There are 12 sovereign states and 3 non-sovereign dependent territories in South America. The continent 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. South America has an area of approximately 17,840,000 square kilometres (6,890,000 sq mi), or almost 3.5% of Earth's surface. As of 2018, its population is more than 430 million, according to estimates of population in The World Factbook. South America ranks fourth among all continents in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America).^[1]

The border between North and South America is at some point in the Isthmus of Panama. The most common demarcation in atlases and other sources follows the Darién Mountains watershed that divides along the Colombia–Panama border where the isthmus meets the South American continent (see Darién Gap). Virtually all atlases list Panama as a state falling entirely within North America and/or Central America.^[2]

A sovereign state is a political association with effective sovereignty over a population for whom it makes decisions in the national interest.^[3] According to the Montevideo Convention, a state must have a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.^[4] The following states are all members of the United Nations^[5] and current or former members of the Union of South American Nations.^[6]

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Flag	Map	English short, formal names, and ISO [7][8][9][10]	Domestic short and formal name(s) [7][8]	Capital [9][11][12]	Population 2021 [13][14]	Area [15]	Currency [9]
		Argentina  Argentine Republic ARG	Spanish: Argentina — República Argentina	Buenos Aires Spanish: Ciudad de Buenos Aires	45,276,780	2,780,400 km2 (1,073,518 sq mi)	Argentine peso
		Bolivia  Plurinational State of Bolivia BOL	Spanish: Bolivia — Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia Quechua: Buliwya — Puliwya Achka Aylluska Mamallaqta Aymara: Wuliwya — Wuliwya Walja Suyunakana Marka	Sucre (official) and La Paz (seat of government) Spanish: Sucre[n 1]	12,079,472	1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi)	Bolivian boliviano
		Brazil  Federative Republic of Brazil BRA	Portuguese: Brasil — República Federativa do Brasil	Brasília Portuguese: Brasília	214,326,223	8,514,877 km2 (3,287,612 sq mi)	Brazilian real
		Chile [n 2] Republic of Chile CHL	Spanish: Chile — República de Chile	Santiago[n 3] Spanish: Santiago	19,493,184	756,102 km2 (291,933 sq mi)	Chilean peso
		Colombia  Republic of Colombia COL	Spanish: Colombia — República de Colombia	Bogotá / Santa Fe de Bogotá Spanish: Bogotá	51,516,562	1,138,910 km2 (439,736 sq mi)	Colombian peso
		Ecuador  Republic of Ecuador ECU	Spanish: Ecuador — República del Ecuador Quechua: Ikwadur — Ikwadur Ripuwlika	Quito Spanish: Quito	17,797,737	283,561 km2 (109,484 sq mi)	United States dollar
		Guyana  Co-operative Republic of Guyana GUY	English: Guyana — Co-operative Republic of Guyana	Georgetown English: Georgetown	804,567	214,969 km2 (83,000 sq mi)	Guyanese dollar
		Paraguay  Republic of Paraguay PRY	Spanish: Paraguay — República del Paraguay Guarani: Paraguai — Tetã Paraguai	Asunción Spanish: Asunción	6,703,799	406,752 km2 (157,048 sq mi)	Paraguayan guaraní
		Peru  Republic of Peru PER	Spanish: Perú — República del Perú Quechua: Piruw — Piruw Ripuwlika Aymara: Piruw — Piruwxa Ripuwlika	Lima Spanish: Lima	33,715,471	1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi)	Peruvian sol
		Suriname  Republic of Suriname SUR	Dutch: Suriname — Republiek Suriname	Paramaribo Dutch: Paramaribo	612,985	163,820 km2 (63,251 sq mi)	Surinamese dollar
		Uruguay  Eastern Republic of Uruguay[n 4] URY	Spanish: Uruguay — República Oriental del Uruguay	Montevideo Spanish: Montevideo	3,426,260	176,215 km2 (68,037 sq mi)	Uruguayan peso
		Venezuela  Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela VEN	Spanish: Venezuela — República Bolivariana de Venezuela	Caracas Spanish: Caracas	28,199,867	912,050 km2 (352,144 sq mi)	Venezuelan bolívar

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^† Geographically associated with Antarctica, but due to geopolitical reasons, the United Nations geoscheme has included South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in South America instead.

• List of South American countries by population
• List of South American countries by population density
• List of South American countries by GDP per capita
• List of South American countries by GDP (PPP)
• List of predecessors of sovereign states in South America
• List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Americas