America it is the second largest continent in the world after Asia, with an area of 42,900,000 square kilometers. Although it is a single continent without physical divisions, we usually divide it into three parts to be able to distinguish it by zones: North America, Central America and South America or South America.
You know how many countries does South America have and what are your capitals? In this oneHowTo.com article we explain it to you in detail, so that you can learn more about world geography.
Countries that make up South America and their capitals
South America has an area of 17,820,000 square kilometers, making up 42% of the entire American continent. Around 6% of the world’s population lives there.
South America has 12 countries, these are in alphabetical order:
- Argentina, its capital Buenos Aires.
- Bolivia, capital Sucre. La Paz, which is commonly confused as its capital, is actually the seat of the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
- Brazil, its capital is Brasilia.
- Chile, its capital Santiago de Chile.
- Colombia, its capital the city of Bogotá.
- Ecuador, its capital Quito.
- Guyana, its capital city is Georgetown.
- Paraguay, capital La Asunción.
- Peru, capital city Lima.
- Suriname, capital Paramaribo.
- Uruguay, capital Montevideo.
- Venezuela, whose capital is Caracas.
How many countries does South America have has become a somewhat controversial issue, as some texts include the island of Trinidad and Tobago in the list because it is on the continental shelf of Venezuela, resulting in 13 countries. Despite the controversy, the consensus is that there are 12 countries that make up South America.
The 6 dependencies of South America
In addition to the 12 countries mentioned above, South America also has 6 dependencies, that is, 6 territories that depend on countries that are not on this continent and that therefore are not included in the list of sovereign territories mentioned above.
These 6 dependencies are, in alphabetical order:
- Aruba, the capital Oranjestad, belongs to the Netherlands.
- Bonaire, its capital city is Kralendijk, belongs to the Netherlands.
- Curaçao, capital Willemstad, belongs to the Netherlands.
- French Guiana, capital Cayenne, is a dependency of France.
- Islas Malvinas, its capital is Puerto Argentino / Stanley, belongs to the United Kingdom
- South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, capital King Edward Point Base, belongs to the United Kingdom.
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