page_title: South America
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: South America / Politics
caption_attribution_description: South American Community of Nations member states.
context_page_description: South America is a continent in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It may also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas, or America, which is how it is viewed in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of the Americas. The reference to South America instead of other regions has increased in the last decades due to changing geopolitical dynamics.
  It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. It includes twelve sovereign states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela, and a part of France: French Guiana. In addition, the ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Falkland Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama may also be considered part of South America.
  South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers. Its population as of 2018 has been estimated at more than 423 million. South America ranks fourth in area and fifth in population.
context_section_description: Historically, the Hispanic countries were founded as Republican dictatorships led by caudillos. Brazil was the only exception, being a constitutional monarchy for its first 67 years of independence, until a coup d'état proclaimed a republic. In the late 19th century, the most democratic countries were Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.
  In the interwar period, nationalism grew stronger on the continent, influenced by countries like Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. A series of authoritarian rules broke out in South American countries with views bringing them closer to the Axis Powers, like Vargas's Brazil. In the late 20th century, during the Cold War, many countries became military dictatorships under American tutelage in attempts to avoid the influence of the Soviet Union. After the fall of the authoritarian regimes, these countries became democratic republics.
  During the first decade of the 21st century, South American governments have drifted to the political left, with leftist leaders being elected in Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.  The gross domestic product for each of those countries, however, dropped over that timeframe.  Consequently, most South American countries are making increasing use of protectionist policies in order to help local economic development.
  All South American countries are presidential republics with the exception of Suriname, a parliamentary republic. French Guiana is a French overseas department, while the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are British overseas territories. It is currently the only inhabited continent in the world without monarchies; the Empire of Brazil existed during the 19th century and there was an unsuccessful attempt to establish a Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia in southern Argentina and Chile. Also in the twentieth century, Suriname was established as a constituent kingdom of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Guyana retained the British monarch as head of state for 4 years after its independence.
  Recently, an intergovernmental entity has been formed which aims to merge the two existing customs unions: Mercosur and the Andean Community, thus forming the third-largest trade bloc in the world.
  This new political organization, known as Union of South American Nations, seeks to establish free movement of people, economic development, a common defense policy and the elimination of tariffs.
caption: Scheme for geographic regions and subregions used by the United Nations Statistics Division.
exif: {}