Area and population of South America. Ethnic composition of south america

brief information

When the ships of Christopher Columbus reached Cuba and Haiti in 1492, the Portuguese were sure they had landed in the West Indies. However, in fact, they opened the world before not known lands, which later became known as South America and North America.

South America was once also called "Spanish America", but the times when the Spaniards and the Portuguese ruled on this continent are long gone. Now in South America there are 12 completely independent states, each of which is of great interest to inquisitive travelers.

Geography of South America

Most of the continent of South America is located in southern hemisphere Earth. In the west, South America is washed by the waters Pacific Ocean, and in the east of the continent - Atlantic Ocean. To the north, the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea separate South America from North America.

There are many islands in South America - Tierra del Fuego, Falkland Islands, Chiloe, Galapagos Islands, Wellington, etc. Total area South America- exactly 17.757 million square meters. km. This is approximately 12% of the Earth's land mass.

The climate, in most of the South American continent, is equatorial, subequatorial and tropical. In the south, the climate is subtropical and temperate. A huge impact on the climate of South America have ocean currents and mountain systems.

The most long river in South America - the Amazon (6,280 km), which flows through the territory of Peru and Brazil. The largest South American rivers also include: Parana, Sao Francisco, Tocantins, Orinoco and Uruguay.

There are several very beautiful lakes in South America - Maracaibo (Venezuela), Titicaca (Peru and Bolivia), and Poopo (Bolivia).

On the territory of the equatorial belt of South America are dense wet equatorial forests- selva, and in the depths of the continent there are tropical and subtropical steppes - campos.

The Andes mountain range (Southern Cordillera) runs through almost the entire territory of South America, the length of which is about 9 thousand kilometers.

The most high mountain of this continent - Aconcagua (6,959 meters).

Population of South America

On the this moment the population of South America reaches 390 million people. This is the fifth place among all continents in terms of population (Asia is in first place, then Africa, Europe and North America).

Representatives of all three major races live on the territory of the South American continent - Caucasians, Mongoloids and Negroids. Since the mixing of races in South America went without any problems, now there are many representatives of mixed racial groups (mestizos, mulattoes, sambos) on this continent. South American natives (Indians) belong to the Mongoloid race. The largest Indian peoples- Quechua, Araucans, Aymara and Chibcha.

In the countries of South America, the population speaks mainly Spanish and Portuguese. Indian peoples speak their own local languages (for example, Araucan).

Countries

At the moment, there are 12 fully independent states in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Chile, Suriname and Uruguay), as well as 3 dependent so-called. "territories" - French Guiana, the Falkland Islands and the Galapagos Islands.

The largest South African country is Brazil with an area of 8,511,970 square kilometers, and the smallest is Suriname (163,270 square kilometers).

Regions

South America is usually divided into 3 main regions:

Caribbean South America (Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, Venezuela, French Guiana).
Andean states (Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia).
Southern Cone (Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay).

However, sometimes South America is divided into other regions:

Andean countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Peru and Bolivia);
Laplat countries (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay);
Brazil.

Cities in South America began to appear during the empires of South American Indians - the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas. Perhaps the oldest South American city is the city of Caral in Peru, founded by the Indians, as archaeologists believe, about 5 thousand years ago.

Now the most populous South American city is Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, which is home to almost 13 million people. Other major cities in South America are Bogota, Sao Paulo, Lima, and Rio de Janeiro.

The population of South America is very diverse and colorful. It consists of representatives of the most diverse races, which in different periods history mastered this continent. characteristic feature is racial mixing that goes very rapidly in all South American countries.

Population of mainland South America

The racial composition of the inhabitants of South America is very complex, and this is due to the peculiarities of the history of the development of the continent. More than 250 of the most different peoples and nationalities, which for many years are with each other in the closest interaction.

Representatives of three major races live in South America:

equatorial (indigenous people- Indians);
European (descendants of immigrants from European countries);
Negroid (descendants of black slaves brought from Africa).

In addition to pure races, several mixed groups also live on the mainland:

mestizos - mixture of Europeans with Indians;
mulattoes - mixture of Europeans with Africans;
sambo - a mixture of Indians with blacks.

It is noteworthy that during the colonial system, a special social hierarchy reigned in the local society, dominated by Creoles - the descendants of European conquerors, born already in America. The lower classes included all mixed groups.

History of development

A distinctive feature of the formation of the population of South America is its relative immaturity - only a few centuries. Before the conquest of the continent by the Spanish and Portuguese invaders at the end of the 15th century, Indian peoples and tribes lived here, speaking Quechua, Chibcha, Tupigua-Rani and others. However, after the capture of the mainland by the Spaniards and the Portuguese, the main population began to mix rapidly.

Population distribution of South America

The average population density ranges from 10-25 people per 1 sq. km. km. This data differs only for French Guiana, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname - these regions are least populated.

Features of nature and climate are such that the population of the mainland is uneven and unequal. Most people live in large cities. So, for example, in Argentina for 1 sq. km there are more than 100 people, and in Patagonia this figure is 100 times less - only 1 person per 1 sq. km. km.

The least inhabited on the mainland are its interior regions - the vast forests of the Amazon, as well as some areas of the Andes. Some of these spaces are generally deserted. This indicates the poor development of a large part of the territory of South America.

The settlement of South America by man ended later than other continents - only 12-15 thousand years ago. It is impossible to say unequivocally how the mainland was populated. Most likely, a person entered America from Asia. It happened during the Late Paleolithic - about 35 thousand years ago. In this era on Earth there was glacial period, and the Bering Strait, which connects Eurasia and America, was covered with ice, or was completely absent due to glaciation, since the level of the World Ocean could be lower. The ancient peoples of Asia migrated through it in search of new lands suitable for habitation and hunting, so they began to develop a new part of the world - America. But it took them another 20,000 years to reach its southernmost tip.

As you know, the indigenous peoples of America are called Indians. They were called Indians by Christopher Columbus, who, having discovered America, was sure that he had reached the shores of India. In European languages, for example in English, the words "Indian" and "Indian" are now spelled and sound the same: "Indian". When a European set foot in America in 1492, it was the beginning of the end for most of its native inhabitants. Very soon, European travelers began to behave like conquerors, taking away from the Indians everything that they did not agree to give them just like that. Already 30 years later, on the very first islands discovered by the Spaniards, the entire indigenous population was destroyed. The colonialists carried with them the material culture of Europe: steel weapons, horses, grain, but trade with the indigenous peoples always came with pressure on them, and ended with military operations against them and the destruction of the tribes that got in the way of the colonialists. Along with this, the Spaniards brought other troubles to the mainland - European diseases. Before today it is not known how many Indians died from them, and what turned out to be more destructive for them: Spanish blades or viruses, to which the local population had no immunity - the usual "cold" for a European could turn out to be a fatal infection for many of the Indians., and from measles and smallpox wiped out entire tribes of aborigines.

Of course, not all the peoples of South America were at the level of the tribal system, despite the fact that most of them still lived in tribes - they did not need high tech to get food. Hunting and gathering could feed the tribe from generation to generation, and living in harmony with nature was the best survival tactic for these people. But on the mainland there were also peoples with a more developed material culture. Among them, the Inca Empire stands out first of all. The Incas controlled large areas of western South America. They knew how to build stone buildings, lay roads, water pipes, they had a complex social hierarchy and strong army, with the help of which they conquered and kept in subjection many other peoples of South America. The Incas knew the processing of bronze, however, due to the absence in the Andes on their territory iron ore, they remained at the same level " bronze age", Passed by Europeans already 2-3 thousand years ago. The Incas did not have horses either. The wild horse did not survive in America, unlike Eurasia, perhaps that is why the peoples of America never invented the wheel. Of course, the Inca Empire was not capable of to repulse the Europeans.In the 20-30s of the 16th century, Francisco Pizarro captures this state.Today, only stone monuments of their disappeared culture remain from the Inca Empire.First of all, this is the city of Machu Picchu (pictured).This is a stone city built in Peruvian The Andes, also called the “city in the sky” or “the lost city of the Incas.” After the conquest of their Empire, the inhabitants of Machu Picchu mysteriously disappeared.

Since the 16th century, the Spaniards and the Portuguese have been gradually developing new lands, establishing new settlements here, which turn into large cities. It is because of the dominance of Medieval Europe, and throughout the world of those times in Spain and Portugal, South America today speaks precisely these two languages. In most countries, such as Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Spanish is the official language. Portuguese is spoken by the most big country continent - Brazil. Together with the colonialists, the Christian religion also came here, which supplanted local beliefs. Most of the peoples of South America now profess Catholicism.

Since the 16th century, Europeans have increasingly begun to use slaves to develop new lands and work on plantations in South America. The Indians were too freedom-loving for these purposes. They often preferred to die rather than become slaves. Because slaves began to be imported from colonial Africa. Those Hard times the slave trade was commonplace, the conquered peoples were deprived of all rights and were doomed to death or slavery, and the concept of human rights or equality of all people did not even exist - it was a gloomy Middle Ages, the echoes of which continued to sound until the 19th century, when slavery was finally abolished. Black slaves were brought to America by the thousands. All these processes greatly influenced the population of the mainland. A hundred years ago, all of America was inhabited only by Indians - representatives Mongoloid race, and in the 16th century people of all three major races appeared here. Interbreeding gradually took place between these races, since representatives of different races quite often entered into marriages. So the descendants of Europeans and blacks are called mulattoes. They have swarthy skin and features of both Europeans and Africans. Metis- descendants of Indians and Europeans. Metis inhabited primarily the northern part of South America - Venezuela, Colombia. As a result of the mixing of Indians and blacks, another racial type arose - sambo.

Today, 420.5 million people live in South America (2016). Among them are representatives of all human races. A significant part are the descendants of emigrants from Europe. There are not so many purebred Indians, the largest indigenous peoples are Quechua and Aymara. However, in the depths of the Amazonian

The population of South America is over 350 million people.
Until the end of the 15th century, South America was inhabited Indian tribes and peoples who spoke languages such as Tipigua Rani, Quechua and Chibcha. They settled mainly in the Central Andean Highlands (its high mountain valleys). But with the advent of Europeans (Spaniards, Portuguese), the indigenous population began to be exported to Peru, Venezuela, as slaves, to work on plantations and mines, and immigrants from Italy, Germany and other European countries began to settle in the countries of South America.
Largely, modern population is of Indian-European and Negro-European descent. In addition, large Indian peoples live in many countries of South America, for example, in Peru and Ecuador - Quechua, and in Chile - Araucans.

Ethnic composition:

Indians;
Europeans;
immigrants from Asian countries;
black people.

On average, 10-30 people live per 1 km2, but the smallest number of people live in the Amazon rainforests and some mountainous areas of the Andes. As for densely populated areas, one such area is Pampa (it occupies the whole of Uruguay and the northeast of Argentina).
The official language is Spanish, but, for example, in Brazil it is Portuguese, and in Trinidad, Guyana and Tobago it is English.
Big cities: Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Bogotá, Salvador.
The population of South America professes Catholicism, Protestantism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.

Lifespan

On average, residents of South American countries live up to 65-70 years. For example, in Chile this figure is 76, in Ecuador - 71, and in Suriname - 69 years.
Despite the rather high life expectancy rates, the continent is characterized by quite increased level mortality among young people and people under retirement age.
The main causes of death of the population: oncological, cardiovascular, infectious diseases as well as poisoning, injuries and accidents.

Traditions and customs of the peoples of South America

Rituals are the main traditions of the peoples of South America. For example, in Brazil, the marriage of young people must necessarily be consecrated in the church, and a “sorcerer” must be present at the holiday itself, whose task is to help young people protect themselves from the evil eye.
Venezuela is famous for its main traditions - festivals, which are accompanied by dances and songs. In addition, the calendar of Venezuelans is full different holidays which they celebrate cheerfully and noisily.
close attention deserve the traditions of the inhabitants of Bolivia - the Indians living here and descendants from mixed marriages (their traditions are the embodiment of the true traditions of South America). They express their feelings through songs and dances (popular folk dances are auchi-auchi, kueka, tinki).
Bolivians are engaged in folk art - weaving and knitting (over the past 3000 years it has not changed at all).
Another local custom is the use of coca leaves in everyday life - it is customary to chew them, infuse them, make tea from them and season some dishes with them (in European countries coca leaves are considered a drug, and in Bolivia they are a tonic).
If you decide to go to South America, you will right choice- you can plunge into the mysterious life of this mainland.

The population of South America is characterized by great complexity, which is associated with the peculiarities of its historical development. Representatives of all three major races live here: Mongoloid, Caucasoid and Equatorial. Approximately 250 large and small peoples live here. Unlike the peoples of the Old World, many of the large ethnic groups of South America were formed already in modern times. Three main elements participated in their formation: the indigenous Indian population, emigrants from European countries and slaves exported from Africa.

At the same time, the first place in the social hierarchy of the colonial society belonged to the Creoles - the descendants of the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors born in America. Next came the Indians, the Negroes, and numerous mixed groups. The mixed groups included mestizos - descendants from marriages of Creoles with Indians, mulattos - descendants from marriages of Creoles with blacks and sambos - the result of marriages of blacks and Indians.

In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The "white" population of South America has increased significantly. On the modern ethnic map of South America, the Spanish-Portuguese area is clearly visible, within which Romance-speaking immigrants also assimilated without much difficulty. Even more extensive is the area where the Creole population is combined with mestizos, as well as with blacks and mulattos. Finally, Indian peoples still predominate in the hinterland, the total number of which by the beginning of the 1990s. was 35-40 million people.

If we look at the map of the peoples of Latin America, it turns out that most of the countries in this region have a very complex ethnic composition. So, even without taking into account the small Indian tribes in Brazil, there are more than 80, in Argentina - about 50, in Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Chile - more than 25 different peoples. The countries of South America are usually combined into several groups.

Firstly, these are countries where Creoles and other European settlers formed the basis of the respective nations. These include Argentina, Uruguay. Secondly, these are countries where the base of nations was mestizos: Ecuador, Peru, Chile. Thirdly, these are countries where Indians still predominate - Paraguay and Bolivia.

The linguistic composition of the population of South America is much more homogeneous. Since the beginning of the European conquests, Spanish, Portuguese and other languages have been brought here. European languages. Today, Spanish serves as the state (official) language in most countries, and 240-250 million people speak it. Characteristically, in "Latin American" Spanish under the influence of immigration, many borrowings appeared from Italian, French, German, English. Second place is Portuguese, which became official language Brazil. Guyana (the former British colony of British Guiana) is one of the English-speaking countries. French adopted as official in French Guiana (an overseas department of France). In Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, along with Spanish, Indian languages (Aztec, Quechua, Guarani, etc.) are considered official.

The religious composition of the population of South America is largely determined by its ethnic composition and is also closely related to the history of its colonization. Approximately 9/10 of its population professes Catholicism. In addition to Catholics, there are also Protestants and Orthodox, and from adherents of non-Christian religions - Hindus and Muslims (among Asians). Some groups of Indians still have vestiges of pre-Christian traditional beliefs and rituals. Of course, the dominant religion in the region was and remains Christianity. Moreover, by total Christians (158 million) Brazil ranks second in the world after the United States.

Population distribution in South America.

For South America, the most typical density indicators are in the range of 10-30 people per 1 km 2. Only Bolivia, Suriname, Guyana and especially French Guiana have a density below this "norm".

In South America as a whole, the interior regions are the least populated - the vast expanses of the Amazon rainforest, some of which are generally deserted, and some mountainous regions of the Andes. This indicates the poor development of a significant part of the continent. As for the more densely populated territories, Ya. G. Mashbits in his famous monograph on Latin America classified them according to two various types distribution of the population: inland and oceanic.

The internal type of settlement is characteristic of most Andean countries. The main part of the population in them is concentrated in areas located at altitudes from 1000 to 2500 m.

A striking example of a country of this settlement type is Bolivia, perhaps the most mountainous country world, where more than half of the population lives on the Altiplano plateau, located at an altitude of 3300-3800 m above sea level.

Unlike inland Bolivia, Colombia has a wide outlet to two oceans. However, their coasts are rather sparsely populated. Even less populated East End country located in the upper reaches of the Orinoco and the left tributaries of the Amazon. Here, in tropical forests and high mountain savannahs (llanos), which occupy 3/5 of the territory of Colombia, only 2% of its population lives, and its average density is approximately 1 person per 1 km 2. The main population is concentrated in the Andes, mainly in intermountain basins with favorable soil and climatic conditions. The main cities of the country are also located in such basins - Bogota, Medellin, etc.

The second, oceanic type of settlement is especially characteristic of Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, which is largely associated with the direction of European colonization.

Back in the 30s. 16th century the entire coastal territory of Brazil was divided into 15 captaincies, the lands of which the king transferred to immigrants from the feudal Portuguese nobility. This is how the oceanic type of population distribution arose, which has survived to this day, when about half of its population lives within a narrow coastal strip, which occupies only 7% of the territory of Brazil. At the same time, the western half of the country, which occupies more than 1/2 of its area, accounts for only 5% of the population, and average density here it does not reach 1 person per 1 km 2.

In Argentina, the population density exceeds 100 people per 1 km 2, while the Pampa has a much sparse population, and in the foothills of the Andes and in Patagonia, the figure is at the level of 1 person per 1 km 2.

The oceanic type of population distribution is also characteristic of Venezuela to a certain extent. The vast majority of the population is concentrated here in the coastal and mountainous regions in the north and northwest of the country.

Chile can also be attributed to the same type of settlement, where 3/4 of the inhabitants live on a relatively small stretch of coast between the cities of Valparaiso and Concepción.

Largest urban agglomerations in Latin America.

South America is one of the most highly urbanized regions in the world. Region's share in total strength The urban population of the world is almost 14%, second only to foreign Asia. According to UN forecasts, in 2025 the number of city dwellers in the region may approach 700 million people. Countries such as Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil, where 80 to 90% of the population lives in cities, are among the most urbanized in the world. But at the same time, we must not forget that the "urban explosion" in South America is largely due to the migration to the cities of the poor rural population, and this gives it the character of the so-called false urbanization.

The process of urbanization in South America reflects all the main features of global urbanization. These primarily include the concentration of the population in big cities. In 1870, there were only 14 such cities in the entire region, in 1980 there were already 200 of them, and in 1990 - 300. Including the number of cities (agglomerations) of millionaires increased from 4 in 1940 to 42 in the middle 1990s, when they already concentrated 38% of the total urban population. Among these same large agglomerations in terms of size and importance, the three largest super-cities, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro, stand out.

On Modern political map South America - 12 independent states. The fifth largest state in the world and the largest on the mainland is Brazil. The dependent territories include Guiana, which belongs to France and is currently her and overseas department. From official languages predominantly Spanish, in Brazil - Portuguese, in Suriname - Dutch, in Guyana - English, in French Guiana - French.

South America is most often subdivided into the Andean group and the Atlantic group. Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay are sometimes also referred to as the countries of the Southern Cone.

By form of government independent countries South America are different from countries foreign Europe and overseas Asia is much more homogeneous. All of them have a republican system and all, with one exception, are presidential republics.

According to the form of the administrative-territorial structure in South America - as, indeed, in other major regions world - dominated by unitary states. However, its three largest countries - Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela - have a federal state structure.