What Countries Make up the Americas?
What countries make up the Americas? When people say 'America' they often think first of the United States. However, there are many countries that make up the Americas and these countries are spread across two continents. So, what countries make up the Americas and where are these countries found?
The region known as the Americas is made up of two continents, each of which is made up of many different countries. These continents are:
- North America
- South America
These two continents are broken up into many countries that, altogether and combined, provide us with a list of the countries that make up the Americas.
Countries in North America
The countries that make up the continent of North America include:
- Anguilla
- Antigua
- Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Clipperton Island
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Martinique
- Mexico
- Montserrat
- Navassa Island
- Netherlands Antilles
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- Saint Barthelemy
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Martin
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- United States
- U.S. Virgin Islands
North America is the third largest continent on the face of the Earth when looking at sheer land size. However, North America ranks fourth among all the other continents when you determine its size by population.
The continent is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side, the Pacific Ocean on the other, and the Caribbean Sea. The entirety of the North American continent is made up of Northern America, the Caribbean Islands, and Central America, and so when asking what countries make up the Americas, all of these must be included.
Countries in South America
Like its Northern counterpart, the South American continent has many different countries. In fact, the South American continent is made up of twelve countries:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Guyana
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
The continent of South America was discovered by the famous explorer Amerigo Vespucci. The size of the South American continent makes it rank fifth in land size behind the continents of Asia, Africa, and North America. In regards to population in comparison to other continents, the continent of South America ranks fifth behind the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
A Continent Versus a Country
When asking what countries make up the Americas, it is important to understand the difference between a continent and a country. Continents were created not by political divides or by the fact that one explorer laid claim to one area and another explorer to another. A continent is a separate continent because it is a separate land mass from other pieces of land.
A country, on the other hand, is a bordered off area of a land mass. Invisible lines are drawn on the continents to create countries. The boundaries that are created are political, not geographical.