South America

Political boundaries of South America

Shaded relief of South America

South America is a continent in the Southern Hemisphere, and part of the Western Hemisphere. To the west it borders the Pacific Ocean, to the east it borders the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea and North America are northwest of it.

Together with North America it forms the Americas, and it was named after Amerigo Vespucci. It is the fourth largest continent by area at 17,840,000 km² (6,890,000 sq miles), and covers almost 3.5% of the earth's surface.

Its population in 2005 was 371 million, the fifth largest of the continents.

See also

• America (continent)