Latin America is a region constituted by South and Central American countries. The region is defined by the majority language, rather than geography. Read on, to know more about this region, in this ScienceStruck article.
Did You Know?
A small part of Latin America was actually the only region of the American mainland discovered by Christopher Columbus. He mainly discovered numerous Caribbean islands, and ventured not too far inland in Central America.
Latin America is a region rich in history, culture, and modern tourist attractions. It is defined as the region where two of the five Romance languages, i.e., Spanish and Portuguese, are spoken by the majority.
The region is made up by virtually the entire South and Central America, as well as a few Caribbean islands. This total region covers approx. 19,197,000 sq km (7,412,000 sq mi), and houses about 600 million people. It lies either side of the Equator, but entirely in the Western Hemisphere.
This region owes its name to European imperialism, and was part of some of the most influential and largest empires in human history. Much of South America and Mexico were an important part of the Spanish Empire, whereas Brazil was the most important overseas asset of the Portuguese Empire. The countries in this region started to break free of their European rulers in the 19th century, with Mexico and Brazil leading the way by declaring independence from the ailing Portuguese and Spanish empires in 1821 and 1822, respectively.
Here’s a guide to all the countries in Latin America, and their capitals.
NOTE: The countries have been listed in an alphabetical order. The populations have been rounded off to the higher round figure, to accommodate the probable growth since the last census.
Latin American Countries and Their Capitals
► Argentina
Population (2013): 42 million
Area: 2,780,400 sq km
Largest City (Population): Buenos Aires (3 million)
► Bolivia
Population (2013): 10.5 million
Area: 1,098,581 sq km
Largest City (Population): Santa Cruz de la Sierra (1.5 million)
► Brazil
Population (2013): 201 million
Area: 8,515,767 sq km
Largest City (Population): São Paulo (11.5 million)
► Chile
Population (2013): 17.5 million
Area: 756,096 sq km
Largest City (Population): Santiago (5.5 million)
► Colombia
Population (2013): 47.5 million
Area: 1,141,748 sq km
Largest City (Population): Bogotá (7.7 million)
► Costa Rica
Population (2013): 4.7 million
Area: 51,100 sq km
Largest City (Population): San José (288,100)
► Cuba
Population (2013): 11.1 million
Area: 109,884 sq km
Largest City (Population): Havana (2.1 million)
► Dominican Republic
Population (2013): 10.3 million
Area: 48,442 sq km
Largest City (Population): Santo Domingo (3.7 million)
► Ecuador
Population (2013): 15.5 million
Area: 283,560 sq km
Largest City (Population): Guayaquil (2.4 million)
► El Salvador
Population (2013): 6.1 million
Area: 21,040 sq km
Largest City (Population): San Salvador (570,000)
► Guatemala
Population (2013): 15.5 million
Area: 108,889 sq km
Largest City (Population): Guatemala City (1.1 million)
► Haiti
Population (2013): 9.9 million
Area: 27,750 sq km
Largest City (Population): Port-au-Prince (950,000)
► Honduras
Population (2013): 8.6 million
Area: 112,492 sq km
Largest City (Population): Tegucigalpa (1.2 million)
► Mexico
Population (2013): 118.5 million
Area: 1,972,550 sq km
Largest City (Population): Mexico City (8.9 million)
► Nicaragua
Population (2013): 5.8 million
Area: 130,375 sq km
Largest City (Population): Managua (928,000)
► Panama
Population (2013): 3.7 million
Area: 75,517 sq km
Largest City (Population): Panama City (880,000)
► Paraguay
Population (2013): 6.8 million
Area: 406,752 sq km
Largest City (Population): Asunción (542,000)
► Peru
Population (2013): 30.5 million
Area: 1,285,216 sq km
Largest City (Population): Lima (7.6 million)
► Puerto Rico
Population (2013): 3.6 million
Area: 9,104 sq km
Largest City (Population): San Juan (396,000)
► Uruguay
Population (2013): 3.4 million
Area: 176,215 sq km
Largest City (Population): Montevideo (1.3 million)
► Venezuela
Population (2013): 31.7 million
Area: 916,445 sq km
Largest City (Population): Caracas (1.9 million)
