South America is a continent located in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It may also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas, which is how it is viewed in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of the Americas. The reference to South America instead of other regions ( like Latin America or the Southern Cone ) has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics (in particular, the rise of Brazil ).
It 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. It includes twelve sovereign states ( Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela ), a part of France (French Guiana), and a non-sovereign area (the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory though this is disputed by Argentina ). In addition to this, the ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama may also be considered part of South America.
South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 sq mi). Its population as of 2016 has been estimated at more than 420 million. 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 more than half of the continent 's population, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and Peru.
