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56 countries and territories

Countries in Americas

56 countries and territories stretched across two continents and 42,077,922 km², from the Arctic coast of Canada to Cape Horn. Spin the wheel for a random country in the Americas, or browse the full list below.

AnguillaAntiguaArgentinaArubaBahamasBarbadosBelizeBermudaBoliviaBrazilBr. Virgin Is.Canada

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Americas at a glance

56

Countries & territories

35

Sovereign states

1.04 billion

Total population

12.8%

Share of world population

42,077,922 km²

Combined land area

2

Landlocked

29

No land border

13

Official languages

All countries in Americas (A–Z)

Every entry below opens a full guide with the capital, population, land area, languages, currency, neighbouring countries and a map. 35 of these 56 are sovereign states; the rest are territories, dependencies and overseas regions.

Flag of Anguilla

Anguilla

The Valley

15,900

Flag of Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda

Saint John's

93,772

Flag of Argentina

Argentina

Buenos Aires

45.7 million

Flag of Aruba

Aruba

Oranjestad

107,995

Flag of Bahamas

Bahamas

Nassau

401,283

Flag of Barbados

Barbados

Bridgetown

282,467

Flag of Belize

Belize

Belmopan

417,072

Flag of Bermuda

Bermuda

Hamilton

64,636

Flag of Bolivia

Bolivia

Sucre

12.4 million

Flag of Brazil

Brazil

Brasília

212.0 million

Flag of British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

Road Town

39,471

Flag of Canada

Canada

Ottawa

41.3 million

Flag of Caribbean Netherlands

Caribbean Netherlands

Kralendijk

30,000

Flag of Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

George Town

74,457

Flag of Chile

Chile

Santiago

19.8 million

Flag of Colombia

Colombia

Bogotá

52.9 million

Flag of Costa Rica

Costa Rica

San José

5.1 million

Flag of Cuba

Cuba

Havana

11.0 million

Flag of Curaçao

Curaçao

Willemstad

155,967

Flag of Dominica

Dominica

Roseau

66,205

Flag of Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo

11.4 million

Flag of Ecuador

Ecuador

Quito

18.1 million

Flag of El Salvador

El Salvador

San Salvador

6.3 million

Flag of Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

Stanley

3,700

Flag of French Guiana

French Guiana

Cayenne

300,000

Flag of Greenland

Greenland

Nuuk

56,836

Flag of Grenada

Grenada

St. George's

117,207

Flag of Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Basse-Terre

378,000

Flag of Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala City

18.4 million

Flag of Guyana

Guyana

Georgetown

831,087

Flag of Haiti

Haiti

Port-au-Prince

11.8 million

Flag of Honduras

Honduras

Tegucigalpa

10.8 million

Flag of Jamaica

Jamaica

Kingston

2.8 million

Flag of Martinique

Martinique

Fort-de-France

360,000

Flag of Mexico

Mexico

Mexico City

130.9 million

Flag of Montserrat

Montserrat

Plymouth

4,400

Flag of Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Managua

6.9 million

Flag of Panama

Panama

Panama City

4.5 million

Flag of Paraguay

Paraguay

Asunción

6.9 million

Flag of Peru

Peru

Lima

34.2 million

Flag of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

San Juan

3.2 million

Flag of Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy

Gustavia

11,000

Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Basseterre

46,843

Flag of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

Castries

179,744

Flag of Saint Martin

Saint Martin

Marigot

26,129

Flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Saint-Pierre

5,800

Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Kingstown

100,616

Flag of Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten

Philipsburg

43,350

Flag of Suriname

Suriname

Paramaribo

634,431

Flag of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Port of Spain

1.4 million

Flag of Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands

Cockburn Town

46,535

Flag of United States

United States

Washington D.C.

340.1 million

Flag of United States Minor Outlying Islands

United States Minor Outlying Islands

North America

300

Flag of United States Virgin Islands

United States Virgin Islands

Charlotte Amalie

104,377

Flag of Uruguay

Uruguay

Montevideo

3.4 million

Flag of Venezuela

Venezuela

Caracas

28.4 million

Two continents, one region, and a great many islands

The Americas run further north to south than any other landmass on Earth, and this page covers the whole of it: 56 countries and territories, 35 of them sovereign states and 21 of them dependencies or overseas regions. Combined, they cover 42,077,922 km² and hold 1.04 billion people, which is 12.8% of the world's population on roughly a third of its habitable land.

The surprise in the numbers is the Caribbean. Of the 56 entries here, 28 are Caribbean — exactly half the region. South America, which most people picture first when they think of the Americas, contributes only 14. The Caribbean is where the political map fragments into dozens of small islands, many of them still tied to European powers.

That fragmentation shows up in another figure: 29 of the 56 entries share no land border with anyone. Only 2 are landlocked — Bolivia and Paraguay, both in the interior of South America — which makes the Americas the least landlocked populated region on the planet. Almost everywhere here has a coast, and a great deal of the region's history was written by whoever controlled the sea lanes.

The extremes of the Americas

Canada is the largest entry at 9,984,670 km², narrowly ahead of the United States at 9,372,610 km² and Brazil in third. The gap between first and third is small; the gap between third and fourth is enormous, because Argentina covers less than a third of Brazil's area. Three countries account for well over half the region's land.

Population runs the other way. United States has 340.1 million residents, Brazil 212.0 million, and then it drops away fast. The smallest sovereign state here is Saint Kitts and Nevis, with roughly 46,800 people on 261 km² — a country you could drive around in an afternoon. The smallest entry of any kind is Saint Barthélemy at 21 km².

How the Americas divide up

Caribbean

28

44.3 million people across 28 entries.

South America

14

435.6 million people across 14 entries.

Central America

7

52.5 million people across 7 entries.

North America

7

512.4 million people across 7 entries.

Four subregions, wildly uneven. The Caribbean dominates by count with 28 entries but holds a small fraction of the population. South America has 14 entries and roughly two-fifths of the people. North America and Central America have 7 and 7 respectively.

The North America grouping is the odd one, because it includes Greenland and Bermuda alongside the United States, Canada and Mexico. Greenland is the standout: 2,166,086 km² of mostly ice with fewer than sixty thousand residents, self-governing but part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and geologically North American while politically European. It is the single best argument for why "how many countries are there" has no clean answer.

Language and currency in the Americas

Most widespread official languages

  • Englishofficial in 27 places
  • Spanishofficial in 20 places
  • Frenchofficial in 9 places
  • Dutchofficial in 5 places
  • Guaraníofficial in 3 places
  • Papiamentoofficial in 3 places

13 distinct official languages recorded across Americas.

Most widely used currencies

  • United States dollar (USD)11 places
  • Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD)8 places
  • Euro (EUR)6 places
  • Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG)2 places
  • Argentine peso (ARS)1 place
  • Aruban florin (AWG)1 place

36 distinct currencies in circulation across Americas.

The Americas are linguistically the most concentrated region in this dataset: just 13 official languages across 56 entries, against 48 in Africa. English is official in 27 of them, Spanish in 20, French in 9 and Dutch in 5. Four European languages cover nearly the entire hemisphere, which is a blunt summary of five centuries of colonisation.

Indigenous languages hold official status in only a handful of places — Guaraní in Paraguay, Aymara and Quechua in Bolivia and Peru — despite hundreds still being spoken daily. On the money side, 11 entries use the United States dollar outright and 8 share the Eastern Caribbean dollar, a single currency covering most of the Lesser Antilles. A further 6 use the euro, all of them French or Dutch overseas territories.

Compare Americas with the rest of the world

Every region has its own page built the same way, so the figures line up and you can put them side by side. The count beside each name is how many countries and territories it holds.

If you would rather not pick a region at all, the global country wheel carries all 250 entries on the site, and the full A–Z index lets you search rather than spin. The continents overview compares all six regions on one screen.

Once you know the map, test it. The capital city quiz can be filtered by region, guess the flag strips out the country names entirely, and the landlocked countries page covers the 2entries here with no coastline alongside the rest of the world's. There are longer write-ups on the blog if you want the background behind the numbers.

Americas: frequently asked questions

How many countries are there in the Americas?

There are 35 sovereign countries in the Americas. This page lists 56 entries because it also covers territories such as Puerto Rico, Greenland, Bermuda, Martinique and the Falkland Islands. Split by continent, that is 12 sovereign states in South America, 3 in North America, 7 in Central America and 13 in the Caribbean.

What is the largest country in the Americas?

Canada, at 9,984,670 km², which also makes it the second-largest country in the world after Russia. The United States is a close second in the region and Brazil a close third. Despite its size, Canada has only 41.3 million residents, most of them within a hundred miles of the southern border.

Which countries in the Americas are landlocked?

Only 2: Bolivia and Paraguay, both in the interior of South America. Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline to Chile in the War of the Pacific in 1884 and has never accepted the loss — it still maintains a navy on Lake Titicaca and marks a national Day of the Sea every March. Paraguay reaches the sea through the Paraná river system.

How many Caribbean countries and territories are there?

28 of the 56 entries on this page are Caribbean, which is exactly half. Thirteen are independent sovereign states and the rest are territories of the United States, the United Kingdom, France or the Netherlands. It is the most politically fragmented part of the Americas by a wide margin.

What is the smallest country in the Americas?

Saint Kitts and Nevis, at 261 km² with about 46,800 residents, is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas and the smallest in the Western Hemisphere. The smallest entry of any kind on this page is Saint Barthélemy at 21 km², a French overseas collectivity in the Lesser Antilles.

Is Greenland part of the Americas?

Geographically yes — Greenland sits on the North American tectonic plate and is closer to Canada than to Europe, which is why it appears in this region. Politically it is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. At 2,166,086 km² it is the world's largest island and larger than every country in the Americas except Canada, the United States, Brazil and Argentina, yet fewer than sixty thousand people live there.

How is the random country wheel on this page different from the main one?

This wheel is loaded only with countries from this region, so every spin lands inside it. The wheel on the main spin page carries all 250 countries and territories on the site. Use the regional wheel when you are studying one part of the world and the global one when you want a genuine surprise.

Where do these population and area figures come from?

They come from the same dataset that powers every country guide on this site, built on public country data and the most recent published estimates for population and land area. Population figures in particular are estimates and move constantly, so treat them as accurate to within a percent or two rather than to the last person.

Why does this page count territories as well as countries?

Because they are real places with flags, capitals and residents, and leaving them out would hide some of the most interesting entries on the map. Every guide states plainly whether a place is a sovereign state or a territory, and the sovereign count is given separately in the statistics above so you can use whichever number you need.

Can I use these figures in a school project?

Yes, and it is worth citing the date you looked them up, because population estimates change. If your project needs one authoritative source, cross-check the headline numbers against the UN World Population Prospects or the country's own statistics office. The rankings here — largest, smallest, most populous — are stable and safe to quote.