Chrysophyllum cainito, the guayacán, the ceiba, and mahogany (National Tree of the Dominican Republic). Originally Cuba was covered with dense vegetation, which has been degraded to develop agriculture. Nevertheless there are many programs for the care and maintenance of these forests, which harbor great diversity. Cuba's precious woods are highly prized.

The fauna of the Caribbean or the Antilles is composed of 450 species of fish, 600 species of birds, 500 species of reptiles, 170 species of amphibians and 90 species of mammals. The best known are the barracuda, the grouper, the moray eel, the todies, the mangrove canary and the green heron, the Puerto Rican amazon, the yacutinga and the plain pigeon, the green iguana and the blue iguana, the Mona iguana, the rhinoceros iguana, the hawksbill, the golden coquí, the dolphin, the manatee, the almiquí (endemic to the Antilles) and various species of bats, and the humpback whale as a migratory species. Other species such as the Caribbean monk seal of the Caribbean have become extinct in recent centuries through the direct action of man.

South America

In the southern zone of the Americas lie the Andes and the Coast, the Sierra de Perijá and the Guiana massif within the basin of the Orinoco River, the Amazon and the Gran Chaco. This zone of the continent is extremely rich in flora, with dry, tropical, temperate, arid and humid forests. The best known species in South America are the alerce, the cordilleran cypress, the Guaitecas cypress, the huililahuán, the lleuque, Saxegothaea, and the araucaria, Nothofagus, among them the coigüe, the lenga and the ñire, the spruce, the cypress, the pine, the ceiba, the yagrumo, the guamo, the caobo, lianas (bejucos), species of bromeliads and other epiphytes. In all there are more than 44,000 different species of plants.

In the Andean zones of the north of the subcontinent (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela) there are also páramo zones that harbor native plant species unique in the world (such as the frailejón, also known as Espeletia), bromeliads, cryptogams, shrubs such as the sietecueros, ferns and others, which favor the formation of bodies of water, such as lakes and lagoons, which serve as rich water sources and feed basins and rivers as important as that of the Orinoco and the Amazon.

South America is home to species such as penguins, the red fox, the hornero, the flamingo, the southern right whale, the yaguareté, the puma, the toucan, Otaria flavescens, the Andean condor, capybaras (chigüires), anteaters, báquiros, the giant otter, rattlesnakes, the cuaima-piña, as well as iguanas, the morrocoy, toninas, large reptiles such as the green anaconda, the Orinoco crocodile, the spectacled caiman, other mammals such as the manatee, the Amazonian manatee, the spectacled bear, the ocelot, the bush dog, foxes, tapirs, sloths, opossums, armadillos and deer.

Climate

Because of their considerable extent from north to south and east to west, the Americas have almost all existing climates. Between the coasts of Mexico, western Nicaragua and southern Brazil, a warm climate develops on the coastal plains and mountain slopes. The rainy intertropical climate and the jungle are characteristic of much of Central America, of the Amazon plain and of the Caribbean islands, while on the Atlantic coast of Colombia, Venezuela and Guyana a zone of savanna develops.

In the subtropical zones near latitude 30° lie arid zones of desert character such as the Sonoran Desert (southern United States and northern Mexico) and the Atacama (in northern Chile), while in Patagonia a cold desert climate develops.

The temperate climate extends over the middle latitudes and the mountain slopes, mainly on the Atlantic side. The temperate climate with rain throughout the year extends over the coastal strips of Canada, Alaska and southern Chile, producing zones of mixed forest, while the temperate climate with summer rains is the most widespread climate on the continent, mainly in the southeastern portion of the United States, central Mexico and southeastern Brazil. The Mediterranean climate is found in California and the Chilean Central Valley, generating a type of vegetation known as chaparral.

Lastly, cold climates extend along the extremities of the continent near the poles, especially in North America. The tundra is found throughout much of Alaska and Canada, and in the far south of South America; through the effect of altitude, in the Andean Puna and much of the mountainous zones. Finally, the polar climate is found in Greenland, and the cold climate due to altitude in the mountainous zones of the Rockies and the Andes.

• 
  Miramar Lagoon in the Lacandon Jungle in Chiapas, Mexico
• 
  The Amazon rainforest. Example of a humid tropical climate
• 
  Río Plátano, the most extensive tropical forest in Central America
• 
  The heritage city of Valparaíso, located in a place with a Mediterranean climate
• 
  The Janos Biosphere Reserve, in Mexico, is an example of a semi-arid climate
• 
  Winter in Yellowstone National Park in the United States

Human geography

Main articles: Latin America and Anglo-America

On the basis of its cultural and economic characteristics, the continent can be divided into Anglo-America and Latin America.

Anglo-America, located to the north, is made up of two large countries: the United States and Canada. In them mainly the English language is spoken and Protestant religions are mostly professed, with the exception of some French-speaking and Catholic regions in Canada. Both have a high percentage of urban population. In the economic sphere they are countries with high values of total gross domestic product and per inhabitant, an early industrialized economy and a very high Human Development Index (among the 10 highest in the world). Greenland, linked to Denmark, of also Germanic language, which shares some of the characteristics mentioned, can be included in this zone.

Latin America, located to the south, with countries where mainly Castilian and Portuguese are spoken and the Catholic religion is mostly professed. It has higher percentages of rural population than the U.S. and Canada. In its economies the primary or extractive sector (agriculture, livestock, etc.) carries greater weight. Most of the countries are scarcely industrialized or only recently industrialized, except in the cases of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, with a thriving and developing industry compared with the rest of the countries of the zone, lower GDP per capita values and lower human development indices (some countries with very low indices).

The placement of the small countries and dependencies of non-Latin language and tradition in the Caribbean and the tropical zone is a matter under discussion. Because of their linguistic and cultural characteristics, countries such as the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other countries of the Lesser Antilles can be included in Anglo-America. However, there is the possibility of incorporating the Caribbean into the concept of Latin America because of their common historical relations and similar forms of cultural development. This would include the English and Dutch Caribbean. These countries and dependencies share the economic reality of the rest of Latin America. By this last criterion there would be a clear boundary between the two Americas, which would be the border between the U.S. and Mexico and the Straits of Florida that separate the U.S. from Cuba.

Demography

It is the third most populous continent after Asia and Africa; it is also one of the least densely populated, owing to its great area. Three quarters of the population live in cities.

Characteristics of the population

The population in the Americas varies according to living conditions. Most of the inhabitants of Latin America are young people between 15 and 24 years of age, and life expectancy varies between 70 and 80 years of age. In addition, more than half the population in most countries is rural. Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Puerto Rico are the countries of Latin America with a relatively aged demographic structure, since the population aged 60 or over is close to, equal to or greater than 13%. In countries such as Bolivia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic, there is a larger youth population, with young people between 15 and 25 years of age predominating. Meanwhile in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, most of their inhabitants are also young, although in recent decades a progressive aging of the population related to the decline in the birth rate has been experienced. The same occurs in the overseas departments of Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Martinique (belonging to France) and in non-Latin countries such as the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago, including the European dependencies such as the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, etc. In the United States and Canada most of their inhabitants are adults, outnumbering the youth population, resembling the process that occurred in Europe.

Gender diversity

In the Americas there is a positive balance between men and women, with the rate of women being 3 or 5% higher than that of men in most countries. As for sexual orientation, with the exceptions of Canada, Uruguay, Argentina and Costa Rica, the population of the rest of the countries is almost entirely heterosexual; however, regarding its acceptance, the Americas present a panorama of opinions and points of view that differ from some countries to others. For example, in many of the countries of the Antilles, including Belize, Suriname and Guyana, policies are applied under which homosexuals are sentenced to prison; the only exception is Puerto Rico, which is among the most liberal and favorable countries in that respect; also in some overseas dependencies and in the Dominican Republic homosexuality is legal, although the latter has no laws protecting them. In the case of Latin America, sexual diversity is legal in all countries, although on the one hand, in Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Bolivia, El Salvador, Paraguay and Honduras there are still homophobic attitudes and it is still considered a taboo subject, mainly in the latter, while on the other hand in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela there is greater acceptance of homosexuality, mainly in the former. At the continental level, Canada and the northern region of the United States (where the states are more liberal) have the greatest diversity of sexual orientation and acceptance of it. At present, same-sex marriage is legal in Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, the United States, Ecuador and Colombia, including some states of Mexico.

Ethnography

The American population consists of approximately one billion inhabitants, descendants of three large ethnic groups, as well as of the mixing among them: Amerindians and Eskimos (who were the autochthonous inhabitants of the Americas); Europeans (of Spanish, Portuguese, British, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Danish, Slavic and Irish origin, who total approximately 573 million people, equivalent to slightly more than 50% of the American population) and sub-Saharan Africans descended from slaves. There are also descendants of other, more recent immigrants, above all Asians, both from the Middle East and from the Far East.

While it is true that, to a greater or lesser extent, all the countries of the continent have European ancestry, it is the majority in countries such as Uruguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, the United States, Canada, Chile and Brazil. In some of these countries, whose inhabitants phenotypically have predominantly European features, it has been observed through genetic testing that they have small percentages of Amerindian and African blood. Racial problems in the Americas have been declining throughout history, especially in legal form, since slavery has been totally abolished in all countries. Nevertheless, there is racism toward minorities of Amerindian, African or Asian origin in several countries with predominantly white populations.

On the other hand, the countries where the majority population is of mixed or mestizo ancestry (between Europeans and indigenous people and to a lesser extent African) would be Paraguay, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia; in the case of Mexico and Honduras the Hispanicized indigenous population or that of predominantly indigenous ancestry is usually counted as mestizo. In Venezuela the mestizo population is almost half of that country; in other countries such as Belize, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Guatemala, Chile and Bolivia mestizos reach two fifths of the population of those countries.

The countries where the percentage of Amerindians has an important influence on the population are, from highest to lowest, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador and Mexico. In recent studies of the indigenous population, it has also been observed through genetic testing that they have small percentages of European and African blood. In nations such as Uruguay, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti there are almost no native indigenous groups today: the indigenous contribution was absorbed by the ethnic majority of each country when the mother tongue was lost. For its part, the African contribution is most strongly present in Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, the United States and Ecuador. Meanwhile, in countries such as Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay and Argentina the African contribution was absorbed by the ethnic majority of each country, although they keep important minorities.

Languages

Most spoken and most important languages of the Americas

The total number of languages of the Americas far exceeds five hundred, counting languages, dialects and patois. The main languages are those established by the European colonizers, followed by the languages of the main Amerindian cultures.

• Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people, concentrated mainly in Mexico, Central America and South America. There are also important Spanish-speaking communities in the United States, Canada and to a small extent in Brazil and some Caribbean islands. (See geographical distribution of the Spanish language).
• English is spoken as a mother tongue by more than 350 million people. It is the most spoken language in the United States, Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and other former British colonies or dependencies in the Lesser Antilles and the South Atlantic. It is official in Belize (spoken by only 3% of the population, since 50% of it is Spanish-speaking) and in Puerto Rico, where it is present as a second official language.
• French is spoken in the Americas by more than 20 million francophones (fewer than in Europe or Africa but distributed across the three Americas). In North America it is spoken in Canada, where it is an official language, spoken mainly in the provinces of Quebec (where it is the majority language) and New Brunswick; on the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, where it is also an official language (a French territorial collectivity); and in part of the United States (the States of Maine and Louisiana). In the region of Central America and the Caribbean: it is official in Haiti and on several islands of the Lesser Antilles, such as the French departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and on the islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy (French territorial collectivities), and it is also spoken in Dominica and Saint Lucia. In South America: it is official in the French department of French Guiana.
• Portuguese in the Americas is the official language only of Brazil, with a total of more than 200 million speakers. There are important colonies of Brazilian and Portuguese immigrants in the United States, Canada and Venezuela, although very much in the minority.
• Quechua is the most widely spoken indigenous language, with more than twelve million people. It is also the most "international" of the native American languages, since it is spoken in half a dozen countries. It is official in Bolivia and in Peru, in the zones where this language predominates. It is also spoken by a considerable minority in Ecuador, southern Colombia, all of northern Argentina and northern Chile.
• Together with Quechua, Aymara is also official in Bolivia, while in Peru it is so only where it prevails. Likewise, Aymara is the first language of 18% of the population of Bolivia, and it is the main Amerindian language of southern Peru and northern Chile. There are also speakers of this language in northern Argentina.
• Creole is a creole language based mainly on French, which is spoken in Haiti. In the United States, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos there is a considerable number of Haitian immigrants who speak it.
• Guaraní is spoken by more than seven million people, mainly in Paraguay, where it is an official language.
• Various native languages are spoken in the area of Mesoamerica, such as Nahuatl (spoken by 1.5 million people in Mexico), K'iche' (spoken by 1.8 million people in Guatemala and Mexico), the Mayan languages (spoken altogether by five million people in Mexico and Central America), Zapotec (spoken in Oaxaca by some 800 thousand people, above all of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, including many of European and Arab origin), Mixtec (spoken in Oaxaca and Guerrero by more than 500 thousand people) and Purépecha (which is spoken in Michoacán and is the language isolate with the largest number of speakers in Mexico, as well as having been the language of the ancient Tarascan Empire), among others.
• Dutch is spoken in Suriname and is an official language on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba.
• In the territory of Greenland, Greenlandic is official.

Some other languages have an important demographic weight without being official, among them:

• Mapudungun is the native language spoken by about 440 thousand Mapuche in Chile and Argentina.
• Wayuu or Guajiro is an indigenous language spoken by slightly more than 400 thousand people in Colombia and Venezuela.
• Papiamento is a creole language spoken on the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
• Various languages, such as German and Italian, are still spoken by the immigrants who arrived in the Americas during the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century. German is spoken predominantly in the Southern Region of Brazil, southern Chile and in some regions of Argentina, Peru, Paraguay, Mexico and Venezuela, among others. Low German is spoken in Paraguay, Mexico, the United States, Argentina, Canada, Belize and Bolivia. Italian is spoken in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico and Ecuador.
• Venetian is spoken mainly in Mexico and Brazil.
• Portuguese is spoken in Venezuela by the large Portuguese colony distributed throughout the length and breadth of the country (Venezuela has the third largest Portuguese colony in the world). It is also spoken on the borders of the countries bordering Brazil. The mixture of the Spanish and Portuguese languages gives rise to the variant called Portuñol.
• Japanese is spoken, to a greater degree, in the United States, Brazil and Peru, which are the countries that host the largest number of Japanese immigrants, although it is also spoken in countries with small Japanese colonies.
• Chinese is spoken mainly in Peru, the United States, Canada, Panama and Venezuela (which are the countries with the largest number of immigrants) and, to a lesser extent, in other countries of the continent, such as Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Argentina.
• Welsh is spoken in the Patagonian Argentine province of Chubut.
• Croatian is spoken in Chile by the large community of immigrants who live in the regions of Antofagasta and Magallanes.
• The auxiliary language Esperanto is spoken by some 300 thousand people in countries throughout the continent, with notable concentrations in Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, the United States, Canada and Cuba.

In the Americas, the languages most studied as a second language are English, in the Spanish-speaking and French-speaking countries, and Spanish and French, in the English-speaking countries.

Religion

Historically, before the arrival of European colonization, the entire population was polytheistic, with important rituals of Maya, Quechua, Aztec, Olmec origin, etc. With the arrival of the Europeans, Christianity was introduced into the Americas, while pre-Columbian paganism gradually disappeared; small practicing minorities still exist in countries such as Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Guatemala. Nevertheless, as the Europeans brought African slaves, other pagan rituals were incorporated, such as Santería, voodoo, etc., which have a strong presence in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia and Panama. Since the last decades of the 19th century most countries have had no official religion.

Today, Christianity is the majority religion in all the countries of the American continent, but with different manifestations. The main religion within Christianity and within the whole religious context of the Americas is Catholicism. Historically, the Catholic countries have been those of Latin America and the Caribbean, while Anglo-America was Protestant. However, in Canada, despite its being a self-described "Anglo-Saxon" country, the Catholic religion is the majority in percentage terms. From highest to lowest, the countries where Catholicism is professed by more than 60% of the population would be Paraguay, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru (with more than 80%), Bolivia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Colombia and Panama (with more than 70%), the Dominican Republic, Brazil and Costa Rica (with more than 60%); the countries where 50–59% of the population is Catholic would be, from highest to lowest, Nicaragua, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti, while the countries where it is the largest belief but held by less than 50% would be Guatemala, Cuba, Uruguay, Belize and Canada. In the case of the United States, the Catholic population represents a quarter of the population of that country.

The second largest Christian group is Protestantism, and it is the majority religion in the United States, Jamaica and Guyana. In the United States the southwestern states belong to the Baptist Church, while New England belongs to the Anglican Church, the states of North Dakota and South Dakota to the Methodist Church, and the northwest has a presence of Neo-Pentecostal Churches. Canada was in earlier decades a Protestant country for the first half of the 20th century, although Catholicism regained momentum in the 1960s, becoming once again a Catholic country as it had been in the 19th century. However, Protestantism in that country represents almost 30%. In the case of Latin America, the Protestant population is a minority, although it is growing and gaining strength in those countries. For example, Guatemala has 40% Protestants, followed by Honduras with 35%, Belize 33.2% and El Salvador 30% (countries with more than 30% Protestants), while the countries exceeding 20% would be Nicaragua 26.5%, Puerto Rico 24%, Haiti 23%, Brazil 22.2% and Colombia 21%; on the contrary, the least Protestant countries are Argentina with 9%, Paraguay 8%, Mexico 7.4%, Ecuador 6% and Cuba 5%.

In countries such as Brazil, Haiti, Colombia, Cuba and Panama the rituals of voodoo and Santería are often mixed with Catholicism, just as in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia indigenous rituals are mixed with Catholicism, each being called a religious syncretism. It is worth mentioning that secularization has advanced in society, mainly in the most developed countries of the region or those with high democracy. The countries where the population declaring itself atheist or agnostic is above 40% are Cuba 45% and Uruguay 40.5%; in Canada about 30.7% declare themselves without religion, while in Chile they are almost a quarter of that country. Another country where there is a notable increase in the number of atheists or non-believers is the United States with 18%, closely followed by Argentina, where a national survey (CONICET) says that 15% have no religion, being the second largest group after Catholics. In contrast, the countries where almost all the population (above 95%) is religious are Paraguay 98%, Puerto Rico 97%, Haiti 96%, Bolivia 96%, Ecuador 95.5% and Peru 94.9%. Owing to immigration from the Middle East and East Asia, there are minorities practicing Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism, the Baháʼí Faith, among other religions.

Political geography

Main article: Political divisions of the Americas

Politically, the Americas are divided into 35 independent countries and 23 dependencies of European countries (Denmark, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands) and of the United States. In addition there are 4 territories integrated into France and which are therefore part of the European Union. The American states were born at the end of the 18th century (the United States) and the beginning of the 19th (Ibero-America and Haiti) as a result of the warlike process of decolonization from powers such as the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Portugal. Finally, the Caribbean territory achieved independence between the end of the 19th century (Cuba and the Dominican Republic) and the 20th century (the rest of the Caribbean islands).

International and regional organizations

Euler diagram with the intergovernmental relations in South America (in Portuguese)

The American states are integrated into the UN, almost all of them (except some Caribbean states) being founding members of that organization. In the economic sphere the American states are members of the International Monetary Fund, except Cuba, and of the World Trade Organization, although the Bahamas has observer country status. Ecuador (1973–1992, readmitted in 2007) and Venezuela (1960) are part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

In matters of justice and security all the American countries are integrated into INTERPOL. In the case of international Justice, three countries (the United States, Nicaragua and Cuba) have neither signed nor ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, while three (the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Jamaica) are signatories that have not yet ratified it. The rest of the countries accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to judge cases of crimes against humanity.

In the case of the Non-Aligned Movement (1961), 26 American nations are part of this organization in favor of neutrality.

As transcontinental organizations between the Americas and Europe we find the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (1975) to promote democracy, human rights, arms control and security, and also the military organization NATO (1949); in both cases the American member countries are Canada and the United States. There are other organizations of a transcontinental type such as the OECD in 1961 (American, European and Asian countries), which countries such as the United States and Canada (1961), Mexico (1994) and recently Chile (2010) joined, or the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (1989), which brings together the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile for the Americas. Likewise, in this transcontinental sphere the Colombo Plan (1950) stands out, to promote the economic and social development of 27 countries (the United States).

During the Cold War (1986) the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone was created, under the auspices of the United Nations, with the aim of maintaining security and peace in the South Atlantic; thus, on the initiative of Brazil, 3 South American states (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay) and 21 more African states joined.

In 1975 the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) was created to fight poverty, through several agreements (the most recent the Cotonou Agreement of the year 2000), together with the European Union, which works through the European Development Fund. All the states of the Caribbean Community plus the Dominican Republic and Cuba are part of this organization. The European Union works through the signing of economic agreements with CARIFORUM, excepting Cuba.

At the regional level, the American states are grouped in the Organization of American States (1948) with the aim of being a political forum for decision-making, multilateral dialogue and the integration of the Americas. Cuba was expelled from the organization in 1962, after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution; in 2009 it was readmitted.

In the economic sphere there are two important regional financial institutions: on the one hand the Inter-American Development Bank (1950) and on the other the Caribbean Development Bank (1969).

The Americas are characterized by multiple regional bodies seeking economic, social and political integration; the problem lies in the fact that many of these bodies end up overlapping in the activities they carry out and in the objectives they pursue:

CELAC (2010) stands out, which promotes the integration and development of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, acting as an international interlocutor in their relations with the European Union at the CELAC-EU Summits. The continent also has the Latin American Integration Association (South America plus Mexico and Cuba), founded in 1980 with the aim of creating a common market; the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (1975), to coordinate a common economic policy vis-à-vis other international bodies. In 1964 the Latin American Parliament was created to represent all the democratic political tendencies of the continent; it is composed of all the states except the Caribbean states (except Cuba and the Dominican Republic, which are part of it), the United States, Canada and Guyana.

There are also two organizations that oppose each other both in their guiding economic principles and in their political principles. On the one hand there is the Pacific Alliance (2011), formed by Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia, which seek the rule of law, democracy, constitutional order and the free market. In contrast there is the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), which is an international organization founded in 2004 and formed by countries of Latin America and the Caribbean that emphasizes the fight against poverty and social exclusion on the basis of left-wing doctrines. Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are part of this organization.

In the Americas we can speak of several regional groups according to geographical area. In North America there is the North American Free Trade Agreement (1994) among the three most important states of the zone: Canada, the United States and Mexico. In Central America there is an important development of integration with the Organization of Central American States (1951), which was expanded to the Central American Common Market (1960) and the Central American Integration System (1993), including the Dominican Republic, with mechanisms such as the Central American Parliament (1986).

The Caribbean area is centralized by the Caribbean Community (1973), which encompasses 15 Caribbean nations whose objective is to promote the creation of a single market and cooperation with other neighboring states. There is also an Association of Caribbean States (1994), to which the 31 coastal states belong, with the aim of promoting economic integration, the natural conservation of the Caribbean and the development of its members. Finally there is the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (1981), integrating several Antillean countries that share the Eastern Caribbean dollar. In South America mainly Unasur (2011) stands out, which seeks to achieve in South America an integration similar to that achieved in Europe, and which encompasses all the South American states. There is also Mercosur (1991), with the aim of creating a common tariff and a free trade zone among its members: Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela (suspended in 2016). Likewise, there is the Andean Community (1969), which encompasses countries with Andean cultural ties (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) and seeks to coordinate economic and social policies.

Finally we can speak of organizations that share cultural affinities such as the Organization of Ibero-American States (1949), which encompasses the Ibero-American countries plus Spain and Portugal. The relationship of this "Ibero-American Community of Nations" is defined by the Ibero-American Summits held annually since 1991 (since 2014 they are biennial), or of sustainable development such as the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (1995).

Sovereign states

Flag	Name/Official name	Established	Area (km²)	Population	Density	Capital	Official language(s)
	Antigua and Barbuda	1981	442	95,581	211.7	Saint John's	en
	Argentina Argentine Republic	1816	2,780,400	43,886,748	15.7	Buenos Aires	es
	Bahamas Commonwealth of the Bahamas	1973	13,880	328,316	23.5	Nassau	en
	Barbados	1966	430	292,495	667.8	Bridgetown	en
	Belize	1981	22,966	356,858	15.4	Belmopan	en
	Bolivia Plurinational State of Bolivia	1825	1,098,581	11,969,649	9.9	Sucre	es/ay/qu
	Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil	1822	8,514,877	206,823,665	24.1	Brasília	pt
	Canada	1867	9,984,670	37,411,590	3.5	Ottawa	en/fr
	Chile Republic of Chile	1818	756,102	18,650,114	23.3	Santiago	es
	Colombia Republic of Colombia	1810	1,141,748	49,220,856	41.3	Bogotá	es
	Costa Rica Republic of Costa Rica	1838	51,100	6,172,543	95.3	San José	es
	Cuba Republic of Cuba	1902	110,860	12,179,995	100.8	Havana	es
	Dominica Commonwealth of Dominica	1978	751	74,757	98.2	Roseau	en
	Ecuador Republic of Ecuador	1830	283,561	17,080,778	56.7	Quito	es/qu
	El Salvador Republic of El Salvador	1841	21,041	9,156,670	292.6	San Salvador	es
	United States United States of America	1776	9,371,174	324,995,528	34.5	Washington, D.C.	en
	Grenada	1974	344	111,229	323.3	St. George's	en
	Guatemala Republic of Guatemala	1840	108,889	15,289,958	139.4	Guatemala City	es
	Guyana Co-operative Republic of Guyana	1966	214,969	1,035,909	3.42	Georgetown	en
	Haiti Republic of Haiti	1804	27,750	11,485,800	377.8	Port-au-Prince	ht/fr
	Honduras Republic of Honduras	1838	112,492	8,893,259	79.0	Tegucigalpa	es
	Jamaica	1962	10,991	3,070,340	270.2	Kingston	en/jam
	Mexico United Mexican States	1821	1,964,375	123,166,749	62.7	Mexico City	es/n/a
	Nicaragua Republic of Nicaragua	1838	130,370	7,366,798	45.7	Managua	es
	Panama Republic of Panama	1903	75,420	5,005,246	49.1	Panama City	es
	Paraguay Republic of Paraguay	1811	406,752	7,162,812	16.8	Asunción	es/gn
	Peru Republic of Peru	1821	1,285,216	32,741,062	23.9	Lima	es/ay/qu
	Dominican Republic	1865	48,670	12,606,865	217.9	Santo Domingo	es
	Saint Kitts and Nevis Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis	1983	261	53,329	200.4	Basseterre	en
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1979	389	106,350	263.11	Kingstown	en
	Saint Lucia	1979	616	167,464	226.9	Castries	en
	Suriname Republic of Suriname	1975	163,820	595,824	3.57	Paramaribo	nl
	Trinidad and Tobago Republic of Trinidad and Tobago	1962	5,128	1,320,479	238.0	Port of Spain	en
	Uruguay Oriental Republic of Uruguay	1828	176,215	4,001,016	19.0	Montevideo	es
	Venezuela Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela	1811	916,445	31,002,302	33.7	Caracas	es
		Total	39801695	1003830249	24.4

Area and population data consulted in The World factbook updated June 1, 2016.

Dependencies

The territories listed here depend on another nation in areas such as defense, foreign relations or trade. The territories dependent on countries of the European Union are classified as Overseas countries and territories, which are not part of the Union but have a status of association with the member States since the Treaty of Lisbon.

Flag	Name/Official name	Status	State	Area (km²)	Population	Density	Capital	Official language(s)
	Anguilla Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	91	16,752	184.0	The Valley	en
	Aruba Constituent country	1986	Netherlands	180	113,648	631.3	Oranjestad	nl/n/a
	Bermuda Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	54	70,537	1306.2	Hamilton	en
	Bonaire Special municipality	2010	Netherlands	288	18,905	65.6	Kralendijk	nl/n/a
	Clipperton Island	1931	France	6	0	0	-	-
	Curaçao Constituent country	2010	Netherlands	444	154,843	348.7	Willemstad	nl/n/a
	Greenland Autonomous region	2009	Denmark	2,166,086	61,100	0.02	Nuuk	kl
	Cayman Islands Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	264	57,268	216.9	George Town	en
	South Georgia Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	3,903	40	0.01	King Edward Point	en
	Malvinas Islands Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	12,173	2,931	0.24	Puerto Argentino/Stanley	en
	Turks and Caicos Islands Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	948	51,430	54.2	Cockburn Town	en
	British Virgin Islands Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	151	34,232	226.7	Road Town	en
	Virgin Islands (U.S.) Unincorporated territory	1917	United States	346	102,951	297.5	Charlotte Amalie	en
	Montserrat Overseas territory	2002	United Kingdom	102	5,267	51.6	Brades	en
	Navassa Island Unincorporated territory	1857	United States	5.4	0	0	-	-
	Puerto Rico Commonwealth	1952	United States	8,870	3,578,056	403.3	San Juan	es/en
	Saba Special municipality	2010	Netherlands	13	1,424	109.5	The Bottom	nl
	Saint Barthélemy Overseas collectivity	2007	France	25	9,131	365.2	Gustavia	fr
	Sint Eustatius Special municipality	2010	Netherlands	21	3,300	154.1	Oranjestad	nl
	Saint Pierre and Miquelon Overseas collectivity	2003	France	242	6,069	25.0	Saint-Pierre	fr
	Sint Maarten Constituent country	2010	Netherlands	34	35,035	1030.4	Philipsburg	nl
			Total	2288105	5435501	2.3

Area and population data consulted in The World factbook updated June 1, 2016.

American territories integrated into non-American states

The territories assigned to this group belong to the Outermost regions of the European Union as an indivisible part of a state of the European Union.

Flag	Name/Official name	Status	State	Area (km²)	Population	Inhabitants per square kilometer	Capital	Official language(s)
France
	Guadeloupe Overseas department	1946	France	1,706	403,314	236.4	Basse-Terre	fr
	French Guiana Overseas department	1946	France	91,000	259,109	2.8	Cayenne	fr
	Martinique Overseas department	1946	France	1,100	413,417	375.8	Fort-de-France	fr
	Saint Martin Overseas collectivity	2007	France	53	35,742	674.3	Marigot	fr

Area and population data consulted in The World factbook updated June 1, 2016.

Economy

Economic position by country

Rank	Country	Development	World rank	Change *
1	United States	High	1	0 ▬
2	Brazil	High	8	-2 ▼
3	Canada	High	10	+1 ▲
4	Mexico	High	11	+3 ▲
5	Chile	High	15	+7 ▲
6	Argentina	High	23	-5 ▼
7	Colombia	High	29	+1 ▲
8	Panama	High	33	+9 ▲
9	Peru	High-medium	36	+4 ▲
10	Uruguay	High-medium	38	0 ▬
11	Dominican Republic	High-medium	41	+2 ▲
12	Puerto Rico	High-medium	44	-4 ▼
13	Costa Rica	High-medium	47	+2 ▲
14	Venezuela	Medium-high	51	-14 ▼
15	Ecuador	Medium-high	55	-3 ▼
16	Guatemala	Medium-high	63	+4 ▲
17	Barbados	Medium-high	66	+2 ▲
18	Bolivia	Medium-high	68	+3 ▲
19	El Salvador	Medium-high	69	+5 ▲
20	Paraguay	Medium-high	71	+4 ▲
21	Trinidad and Tobago	Medium-high	72	0 ▬
22	Belize	Medium-high	73	+6 ▲
23	Honduras	Medium	80	+2 ▲
24	Nicaragua	Medium	87	+7 ▲
25	Grenada	Medium	90	+8 ▲
26	Guyana	Medium	92	+1 ▲
27	Cuba	Medium-low	107	0 ▬
28	Dominica	Medium-low	118	+3 ▲
29	Suriname	Medium-low	128	-2 ▼
30	Haiti	Low	184	+3 ▲

Ranking made by the World Bank.

* between 2011 and 2016.

Countries by GDP (PPP)2017

Countries by GDP (PPP) per capita2017

Rank Country Millions of USD 1  United States 19,362,129 2  Brazil 3,219,129 3  Mexico 2.406.87 4  Canada 1,763,785 5  Argentina 912,816 6  Colombia 720,156 7  Chile 455,941 8  Peru 429,711 9  Venezuela 404,109 10  Ecuador 183,358 11  Dominican Republic 149,692 12  Cuba 128,500 13  Guatemala 125,862 14  Panama 87,196 15  Costa Rica 74,888 16  Bolivia 74,391 17  Uruguay 73,463 18  Paraguay 60,977 19  El Salvador 52,947 20  Trinidad and Tobago 44,306 21  Honduras 41,057 22  Nicaragua 31,333 23  Jamaica 24,647 24  Haiti 18,745 25  Bahamas 9,166 26  Suriname 9,090 27  Guyana 5,759 28  Barbados 4,636 29  Belize 3,049 30  Antigua and Barbuda 2,097 31  Saint Lucia 2,030 32  Grenada 1,401 33  Saint Kitts and Nevis 1,379 34  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1,205 35  Dominica 763

Rank Country USD 1  United States 59,485 2  Canada 48,141 3  Trinidad and Tobago 31,154 4  Saint Kitts and Nevis 26,849 5  Bahamas 25,080 6  Antigua and Barbuda 23,523 7  Chile 24,588 8  Panama 24,262 9  Uruguay 22,445 10  Argentina 20,677 11  Mexico 19,480 12  Barbados 17,508 13  Costa Rica 17,149 14  Dominican Republic 16,965 15  Brazil 15,500 16  Grenada 14,779 17  Colombia 15,023 18  Suriname 13,876 19  Peru 13,342 20  Venezuela 12,388 21  Saint Lucia 11,710 22  Ecuador 11,317 23  Dominica 11,163 24  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 10,937 25  Paraguay 9,050 26  Jamaica 8,771 27  El Salvador 8,620 28  Belize 8,321 29  Guatemala 7,759 30  Guyana 7,537 31  Bolivia 6,954 32  Honduras 6,954 33  Nicaragua 5,044 34  Haiti 1,757 35  Cuba *

Currencies

One United States dollar bill (used in the United States and other countries of the Americas)

100 Brazilian reais banknote (used in Brazil)

Country	Currency
Anguilla,  Antigua and Barbuda,  Dominica,  Grenada,  Montserrat,  Saint Kitts and Nevis,  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and  Saint Lucia	Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC$; XCD)
Argentina	Argentine peso ($; ARS)
Aruba	Aruban florin (AWG)
Bahamas	Bahamian dollar (B$; BSD)
Barbados	Barbadian dollar (Bds$; BBD)
Belize	Belize dollar (Bz$; BZD)
Bermuda	Bermudian dollar (BD$, BM$; BMD)
Bolivia	Boliviano (Bs.; BOB)
Brazil	Real (R$; BRL)
Canada	Canadian dollar (C$; CAD)
Chile	Chilean peso ($; CLP)
Colombia	Colombian peso ($, COL$; COP)
Costa Rica	Colón (₡; CRC)
Cuba	Cuban peso (CUP), Cuban convertible peso (CUC)
Curaçao  Sint Maarten	Netherlands Antillean guilder
Dominican Republic	Dominican peso ($, RD$; DOP)
Bonaire  Ecuador,  El Salvador,  United States,  Turks and Caicos Islands,  British Virgin Islands,  United States Virgin Islands and  Puerto Rico	U.S. dollar ($; USD)
Greenland	Danish krone (DKK)
Guadeloupe,  French Guiana, Martinique, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin and Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Euro (€; EUR)
Guatemala	Quetzal (GTQ)
Guyana	Guyanese dollar (GYD)
Haiti	Gourde (HTG)
Honduras	Lempira (HNL)
Cayman Islands	Cayman Islands dollar
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, e  Falkland Islands	Falkland Islands pound (£, FL£; FKP)
Jamaica	Jamaican dollar ($, J$, JA$; JMD)
Mexico	Mexican peso ($; MXN)
Nicaragua	Córdoba (C$; NIO)
Panama	Balboa (oficial) (B/.; PAB); U.S. dollar (curso legal) ($; USD)
Paraguay	Guaraní (PYG)
Peru	Sol (S/; PEN)
Suriname	Surinamese dollar (SRD)
Trinidad and Tobago	Trinidad and Tobago dollar ($, TT$; TTD)
Uruguay	Uruguayan peso ($; UYU)
Venezuela	Bolívar (Bs.S; VES)

Countries by Human Development Index (HDI)

Very High Human Development
Rank	Country	HDI	World rank
1	Canada	▲ 0.920	10
2	United States	▲ 0.920	11
3	Chile	▲ 0.847	38
4	Argentina	▲ 0.827	46
High Human Development
Rank	Country	HDI	World rank
5	Barbados	▲ 0.795	54
6	Uruguay	▲ 0.795	55
7	Bahamas	▬ 0.792	57
8	Panama	▲ 0.788	58
9	Antigua and Barbuda	▲ 0.786	60
10	Trinidad and Tobago	▲ 0.780	65
11	Costa Rica	▲ 0.776	66
12	Cuba	▲ 0.775	68
13	Venezuela	▼ 0.767	72
14	Mexico	▲ 0.762	77
15	Saint Kitts and Nevis	▲ 0.761	78
16	Grenada	▲ 0.755	79
17	Brazil	▲ 0.754	80
18	Peru	▼ 0.740	87
19	Ecuador	▲ 0.739	89
20	Saint Lucia	▬ 0.729	89
21	Dominica	▲ 0.724	94
22	Colombia	▲ 0.720	97
22	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	▲ 0.720	97
24	Jamaica	▲ 0.719	99
25	Dominican Republic	▲ 0.715	101
26	Belize	▼ 0.715	101
27	Suriname	▲ 0.714	103
Medium Human Development
Rank	Country	HDI	World rank
28	Paraguay	▼ 0.679	112
29	El Salvador	▲ 0.666	116
30	Bolivia	▼ 0.662	119
31	Guyana	▼ 0.636	124
32	Nicaragua	▲ 0.631	125
33	Guatemala	▼ 0.626	128
34	Honduras	▲ 0.606	131
Low Human Development
35	Haiti	▲ 0.483	163

See also

• Political divisions of the Americas
• Associations of the Americas
• List of countries in the Americas by area
• Antilles
• North America
• Central America
• South America
• Pan American Games
• Latin America
• Anglo-America
• Northern America
• Hispanic America
• Flags of the Americas

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of America