South America Maps

Demographics
Situated in the Western Hemisphere, being mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, and with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere, South America is the fourth-largest continent. It is made up of twelve independent countries and three major territories: the Falkland Islands, Galapagos Islands and French Guiana. The continent covers an area of 6,890,000 square miles. The estimated population is more than 371,090,000. The per capita nominal GDP of South America was $8,929 as of 2010. Christianity is the most widely practiced religion. People also follow other religions and faiths such as Islam, Judaism, Bahai, and Buddhism. The main languages spoken in the continent are Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, and French. Italian, German, Hindi and Arabic are also spoken.

History
These nations then claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it into colonies. After a series of battles fought, South American countries finally won their independence at the end of 1823 from the Spanish Crown in the Spanish American wars of independence. The important leaders during the independence struggles were Simon Bolivar of Venezuela and Jose de San Martin of Argentina.


Economy
The economy of South America relies heavily on the exporting of goods and natural resources.

Brazil is the seventh-largest economy in the world and the largest in South America, generating a total amount of exports at $137.8 billion dollars, followed by Chile at 58.12 billion and Argentina at 46.46 billion.

Tourism is an important industry enhancing the GDP of the continent. Historical places, architectural and natural wonders and beautiful landscapes attract millions of tourists every year from all across the globe to the continent.

Machu Picchu, the Amazon Rainforest, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza, Maceio, Bogota, Florianopolis, Isla Margarita, Natal, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Angel Falls, Cuzco, Lake Titicaca, Patagonia, Cartagena and the Galapagos islands are the most visited places.