North America

North Americais acontinentin theNorthernandWestern Hemispheres.North America is bordered to the north by theArctic Ocean, to the east by theAtlantic Ocean, to the southeast bySouth Americaand theCaribbean Sea, and to the west and south by thePacific Ocean. The region includesthe Bahamas,Bermuda,Canada, theCaribbean,Central America,Clipperton Island,Greenland,Mexico,Saint Pierre and Miquelon, theTurks and Caicos Islands, and theUnited States.
North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of theEarth's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area. It is the third-largest continent by size afterAsiaandAfrica, and thefourth-largest continent by populationafter Asia, Africa, andEurope. As of 2021, North America's population was estimated as over 592 million people in23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population. Inhuman geography, the terms "North America" and "North American" can refer to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Greenland or, alternatively, Canada, Greenland and the US (Mexico being classified as part ofLatin America) or simply Canada and the US (Greenland being classified as either Arctic or European (due to its political status as a part ofDenmark) and Mexico classified as Latin American).
It is unknown with certainty how and whenfirst human populationsfirst reached North America. People were known to live in theAmericasat least 20,000 years ago,but various evidence points to possibly earlier dates.ThePaleo-Indianperiod in North America followed the Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when theArchaic periodbegan. Theclassic stagefollowed the Archaic period, and lasted from approximately the 6th to 13th centuries. Beginning in 1000 AD, theNorsewere the first Europeans to begin exploring and ultimately colonizing areas of North America.
In 1492, the exploratory voyages ofChristopher Columbusled toa transatlantic exchange, includingmigrationsofEuropean settlersduring theAge of Discoveryand theearly modern period. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists,indigenous peoples,enslaved Africans, immigrants from Europe, Asia, and descendants of these respective groups.
Europe's colonization in North America led to most North Americans speaking European languages, such asEnglish,Spanish, andFrench, and the cultures of the region commonly reflectWestern traditions. However, relatively small parts of North America in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America have indigenous populations that continue adhering to their respective pre-European colonial cultural and linguistic traditions.
TheAmericaswere named after the Italian explorerAmerigo VespuccibyGermancartographersMartin WaldseemüllerandMatthias Ringmann.Vespucci exploredSouth Americabetween 1497 and 1502, and was the first European to suggest that the Americas represented a landmass then unknown to the Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller published a world map, and placed the word "America" on the continent of present-day South America.The continent north of present-day Mexico was then referred to as Parias.On a 1553 world map published byPetrus Apianus,North America was called "Baccalearum", meaning "realm of the Cod fish", in reference to the abundance ofcodon theEast Coast.
Waldseemüller used theLatinizedversion of Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form of "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia", and "Africa". Americus originated fromMedieval LatinEmericus(seeSaint Emeric of Hungary), coming from the Old High German nameEmmerich. Map makers later extended the name America to North America.
In 1538,Gerardus Mercatorused the term America on his world map of the entireWestern Hemisphere.Onhis subsequent 1569 map, Mercator called North America "America or New India" (America sive India Nova).
TheSpanish Empirecalled its territories in North and South America "Las Indias", and the name given to the state body that oversaw the region was called theCouncil of the Indies.
TheUnited Nationsand its statistics division recognize North America as including three regions: Northern America,Central America, and theCaribbean."Northern America" is a term distinct from "North America", excluding Central America, which itselfmay or may notincludeMexico. In the limited context of regional trade agreements, the term is used to reference three nations: Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
France,Italy,Portugal,Spain,Romania,Greece, and the countries ofLatin Americause asix-continent model, with the Americas viewed as a single continent andNorth Americadesignating a subcontinent comprisingCanada, theUnited States, Mexico, andSaint Pierre and Miquelon(politically part of France), and oftenGreenlandandBermuda.
North America has historically been known by other names, including Spanish North America,New Spain, and AméricaSeptentrional, thefirst official namegiven to Mexico.
North America includes several regions and subregions, each of which have their own respective cultural, economic, and geographic regions. Economic regions include several regions formalized in 20th- and 21st-century trade agreements, includingNAFTAbetweenCanada,Mexico, and theUnited States, andCAFTAbetweenCentral America, theDominican Republic, and the United States.
North America is divided linguistically and culturally into two primary regions,Anglo-AmericaandLatin America. Anglo-America includes most of North America,Belize, andCaribbeanislands withEnglish-speaking populations. There are also regions, includingLouisianaandQuebec, with largeFrancophonepopulations; inQuebec,Frenchis the official language..
The southern portion of North America includes Central America and non-English-speaking Caribbean nations.The north of the continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of North America, which encompasses the whole North American continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used more narrowly to refer only to four nations, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the U.S.The U.S. Census Bureau includes Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but excludes Mexico from its definition.
The term Northern America refers to the northernmost countries and territories of North America: the U.S.,Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon.Although the term does not refer to a unified region,Middle Americaincludes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
North America's largest countries by land area are Canada and the U.S., both of which have well-defined and recognized subregions. In Canada, these include (from east to west)Atlantic Canada,Central Canada, theCanadian Prairies, theBritish Columbia Coast,Western Canada, andNorthern Canada. In the U.S., they includeNew England, theMid-Atlantic, and theSouth Atlantic,East North Central,West North Central,East South Central,West South Central,Mountain, andPacific states. TheGreat Lakes regionand thePacific Northwestinclude areas in both the U.S. and Canada.
North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, theWestern Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America, which, in many countries, is considered a single continentwith North America asubcontinent.North America is the third-largest continent by area afterAsiaandAfrica.
North America's only land connection toSouth Americais in present-dayPanamaat theDarien Gapon theColombia–Panama border, placing almost all of Panama within North America.Alternatively, some geologistsphysiographicallylocate its southern limit at theIsthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, with Central America extending southeastward to South America from this point.The Caribbean islands, or West Indies, are considered part of North America.The continental coastline is long and irregular. TheGulf of Mexicois the largest body of water indenting the continent, followed byHudson Bay. Others include theGulf of Saint Lawrenceand theGulf of California.
Before the Central American isthmus formed, the region had been underwater. The islands of theWest Indiesdelineate a submerged formerland bridge, which had connected North and South America via what are nowFloridaandVenezuela.
There are several islands off the continent's coasts; principally, the Arctic Archipelago, theBahamas,Turks and Caicos, theGreaterandLesser Antilles, theAleutian Islands(some of which are in theEastern Hemisphereproper), theAlexander Archipelago, the many thousand islands of the British Columbia Coast, and Newfoundland.Greenland, a self-governing Danish island, and theworld's largest, is on the sametectonic plate(theNorth American Plate) and is part of North America geographically. In a geologic sense, Bermuda is not part of the Americas, but an oceanic island that was formed on the fissure of theMid-Atlantic Ridgeover 100million years ago(mya). The nearest landmass to it isCape Hatteras,North Carolina. However, Bermuda is often thought of as part of North America, especially given its historical, political and cultural ties toVirginiaand other parts of the continent.
The vast majority of North America is on the North American Plate. Parts of western Mexico, including Baja California, and ofCalifornia, including the cities ofSan Diego,Los Angeles, andSanta Cruz, lie on the eastern edge of thePacific Plate, with the two plates meeting along theSan Andreas Fault. The southernmost portion of the continent and much of the West Indies lie on theCaribbean Plate, whereas theJuan de Fuca PlateandCocos Plateborder the North American Plate on its western frontier.
The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many subregions): theGreat Plainsstretching from the Gulf of Mexico to theCanadian Arctic; the geologically young, mountainous west, including theRocky Mountains, theGreat Basin,California, andAlaska; the raised but relatively flat plateau of the Canadian Shield in the northeast; and the varied eastern region, which includes the Appalachian Mountains, the coastal plain along the Atlantic seaboard, and the Florida peninsula. Mexico, with its longplateausandcordilleras, falls largely in the western region, although the eastern coastal plain does extend south along the Gulf.
The western mountains are split in the middle into the main range of the Rockies and thecoast rangesinCalifornia,Oregon,Washington, andBritish Columbia, with the Great Basin—a lower area containing smaller ranges and low-lying deserts—in between. The highest peak isDenaliin Alaska.
TheU.S. Geographical Survey(USGS) states that the geographic center of North America is "6 miles [10 km] west ofBalta, Pierce County, North Dakota" at about48°10′N100°10′W﻿ / ﻿48.167°N 100.167°W﻿ /48.167; -100.167, about 24 kilometers (15 mi) fromRugby, North Dakota. The USGS further states that "No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as the geographic center of either the 50 states, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent."Nonetheless, there is a 4.6-meter (15 ft) field stoneobeliskin Rugby claiming to mark the center. The North Americancontinental pole of inaccessibilityis located 1,650 km (1,030 mi) from the nearest coastline, betweenAllenandKyle, South Dakotaat43°22′N101°58′W﻿ / ﻿43.36°N 101.97°W﻿ /43.36; -101.97﻿ (Pole of Inaccessibility North America).
Canada can be divided into roughly sevenphysiographicdivisions:
Thelower 48 U.S. statescan be divided into roughly eightphysiographicdivisions:
Mexico can be divided into roughly fifteenphysiographicdivisions:
North America is a very large continent that extends from north of theArctic Circleto south of theTropic of Cancer. Greenland, along with theCanadian Shield, istundrawith average temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 °C (50 to 68 °F), but central Greenland is composed of a very large ice sheet. This tundra radiates throughout Canada, but its border ends near the Rocky Mountains (but still contains Alaska) and at the end of the Canadian Shield, near theGreat Lakes.
Climate west of theCascade Rangeis described as being temperate weather with average precipitation 20 inches (510 millimeters).Climate in coastal California is described to beMediterranean, with average temperatures in cities likeSan Franciscoranging from 57 to 70 °F (14 to 21 °C) over the course of the year.
Stretching from theEast Coastto easternNorth Dakota, and stretching down toKansas, is thehumid continental climatefeaturing intense seasons, with a large amount of annual precipitation, with places likeNew York Cityaveraging 50 in (1,300 mm).Starting at the southern border of the humid continental climate and stretching to theGulf of Mexico(while encompassing the eastern half of Texas) is thehumid subtropical climate. This area has the wettest cities in thecontiguous U.S., with annual precipitation reaching 67 in (1,700 mm) inMobile, Alabama.Stretching from the borders of the humid continental and subtropical climates, and going west to theSierra Nevada, south to the southern tip ofDurango, north to the border with tundra climate, thesteppe/desertclimates are the driest in the U.S.Highland climates cut from north to south of the continent, wheresubtropicalortemperate climatesoccur just below the tropics, as in centralMexicoandGuatemala.Tropical climatesappear in theislandregions and in the subcontinent's bottleneck, found in countries and states bathed by theCaribbean Seaor to the south of theGulf of Mexicoand thePacific Ocean.Precipitation patterns vary across the region, and as suchrainforest,monsoon, andsavannatypes can be found, with rains and high temperatures throughout the year.
Notable North American fauna include thebison,black bear,jaguar,cougar,prairie dog,turkey,pronghorn,raccoon,coyote, andmonarch butterfly. Notable plants that were domesticated in North America includetobacco,maize,squash,tomato,sunflower,blueberry,avocado,cotton,chile pepper, andvanilla.
Laurentiais an ancientcratonwhich forms the geologic core of North America; it formed between 1.5 and 1.0 billion years ago during theProterozoiceon.TheCanadian Shieldis the largest exposure of this craton. From the LatePaleozoicto EarlyMesozoiceras, North America was joined with the other modern-day continents as part of the supercontinentPangaea, withEurasiato its east. One of the results of the formation of Pangaea was theAppalachian Mountains, whichformedsome 480 mya, making it among the oldest mountain ranges in the world. When Pangaea began to rift around 200 mya, North America became part ofLaurasia, before it separated from Eurasia as its own continent during the mid-Cretaceousperiod.The Rockies and other western mountain ranges began forming around this time from a period of mountain building called theLaramide orogeny, between 80 and 55 mya. The formation of theIsthmus of Panamathat connected the continent to South America arguably occurred approximately 12 to 15 mya,and theGreat Lakes(as well as many other northern freshwater lakes and rivers) were carved by recedingglaciersabout 10,000 years ago.
North America is the source of much of what humanity knows aboutgeologic timeperiods.The geographic area that would later become the United States has been the source of more varieties ofdinosaursthan any other modern country.According topaleontologistPeter Dodson, this is primarily due to stratigraphy, climate and geography, human resources, and history.Much of the Mesozoic Era is represented by exposed outcrops in the many arid regions of the continent.The most significantLate Jurassicdinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America is theMorrison Formationof the western U.S.
Canadais geologically one of the oldest regions in the world, with more than half of the region consisting ofPrecambrianrocks that have been above sea level since the beginning of thePalaeozoicera.Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive.Across theCanadian Shieldand in the north there are large iron, nickel,zinc, copper, gold, lead,molybdenum, anduraniumreserves. Large diamond concentrations have been recently developed in the Arctic,making Canada one of the world's largest producers. Throughout the Shield, there are many mining towns extracting these minerals. The largest, and best known, isSudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since there is significant evidence that theSudbury Basinis an ancientmeteoriteimpact crater. The nearby, but less-knownTemagami Magnetic Anomalyhas striking similarities to the Sudbury Basin. Its magnetic anomalies are very similar to the Sudbury Basin, and so it could be a second metal-rich impact crater.The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry.
The United States can be divided into twelve main geological provinces:
Each province has its own geologic history and unique features. The geology ofAlaskais typical of that of the cordillera, while the major islands ofHawaiiconsist ofNeogenevolcanicserupted over ahot spot.
Central Americais geologically active withvolcanic eruptionsand earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit bya major earthquake, killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killing about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; oneearthquakedevastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009, killing at least 34 people; inHondurasa powerful earthquake killed seven people in 2009.
Volcanic eruptionsare common in the region. In 1968, theArenal Volcano, in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in agriculturally productive highland areas.
Central America has manymountain ranges; the longest are theSierra Madre de Chiapas, theCordillera Isabelia, and theCordillera de Talamanca. Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact, most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans, and other crops.
Theindigenous peoples of the Americashave manycreation myths, based on which they assert that they have been present on the land since its creation,but there is no evidence that humans evolved there.The specifics of the initialsettlement of the Americasby ancient Asians are subject to ongoing research and discussion.The traditional theory has been that hunters entered theBering Land Bridgebetween easternSiberiaand present-dayAlaskafrom 27,000 to 14,000 years ago.A growing viewpoint is that the first American inhabitants sailed fromBeringiasome 13,000 years ago,with widespread habitation of the Americas during the end of theLast Glacial Period, in what is known as theLate Glacial Maximum, around 12,500 years ago.The oldestpetroglyphsin North America date from 15,000 to 10,000 years before present.Genetic researchandanthropologyindicate additional waves of migration from Asia via theBering Straitduring the Early-MiddleHolocene.
Prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in North America, thenatives of North Americawere divided into many different polities, ranging from smallbandsof a few families to large empires. They lived in severalculture areas, which roughly correspond togeographic and biological zonesthat defined the representative cultures and lifestyles of the indigenous people who lived there, including thebisonhuntersof theGreat Plainsand the farmers ofMesoamerica. Native groups also are classified by theirlanguage families, which includedAthabaskanandUto-Aztecanlanguages. Indigenous peoples with similar languages did not always share the samematerial culture, however, and were not necessarily always allies. Anthropologists speculate that theInuitof the highArcticarrived in North America much later than other native groups, evidenced by the disappearance ofDorset cultureartifacts from thearchaeological recordand their replacement by theThule people.
During the thousands of years of native habitation on the continent, cultures changed and shifted. One of the oldest yet discovered is theClovis culture(c. 9550–9050 BCE) in modernNew Mexico.Later groups include theMississippian cultureand relatedMound buildingcultures, found in theMississippi Rivervalley and thePueblo cultureof what is now theFour Corners. The more southern cultural groups of North America were responsible for thedomesticationof many commoncropsnow used around the world, such as tomatoes,squash, andmaize. As a result of the development of agriculture in the south, many other cultural advances were made there. TheMayansdeveloped awriting system, builthuge pyramids and temples, had acomplex calendar, and developed the concept of zero around 400 CE.
The first recorded European references to North America are inNorse sagaswhere it is referred to asVinland.The earliest verifiable instance ofpre-Columbian trans-oceanic contactby any European culture with the North America mainland has been dated to around 1000 CE.The site, situated at the northernmost extent of the island namedNewfoundland, has provided unmistakable evidence ofNorsesettlement.Norse explorerLeif Erikson(c. 970–1020 CE) is thought to have visited the area.Erikson was the first European to make landfall on the continent (excluding Greenland).
The Mayan culture was still present insouthern Mexicoand Guatemala when the Spanishconquistadorsarrived, but political dominance in the area had shifted to theAztec Empire, whose capital cityTenochtitlanwas located further north in theValley of Mexico. The Aztecs were conquered in 1521 byHernán Cortés.
During the so-calledAge of Discovery, Europeans explored overseas and staked claims to various parts of North America, much of which was already settled by indigenous peoples. Upon Europeans' arrival in the "New World", indigenous peoples had a variety of reactions, including curiosity, trading, cooperation, resignation, and resistance. Theindigenous population declinedsubstantially following European arrival, primarily due to the introduction of Eurasian diseases, such assmallpox, to which the indigenous peoples lacked immunity, and because ofviolent conflictswith Europeans.Indigenous culture changed significantly and their affiliation with political and cultural groups also changed. Several linguistic groupsdied out, and others changed quite quickly.
On North America's southeastern coast, Spanish explorerJuan Ponce de León, who had accompanied Columbus's second voyage, visited and named in 1513La Florida.As the colonial period unfolded, Spain, England, and France appropriated and claimed extensive territories in North America eastern and southern coastlines. Spain established permanent settlements on the Caribbean islands ofHispaniolaandCubain the 1490s, building cities, putting the resident indigenous populations to work, raising crops for Spanish settlers and panning gold to enrich the Spaniards. Much of the indigenous population died due to disease and overwork, spurring the Spaniards on to claim new lands and peoples. An expedition under the command of Spanish settler,Hernán Cortés, sailed westward in 1519 to what turned out to be the mainland in Mexico. With local indigenous allies, the Spanishconquered the Aztec empire in central Mexicoin 1521. Spain then established permanent cities in Mexico, Central America, and Spanish South America in the sixteenth century. Once Spaniards conquered the high civilization of the Aztecs and Incas, the Caribbean was a backwater of the Spanish empire.
Other European powers began to intrude on areas claimed by Spain, including the Caribbean islands. France took the western half ofHispaniolaand developedSaint-Domingueas a cane sugar producing colony worked by black slave labor. Britain tookBarbadosandJamaica, and the Dutch and Danes took islands previously claimed by Spain. Britain did not begin settling on the North American mainland until a hundred years after the first Spanish settlements, since it sought first to control nearbyIreland.
The first permanent English settlement was inJamestown, Virginiain 1607, followed by additional colonial establishments on theeast coastfrom present-dayGeorgiain the south toMassachusettsin the north, forming theThirteen Coloniesof British America. The English did not establish settlements north or east of theSt. Lawrence Valleyin present-day Canada until after the conclusion of theAmerican Revolutionary War. Britain's early settlements in present-day Canada includedSt. John's, Newfoundlandin 1630 andHalifax, Nova Scotiain 1749. The first permanent French settlement was inQuebec City, Quebec, established in 1608.
With the British victory in the Seven Years' War, France in 1763 ceded to Britain its claims of North American territories east of theMississippi River. Spain, in turn, gained rights to the territories west of Mississippi, which then served as a border between Spain and Britain's territorial claims. French colonists settledIllinois Countryafter several generations of experience on North America, migrating over the Mississippi River to regions where Spain was not present and where they were able to leverage their earlier Louisiana French settlements around theGulf of Mexico. These early French settlers partnered with midwest indigenous tribes, and their mixed ancestry descendants later followed a westward expansion all the way to thePacific Oceanon the present-dayU.S. West Coast.
In 1776, after various attempts to reconcile differences with theBritish, theThirteen Coloniesin British America sent delegates to theSecond Continental CongressinPhiladelphia, who unanimously adopted theDeclaration of Independenceon 4 July 1776, written primarily byThomas Jefferson, a member of theCommittee of Fivecharged by the Second Continental Congress with authoring it. In the Declaration, the thirteen colonies declared their independence from the British monarchy, then governed by KingGeorge III, and detailed the factors that contributed to their decision. With the signing and issuance of the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies formalized and escalated theAmerican Revolutionary War, which had begun the year before at theBattles of Lexington and Concordon 19 April 1775. Gathered in Philadelphia following the war's outbreak, delegates from the thirteen colonies established theContinental Armyfrom variouspatriot militiasthen engaged in resisting the British, and appointedGeorge Washingtonas the Continental Army's military commander.
As the American Revolutionary War progressed, France and Spain, both then enemies of Britain, began to ultimately see the promise of a potential American victory in the war and began supporting Washington and the American Revolutionary cause. TheBritish Army, in turn, was supported byHessian militaryunits from present-dayGermany.
In 1783, after an eight-year attempt to defeat the American rebellion, King George III acknowledged Britain's defeat in the war, leading to the signing of theTreaty of Parison 3 September 1783, which solidified the sovereign establishment of the United States.
By the late 18th century, Russia was established on thePacific Northwestnorthern coastline, where it was engaged inmaritime fur tradeand was supported by various indigenous settlements in the region. As a result, the Spanish were showing more interest in controlling the trade on the Pacific coast and mapped most of its coastline. The first Spanish settlements were attempted inAlta Californiaduring that period. Numerous overland explorations associated withvoyageurs,fur trade, and U.S. led expeditions, including theLewis and Clark,FrémontandWilkesexpeditions, reached the Pacific.
In 1803, during thepresidency of Thomas Jefferson, the thirdU.S. president,Napoleon Bonapartesold France's remaining North American territorial claims, which included regions west of the Mississippi River, to the U.S., in theLouisiana Purchase. Spain and the U.S. settled their western boundary dispute in 1819 in theAdams–Onís Treaty. Mexico fought a lengthy war for independence from Spain, winning it for Mexico (which included Central America at the time) in 1821. The U.S. sought further westward expansion and fought theMexican–American War, gaining a vast territory that first Spain and then Mexico claimed but which they did not effectively control. Much of the area was in fact dominated by indigenous peoples, which did not recognize the claims of Spain, France, or the U.S. Russia sold its North American claims, which included the present-day U.S. state ofAlaska, to the U.S. in 1867.
In 1867, colonial settlers north of the United States, unified as the dominion of Canada. The U.S. sought to dig a canal across theIsthmus of Panamain present-dayPanamain Central America, then a part of present-dayColombia. The U.S. aided Panamanians in a war that resulted in its separation from Colombia. The U.S. subsequently carved out thePanama Canal Zone, and claimed sovereignty over it. After decades of work, the Panama Canal was completed, which connected theAtlanticandPacificoceans in 1913 and greatly facilitated global shipping navigation.
Canada and the United States are the wealthiest and mostdeveloped nationson the continent followed by Mexico, anewly industrialized country.The countries of Central America and the Caribbean are at various levels of economic and human development. For example, small Caribbean island-nations, such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Antigua and Barbuda, have a higherGDP (PPP) per capitathan Mexico due to their smaller populations. Panama and Costa Rica have a significantly higherHuman Development Indexand GDP than the rest of the Central American nations.Additionally, despite Greenland's vast resources in oil and minerals, much of them remain untapped, and the island is economically dependent on fishing, tourism, and subsidies from Denmark. Nevertheless, the island is highly developed.
Demographically, North America is ethnically diverse. Its three largest groups areWhites,Mestizos, andBlacks.There is a significant minority of Indigenous Americans andAsiansamong other less numerous groups.
The dominant languages in North America are English, Spanish, and French. Danish is prevalent in Greenland alongsideGreenlandic, and Dutch is spoken side by side local languages in theDutch Caribbean. The term Anglo-America is used to refer to theanglophonecountries of the Americas: namely Canada (where English and French are co-official) and the U.S., but also sometimes Belize and parts of the tropics, especially theCommonwealth Caribbean. Latin America refers to the other areas of the Americas (generally south of the U.S.) where theRomance languages, derived fromLatin, of Spanish andPortuguese, (but French-speaking countries are not usually included) predominate: the other republics of Central America (but not always Belize), part of the Caribbean (not the Dutch-, English-, or French-speaking areas), Mexico, and most of South America (exceptGuyana,Suriname,French Guiana[France], and theFalkland Islands[UK]).
The U.S. has anethnically diversepopulation, and 37 ancestry groups have more than one million members.The French language has historically played a significant role in North America and now retains a distinctive presence in some regions. Canada is officially bilingual. French is the official language of the province ofQuebec, where 95% of the people speak it as either their first or second language, and it is co-official with English in the province ofNew Brunswick. Other French-speaking locales include the province ofOntario(the official language is English, but there are an estimated 600,000 Franco-Ontarians), the province ofManitoba(co-official asde jurewith English), theFrench West IndiesandSaint-Pierre et Miquelon, as well as the U.S. state of Louisiana, where French is also an official language. Haiti is included with this group based on historical association but Haitians speak bothCreoleand French. Similarly, French and French Antillean Creole is spoken in Saint Lucia and theCommonwealth of Dominicaalongside English.
A significant number ofindigenous languagesare spoken in North America, with roughly 6 million in Mexico speaking an indigenous language at home,372,000 people in the U.S.,and about 225,000 in Canada,In the U.S. and Canada, there are approximately 150 surviving indigenous languages of the 300 spoken prior to European contact.
Christianityis the largest religion in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. According to a 2012Pew Research Centersurvey, 77% of the population considered themselvesChristians.Christianity also is the predominant religionin the 23 dependent territories in North America.The U.S. has thelargest Christian populationin the world, with nearly 247 million Christians (70%), although other countries have higher percentages of Christians among their populations.Mexico has the world's second-largest number of Catholics, surpassed only byBrazil.
According to the same study, thereligiously unaffiliated(includingagnosticsandatheists) make up about 17% of the population of Canada and the U.S.Those with no religious affiliation make up about 24% of Canada's total population.
Canada, the U.S., and Mexico host communities ofJews(6 million or about 1.8%),Buddhists(3.8 million or 1.1%)andMuslims(3.4 million or 1.0%).The largest number of Jews can be found in the U.S. (5.4 million),Canada (375,000)and Mexico (67,476).The U.S. hosts the largest Muslim population in North America with 2.7 million or 0.9%,while Canada hosts about one million Muslims or 3.2% of the population.In Mexico there were 3,700 Muslims in 2010.In 2012,U-T San Diegoestimated U.S. practitioners of Buddhism at 1.2 million people, of whom 40% are living inSouthern California.
The predominant religion in Mexico and Central America is Christianity (96%).Beginning with the Spanish colonization of Mexico in the 16th century,Roman Catholicismwas the only religion permitted by Spanish crown and Catholic church. A vast campaign of religious conversion, the so-called "spiritual conquest", was launched to bring the indigenous peoples into the Christian fold. TheInquisitionwas established to assure orthodox belief and practice. The Catholic Church remained an important institution, so that even after political independence, Roman Catholicism remained the dominant religion. Since the 1960s, there has been an increase in other Christian groups, particularlyProtestantism, as well as other religious organizations, and individuals identifying themselves as having no religion. Christianity is also the predominant religion in the Caribbean (85%).Other religious groups in the region areHinduism,Islam,Rastafari(in Jamaica), andAfro-American religionssuch asSanteríaandVodou.
North America is thefourthmost populous continent after Asia, Africa, and Europe.Its most populous country is the U.S. with 329.7 million persons. The second-largest country is Mexico with a population of 112.3 million.Canada is the third-most-populous country with 37.0 million.The majority of Caribbean island-nations have national populations under a million, though Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico (a territory of the U.S.), Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago each have populations higher than a million.Greenland has a small population of 55,984 for its massive size (2.166 million kmor 836,300 mi), and therefore, it has the world's lowest population density at 0.026 pop./km(0.067 pop./mi).
While the U.S., Canada, and Mexico maintain the largest populations, large city populations are not restricted to those nations. There are also large cities in theCaribbean. The largest cities in North America, by far, are Mexico City and New York City. These cities are the only cities on the continent to exceed eight million, and two of three in the Americas. Next in size are Los Angeles,Toronto,Chicago, Havana, Santo Domingo, andMontreal. Cities in theSun Beltregions of the U.S., such as those in Southern California andHouston,Phoenix, Miami,Atlanta, andLas Vegas, are experiencing rapid growth. These causes included warm temperatures, retirement ofBaby Boomers, large industry, and the influx of immigrants. Cities near the U.S. border, particularly in Mexico, are also experiencing large amounts of growth. Most notable isTijuana, a city bordering San Diego that receives immigrants from all over Latin America and parts of Europe and Asia. Yet as cities grow in these warmer regions of North America, they are increasingly forced to deal with the major issue ofwater shortages.
Eight of the top tenmetropolitan areasarelocated in the U.S.These metropolitan areas all have a population of above 5.5 million and include theNew York City metropolitan area,Los Angeles metropolitan area,Chicago metropolitan area, and theDallas–Fort Worth metroplex.While the majority of the largest metropolitan areas are within the U.S., Mexico is host to the largest metropolitan area by population in North America:Greater Mexico City.Canada also breaks into the top ten largest metropolitan areas with theToronto metropolitan areahaving six million people.The proximity of cities to each other on theCanada–United States borderand theMexico–U.S. borderhas led to the rise of international metropolitan areas. Theseurban agglomerationsare observed at their largest and most productive inDetroit–WindsorandSan Diego–Tijuanaand experience large commercial, economic, and cultural activity. The metropolitan areas are responsible for millions of dollars of trade dependent on international freight. In Detroit-Windsor the Border Transportation Partnership study in 2004 concludedUS$13 billion was dependent on the Detroit–Windsor international border crossing while in San Diego–Tijuana freight at theOtay Mesa Port of Entrywas valued at US$20 billion.
North America has also been witness to the growth ofmegapolitan areas. The United States includes eleven megaregions.
2011 Census figures
North America's GDP per capita was evaluated in October 2016 by theInternational Monetary Fund(IMF) to be $41,830, making it the richest continent in the world,followed byOceania.
Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. have significant and multifaceted economic systems. The U.S. has the largest economy in the world.In 2016, the U.S. had an estimated per capita gross domestic product (PPP) of $57,466 according to theWorld Bank, and is the most technologically developed economy of the three.The U.S.'s services sector comprises 77% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 22% and agriculture comprises 1.2%.The U.S. economy is also the fastest-growing economy in North America and the Americas as a whole,with the highest GDP per capita in the Americas as well.
Canada shows significant growth in the sectors of services, mining and manufacturing.Canada's per capita GDP (PPP) was estimated at $44,656 and it had the 11th-largest GDP (nominal) in 2014.Canada's services sector comprises 78% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 20% and agriculture comprises 2%.Mexico has a per capita GDP (PPP) of $16,111 and as of 2014 is the 15th-largest GDP (nominal) in the world.Being anewly industrialized country,Mexico maintains both modern and outdated industrial and agricultural facilities and operations.Its main sources of income are oil, industrial exports, manufactured goods, electronics, heavy industry, automobiles, construction, food, banking and financial services.
The North American economy is well defined and structured in three main economic areas.These areas are those under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), theCaribbean Community and Common Market(CARICOM), and theCentral American Common Market(CACM).Of these trade blocs, the U.S. takes part in two. In addition to the larger trade blocs there is theCanada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreementamong numerous otherfree-traderelations, often between the larger, more developed countries and Central American and Caribbean countries.
NAFTA formed one of the four largest trade blocs in the world.Its implementation in 1994 was designed for economic homogenization with hopes of eliminating barriers of trade and foreign investment between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.While Canada and the U.S. already conducted the largest bilateral trade relationship—and to present day still do—in the world andCanada–U.S. trade relationsalready allowed trade without national taxes and tariffs,NAFTA allowed Mexico to experience a similarduty-freetrade. Thefree-trade agreementallowed for the elimination of tariffs that had previously been in place on U.S.–Mexico trade. Trade volume has steadily increased annually and in 2010, surface trade between the three NAFTA nations reached an all-time historical increase of 24.3% or US$791 billion.The NAFTA trade bloc GDP (PPP) is the world's largest with US$17.617 trillion.This is in part attributed to the fact that the economy of the U.S. is the world's largest national economy; the country had a nominal GDP of approximately $14.7 trillion in 2010.The countries of NAFTA are also some of each other's largest trade partners. The U.S. is the largest trade partner of Canada and Mexico,while Canada and Mexico are each other's third-largest trade partners.In 2018, the NAFTA was replaced by theU.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement.
The Caribbean trade bloc (CARICOM) came into agreement in 1973 when it was signed by 15 Caribbean nations. As of 2000, CARICOM trade volume was US$96 billion. CARICOM also allowed for the creation of acommon passportfor associated nations. In the past decade the trade bloc focused largely on free-trade agreements and under the CARICOM Office of Trade Negotiations free-trade agreements have been signed into effect.
Integration of Central American economies occurred under the signing of the Central American Common Market agreement in 1961; this was the first attempt to engage the nations of this area into stronger financial cooperation. The 2006 implementation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) left the future of the CACM unclear.The Central American Free Trade Agreement was signed by five Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. The focal point of CAFTA is to create a free trade area similar to that of NAFTA. In addition to the U.S., Canada also has relations in Central American trade blocs.
These nations also take part in inter-continental trade blocs. Mexico takes a part in theG3 Free Trade Agreementwith Colombia and Venezuela and has a trade agreement with the EU. The U.S. has proposed and maintained trade agreements under theTransatlantic Free Trade Areabetween itself and theEuropean Union; theU.S.–Middle East Free Trade Areabetween numerous Middle Eastern nations and itself; and theTrans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnershipbetween Southeast Asian nations, Australia, and New Zealand.
ThePan-American Highwayroute in the Americas is the portion of a network of roads nearly 48,000 km (30,000 mi) in length which travels through the mainland nations. No definitive length of the Pan-American Highway exists because the U.S. and Canadian governments have never officially defined any specific routes as being part of the Pan-American Highway, and Mexico officially has many branches connecting to the U.S. border. However, the total length of the portion from Mexico to the northern extremity of the highway is roughly 26,000 km (16,000 mi).
The first transcontinental railroad in the U.S. was built in the 1860s, linking the railroad network of the eastern U.S. with California on the Pacific coast. Finished on 10 May 1869 at the famousgolden spikeevent atPromontory Summit, Utah, it created a nationwide mechanized transportation network that revolutionized the population and economy of theAmerican West, catalyzing the transition from thewagon trainsof previous decades to a modern transportation system.Although an accomplishment, it achieved the status of first transcontinental railroad by connecting myriad eastern U.S. railroads to the Pacific and was not the largest single railroad system in the world. The CanadianGrand Trunk Railwayhad, by 1867, already accumulated more than 2,055 km (1,277 mi) of track by connecting Ontario with the Canadian Atlantic provinces west as far asPort Huron, Michigan, throughSarnia, Ontario.
A shared telephone system known as theNorth American Numbering Planis an integratedtelephone numbering planof 24 countries and territories: the U.S. and itsterritories, Canada, Bermuda, and 17 Caribbean nations. In recent monthsthe internet service byStarlinkhas expanded to cover a number of North American markets.
The cultures of North America are diverse. The U.S. and English Canada have many cultural similarities, while French Canada has a distinct culture from Anglophone Canada, which is protected by law. Since the U.S. was formed from portions previously part of the Spanish Empire and then independent Mexico, and there has been considerable and continuing immigration of Spanish speakers from south of the U.S.–Mexico border. In the southwest of the U.S. there are many Hispanic cultural traditions and considerable bilingualism. Mexico and Central America are part ofLatin Americaand are culturally distinct from anglophone and francophone North America. However, they share with the United States the establishment of post-independence governments that are federated representative republics with written constitutions dating from their founding as nations. Canada is a federated parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy.
Canada'sconstitutiondates to 1867, with confederation, in the British North America Act, but not until 1982 did Canada have the power to amend its own constitution. Canada's Francophone heritage has been enshrined in law since the British parliament passed theQuebec Actof 1774. In contrast to largely Protestant Anglo settlers in North America, French-speaking Canadians were Catholic and with the Quebec Act were guaranteed freedom to practice their religion, restored the right of the Catholic Church to imposetithesfor its support, and established French civil law in most circumstances.
The distinctiveness of French language and culture has been codified in Canadian law, so that both English and French are designated official languages. The U.S. has no official language, but its national language is English.
The Canadian government took action to protectCanadian cultureby limiting non-Canadian contentin broadcasting, creating theCanadian Radio and Telecommunications Commissionto monitor Canadian content. In Quebec, the provincial government established theQuebec Office of the French Language, often called the "language police" by Anglophones, which mandates the use of French terminology and signage in French.Since 1968 the unicameral legislature has been called theQuebec National Assembly.Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, 24 June, is the national holiday of Quebec and celebrated by francophone Canadians throughout Canada. In Quebec, theschool systemwas divided into Catholic and Protestant, so-called confessional schools. Anglophone education in Quebec has been increasingly undermined.
LGBT cultureis prominently displayed in moretolerantregions of North America. This is most significantly exemplified atpride paradesin cities across the continent, the two largest being held inNew York CityandToronto, respectively.
Latino cultureis strong in thesouthwestern United States, as well as in theNew York metropolitan areaandFlorida, which draw Latin Americans from many countries in theWestern hemisphere. Northern Mexico, particularly in the cities ofMonterrey, Tijuana,Ciudad Juárez, andMexicali, is strongly influenced by thecultureandway of life of the U.S.Monterrey, a modern city with a significant industrial group, has been regarded as the mostAmericanizedcity in Mexico.Northern Mexico, the Western U.S. andAlberta, Canada share acowboyculture.
TheAnglophone Caribbean stateshave witnessed and participated in the decline of theBritish Empireand its influence on the region, and its replacement by the economic influence of Northern America in the Anglophone Caribbean. This is partly due to the relatively small populations of the English-speaking Caribbean countries, and also because many of them now have more peopleliving abroadthan those remaining at home.
Greenlandhas experienced many immigration waves fromNorthern Canada, e.g. by theThule people. Therefore, Greenland shares some cultural ties with theindigenous peoples of Canada. Greenland is also consideredNordicand has strong Danish ties due tocenturies of colonization by Denmark.
The U.S. and Canada have major sports teams that compete against each other, including baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer/football. Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.will hostthe2026 FIFA World Cup.
The following table shows the most prominent sports leagues in North America, in order of average revenue.Canada has a separateCanadian Football Leaguefrom the U.S. teams.
The Native American game oflacrosseis considered a national sport in Canada.Curlingis an important winter sport in Canada, and the Winter Olympics includes it in the roster. The English sport ofcricketis popular in parts of anglophone Canada and very popular in parts of the former British empire, but in Canada is considered a minor sport. Boxing is also a major sport in some countries, such as Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico, and it is considered one of the main individual sports in the U.S.