Latin American Countries

Latin American Countries
Latin America is a summary historical name of the countries of the American continent that have been under the influence of Spain, Portugal or France, and where Spanish, Portuguese or French are official languages. Geographically, Latin America encompasses most of South America, Central America, Mexico as well as some Caribbean islands. Most of the countries were colonized in the 16th centuries and became free during the early 1800’s. Linguistic unity is the clearest unifying factor, while Latin America expresses a variety of cultural and historical influences.
In other words, Latin America is a political and cultural term that serves to differentiate the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of America from the English-speaking countries of America (Angloamerica).
In today’s common definition of the term, Latin America only includes those countries in which Spanish or Portuguese predominates. There are a total of 30 countries in Latin America. These include Mexico, Central America (excluding Belize), the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean and the countries of South America (excluding Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana). The countries of Latin America together cover an area of around 20 million km² and the population is around 650 million people.
See the following table for full list of thirty Latin American countries in alphabetical order:
The part of word Latin refers to the Latin ical as the origin of Romanesque n languages. In the literal sense, countries and areas in which French are spoken also belong to Latin America. However, this understanding has not become generally accepted in the German-speaking area, but is used in the USA. The UN Statistics Division also subsumes all countries in Central America (including Mexico) and South America under the term Latin America . There are also other different definitions :
Latino or female Latina means a person of Latin American origin. This short form of the Spanish word Latinoamericano (“Latin American”) is mainly used in the Anglo-American area for US citizens who themselves or their ancestors come from Latin America and whose mother tongue is mostly Spanish or Portuguese. In the USA the term is often used synonymously to denote the group of Hispanics – however, Latinos are only part of the Hispanic population group in the USA, while the Brazilians living in the USA see themselves as Latinos, but not as Hispanics .
In a scientific sense, Latino only refers to Hispanics who immigrated from Central and South America, but not Spanish immigrants from Europe and their descendants. These are therefore Hispanics, but not Latinos. Conversely, Brazilians who immigrated to the USA are Latinos, but not Hispanics.

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Note: Countries marked with * are excluded by some sources
While Latin American countries such as Chile and Argentina enjoy healthy economies and high Human Development , many other Latin American countries are still developing and have the corresponding challenges to overcome. El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela have the highest murder rates globally, with El Salvador having 61.7 homicides per 100,000 people. Additionally, those three countries, as well as Brazil and Guyana, have five of the ten highest overall crime rates in the world.
One of Latin America's largest countries in terms of land area, Argentina spans more than 2,780,400 km² (1,073,518 mi²) and is among the most biodiverse countries on Earth. Argentina boasts a 2021 population of just over 46 million people, approximately 89% of whom reside in one of the country's many cities, and has experienced very steady, albeit slow population growth of 2-9% every year since as far back as 1955, the result of both migration and multiple "baby boom" periods. Located very near the southernmost point of Latin America, Argentina shares borders with Chile to the west (and south); Bolivia to the north; and Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay to the east. It has a robust economy and one of the highest Human Development scores in Latin America
Home to the majority of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil sprawls a vast 8,515,767 km² (3,287,956 mi²) of land and sea, with a population of more than 215 million people. Brazil is the largest Latin American country and is the third-largest country in the Americas behind only Canada and the United States . Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Brazil also touches (counter-clockwise from top) French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay. Brazil is the longest and most biodiverse country in the world, stretching from the equator to the Tropic of Capricorn.
Despite its diminutive population (nearly 5.2 million) and size (51,100 km²/19,730 mi²), the Central American country of Costa Rica consistently ranks high in terms of human development and is known for its educated workforce and stable democracy. It also ranked as the second happiest country in the Americas in 2021, behind only Canada. Positioned just above Panama and below Venezuela, Costa Rica is also known for its beaches, volcanoes, and the incredible biodiversity of the protected jungles that cover roughly 25% of its land area.
Often referred to as the DR, this Caribbean nation is one of two countries (the other being Haiti) that jointly occupy the island officially known as Hispaniola . The DR's 2021 population of just over 11 million people share 48,671 km² (18,791 mi²) of area, and enjoy the fastest-growing economy in the Western Hemisphere . The DR is the most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, thanks in no small part to its beaches, biodiversity, and abundance of year-round golf courses.
Located approximately 1,600 km (1,000 mi) southeast of Miami, Florida , this island nation is actually an unincorporated United States territory. Puerto Rico's 8,870 km² (3,424 mi²) of area supports a population of more than 2.8 million people, giving it one of the highest population densities in Latin America (319/km² compared to Brazil's 25/km²). The Puerto Rican economy is largely based around manufacturing (pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and electronics in particular) and tourism/hospitality focused upon its tropical rainforest ecology.
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Rebecca Bodenheimer, Ph.D. is the author of "Geographies of Cubanidad: Place, Race, and Musical Performance in Contemporary Cuba." Her work has been published by CNN Opinion, Pacific Standard, Poynter, NPR, and more.

Latin America spans two continents, North America (including Central America and the Caribbean) and South America. Latin America includes 19 sovereign nations and one dependent territory, Puerto Rico. Most people in the region speak Spanish or Portuguese.

Bodenheimer, Rebecca. "What Is Latin America? Definition and List of Countries." ThoughtCo, Feb. 17, 2021, thoughtco.com/what-is-latin-america-4691831.
Bodenheimer, Rebecca. (2021, February 17). What Is Latin America? Definition and List of Countries. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-latin-america-4691831
Bodenheimer, Rebecca. "What Is Latin America? Definition and List of Countries." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-latin-america-4691831 (accessed October 14, 2022).

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Latin America is a region of the world that spans two continents, North America (including Central America and the Caribbean) and South America. It includes 19 sovereign nations and one non-independent territory, Puerto Rico. Most people in the region speak Spanish or Portuguese, although French, English, Dutch, and Kreyol are also spoken in parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

By and large, the countries in Latin America are still considered "developing" or "emerging" nations, with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina comprising the largest economies. Latin America's population has a high proportion of mixed-race people due to its colonial history and encounters between Europeans, indigenous people, and Africans. In addition, its population is a result of an unprecedented history of transcontinental migration: after 1492, 60 million Europeans, 11 million Africans, and 5 million Asians arrived in the Americas.

Latin America is a region that is difficult to define. It is sometimes considered a geographic region that includes the entire Caribbean, i.e., all Western Hemisphere countries south of the United States, regardless of language spoken. It is defined by others as a region where a Romance language (Spanish, Portuguese, or French) predominates, or as the countries with a history of Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) colonialism.

The most limited definition, and the one utilized in this article, defines Latin America as countries where Spanish or Portuguese is currently the dominant language. Thus, not included are the islands of Haiti and the French Caribbean, the Anglophone Caribbean (including Jamaica and Trinidad), the mainland English-speaking countries of Belize and Guyana, and the Dutch-speaking countries of the hemisphere (Suriname, Aruba, and the Netherland Antilles).

Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Latin America had been settled for millennia by a wide range of indigenous groups, some of whom (Aztecs, Mayans, Incas) boasted advanced civilizations. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in the Americas, followed soon after by the Portuguese, who colonized Brazil. Landing first in the Caribbean, the Spanish soon expanded their explorations and conquest to Central America, Mexico, and South America.

The majority of Latin America gained independence from Spain between 1810 and 1825 , with Brazil gaining independence from Portugal in 1825. Of Spain's two remaining colonies, Cuba gained its independence in 1898, at which time Spain ceded Puerto Rico to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War .

Latin America is divided up into several regions: North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Despite being the only North American country that is part of Latin America, Mexico is one of the region's largest and most important nations. Mexico is the largest source not only of Latin American immigrants, but of all immigrants to the U.S.

Central America is comprised of seven countries, six of which are Spanish-speaking.

Costa Rica is located between Nicaragua and Panama. It is one of the most stable countries in Central America, primarily because it has been able to capitalize on its rich topography for its ecotourism industry.

El Salvador is the smallest but most densely populated country in Central America. Along with Guatemala and Honduras, the country belongs to the maligned " Northern Triangle ," known for its violence and crime that is in large part a result of the civil wars of the 1980s.

Central America's most populous country by far, as well as its most linguistically diverse, is Guatemala , known for the richness of its Mayan culture. Around 40% of the population speaks an indigenous language as their mother tongue.

Honduras borders Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. It is sadly known as one of Latin America's poorest ( 66% of people live in poverty ) and most violent countries.

Central America's largest country in terms of surface area is Nicaragua . It is also the poorestcountry in Central America and the second poorest in the region.

Panama , the southernmost country in Central America, has historically had a very close relationship with the U.S., particularly because of the history of the Panama Canal .

South America is home to 12 independent nations, 10 of which are Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking.

Argentina is South America's second largest and third most populous country, after Brazil and Colombia. It's also Latin America's second biggest economy.

Bolivia is one of South America's highland countries, known for its mountainous geography. It has a relatively large indigenous population, specifically Aymara and Quechua speakers.

South America's largest country in both population and physical size, Brazil is also one of the world's most dominant economies. It covers almost half the land mass of South America and is home to the Amazon Rainforest.

Known for its prosperity relative to the rest of Latin America, Chile also has a whiter population with a smaller proportion of racially mixed people than most of the region.

Colombia is South America's second largest nation, and third largest in all of Latin America. The country is rich in natural resources, particularly petroleum, nickel, iron ore, natural gas, coal, and gold.

Although it is a medium-sized country within South America, Ecuador is the continent's most densely populated nation. It is located along the Earth's equator.

The small nation of Paraguay has a relatively homogenous population: most people are of mixed European and Guaraní (indigenous) ancestry.

Known for its ancient history and Incan Empire, Peru is the fourth most populous country in South America and the fifth in Latin America. It is known for its mountainous topography and relatively large indigenous population.

Uruguay is South America's third smallest country, and, like neighboring Argentina, has a population that is largely of European descent (88%).

With a long coastline on the northern border of South America, Venezuela has much in common culturally with its Caribbean neighbors. It is the birthplace of the "liberator" of South America, Simon Bolivar .

The Caribbean is the sub-region with the most diverse history of European colonization: Spanish, French, English, Dutch, and Kreyol are all spoken. Only the Spanish-speaking countries will be discussed in this article.

The last Spanish colony to gain its independence, Cuba is the largest and most populous nation in the Caribbean. Like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the indigenous population was virtually eliminated in Cuba, and the primary type of racial mixture was between Africans and Europeans.

The Dominican Republic comprises the eastern two-thirds of what Spanish colonizers named the island of Hispaniola, and it has historically had a tense relationship with the western third of the island, Haiti. Culturally and linguistically, the Dominican Republic has much in common with Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The small island of Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S., although there has been a consistent debate throughout the past century about whether to continue with this status or to pursue statehood or independence. Since 1917, Puerto Ricans have been granted automatic U.S. citizenship, yet they don't have the right to vote in presidential elections.

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Latin America: Countries
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Latin America: Countries:
Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , French Guiana , Guatemala , Haiti , Honduras , Mexico , Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , Uruguay , Venezuela
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