Is America a Country or a Continent?

America Continent?

America is neither a country nor a continent.

Is the United States a Continent?

When America is used with an ‘s’, ‘Americas’ refers to all countries that form part of the North and South American continent.

People of this region are referred to as ‘Americans’. There is a popular misconception that ‘America’ or ‘American’ refers only to the United States and its citizens, respectively. That is incorrect.

Early references to ‘America’ can be traced back to ‘Cosmographiae Introducio’ written by Matthias Ringmann in 1507, who used the term along with ‘Amerigen’ to refer to South America. Later in 1538, it was used by Gerard Mercator to refer to both North and South America.

However, in the absence of any official attribution, people outside the United States, but part of either continent, often refer to themselves as American.
Here, it must also be said that frequent usage of the term ‘America’ or ‘American’, especially within the United States, has de facto come to refer to the United States and its citizens, respectively. The term ‘Americas’ commonly refers to the continent.

Another common belief is that North America comprises the United States, Canada, and Mexico only. As per United Nations, the number of recognized countries, not including territories and/or dependencies, in the North American continent is 23. The countries are:

1. United States of America
2. Canada
3. Mexico
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Belize
6. Bahamas
7. Barbados
8. Cuba
9. Costa Rica
10. Dominican Republic
11. Dominica
12. El Salvador
13. Guatemala
14. Granada
15. Haiti
16. Honduras
17. Jamaica
18. Nicaragua
19. Panama
20. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
21. Saint Kitts and Nevis
22. Saint Lucia
23. Trinidad and Tobago

The 12 countries that form part of the South American continent are:

1. Argentina
2. Brazil
3. Bolivia
4. Colombia
5. Chile
6. Ecuador
7. Guyana
8. Paraguay
9. Peru
10. Suriname
11. Uruguay
12. Venezuela

Related Links:

• What countries together comprise Latin America?
• What countries together comprise Central America?

Related Maps: