Editing South America (section)

==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of South America}}
{{See also|List of South American countries by population|List of South American countries by life expectancy}}
[[File:South America night.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Satellite view of South America at night from [[NASA]], showing the contrast between heavily populated coastal areas and the more remote regions of the Amazonian interior and Patagonia]]
South America has a population of over 428 million people. They are distributed as to form a "hollow continent" with most of the population concentrated around the margins of the continent.<ref name="natgeo"/> On one hand, there are several sparsely populated areas such as [[tropical forest]]s, the [[Atacama Desert]] and the icy portions of [[Patagonia]]. On the other hand, the continent presents regions of high population density, such as the great urban centers. The population is formed by descendants of Europeans (mainly [[Spaniards]], [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] and Italians), [[African diaspora|Africans]] and [[Amerindians]]. There is a high percentage of [[Mestizos]] that vary greatly in composition by place. There is a population of about 5 million Asians, mostly [[East Asians]], especially in Brazil, [[Peru]], and [[Argentina]]. The two main languages are by far Spanish and Portuguese, followed by English, French and Dutch in smaller numbers.

===Language===
{{Main|Languages of South America}}
[[File:Languages of South America (en).svg|thumb|Official languages in South America]]

Spanish and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] are the most spoken languages in South America, with approximately 200 million speakers each. Spanish is the official language of most countries, along with other native languages in some countries. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil. [[Dutch language|Dutch]] is the official language of [[Suriname]]; English is the official language of [[Guyana]], although there are at least twelve other languages spoken in the country, including [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], Chinese, [[Caribbean Hindustani|Hindustani]] and several native languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studycountry.com/guide/GY-language.htm|title=The Languages spoken in Guyana|website=Studylands|access-date=12 April 2016|archive-date=11 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511235912/http://www.studycountry.com/guide/GY-language.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> English is also spoken in the [[Falkland Islands]]. French is the official language of [[French Guiana]] and the second language in [[Amapá]], Brazil.

[[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Indigenous languages]] of South America include [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina and Colombia; [[Wayuunaiki]] in northern Colombia ([[La Guajira]]) and northwestern Venezuela ([[Zulia]]); [[Guarani language|Guaraní]] in Paraguay and, to a much lesser extent, in Bolivia; [[Aymara language|Aymara]] in Bolivia, Peru, and less often in Chile; and [[Mapudungun]] is spoken in certain pockets of southern Chile. At least three South American indigenous languages (Quechua, Aymara, and Guarani) are recognized along with Spanish as national languages.

Other languages found in South America include [[Sranan Tongo]], [[Caribbean Hindustani|Hindustani]] and [[Javanese language|Javanese]] in Suriname; Italian in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela; and German in certain pockets of Argentina, Chile and Brazil. German is also spoken in many regions of the southern states of Brazil, [[Riograndenser Hunsrückisch]] being the most widely spoken German dialect in the country; among other Germanic dialects, a Brazilian form of [[East Pomeranian]] is also well represented and is experiencing a revival. [[Welsh language|Welsh]] remains spoken and written in the historic towns of [[Trelew]] and [[Rawson, Chubut|Rawson]] in the Argentine [[Patagonia]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]] is spoken in southern Chile, Arabic speakers, often of [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], [[Syrian]], or [[Palestinian]] descent, can be found in Arab communities in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela and in Paraguay.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1017/S0022216X13001156|title=On the Trail and Trial of a Palestinian Diaspora: Mapping South America in the Arab–Israeli Conflict, 1967–1972|journal=Journal of Latin American Studies|volume=45|issue=4|year=2013|pages=751–777|author=Karam, John Tofik|s2cid=145423526}}</ref>

===Religion===
[[File:Santuario de Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia, 2015-07-21, DD 21-23 HDR-Edit.JPG|thumb|[[Las Lajas Sanctuary]], [[Ipiales]], [[Colombia]]]]
{{main|Religion in South America|Religion in Latin America}}
{{see also|History of the Jews in Latin America and the Caribbean|Buddhism in Brazil|Islam in Argentina}}

An estimated 90% of South Americans are Christians<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx|title=Christians|date=18 December 2012|website=Pewforum.org|access-date=11 November 2017|archive-date=5 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705090247/http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> (82% [[Roman Catholic]], 8% other Christian denominations mainly traditional [[Protestants]] and [[Evangelicals]] but also [[Orthodoxy|Orthodox]]), accounting for 19% of Christians worldwide.

African descendent and Indigenous religions are common throughout South America; some examples are [[Santo Daime]], [[Candomblé]], and [[Umbanda]]. [[Crypto-Jews]] or [[Marrano]]s, [[conversos]], and [[Anusim]] were an important part of colonial life in Latin America. Buenos Aires and São Paulo figure among the largest [[Jewish population by urban areas|Jewish populations by urban area]].

[[East Asian religions]] such as [[Japanese Buddhism]], [[Shintoism]], and [[Shinto|Shinto-derived]] [[Japanese New Religions]] are common in Brazil and Peru. [[Korean Confucianism]] is especially found in Brazil, while [[Chinese Buddhism]] and [[Confucianism|Chinese Confucianism]] have spread throughout the continent. [[Kardecist Spiritism]] can be found in several countries.

[[Hinduism|Hindus]] form 25% of the Guyanese population and 22% of Suriname's.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Guyana – The World Factbook|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guyana/#people-and-society|access-date=4 January 2021|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|archive-date=7 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107032754/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/guyana/#people-and-society|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Suriname – The World Factbook|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/|access-date=4 January 2021|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|archive-date=7 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107182748/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/suriname/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Muslims account for 7% of the Guyanese population and 14% of the Surinamese population.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

'''Part of Religions in South America (2013):'''<ref name="latbar">{{cite web|title=Las religiones en tiempos del Papa Francisco|url=http://www.latinobarometro.org/latNewsShow.jsp|publisher=Latinobarómetro|access-date=4 April 2015|archive-date=10 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510104033/http://www.latinobarometro.org/latNewsShow.jsp|page=7|language=es|date=April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Religion in South America
! Countries
! Christians
! ''Roman Catholics''
! ''Other Christians''
! No religion (atheists and agnostics)
|-
|Argentina||88%|||77%|||11%|||11%
|-
|Bolivia||96%|||74%|||22%|||4%
|-
|Brazil||88%|||64%|||22%|||8%
|-
|Chile||70%|||57%|||13%|||25%
|-
|Colombia||92%|||80%|||12%|||7%
|-
|Ecuador||93%|||80%|||13%|||7%
|-
|Guyana||63%|||7%|||56%|||3%
|-
|Paraguay||96%|||87%|||9%|||2%
|-
|Peru||94%|||81%|||13%|||3%
|-
|Suriname||51%|||29%|||22%|||5%
|-
|Uruguay||58%|||47%|||11%|||41%
|-
|Venezuela||88%|||71%|||17%|||8%
|}

===Ethnic demographics===
{{main|Ethnic groups in South America}}
[[File:Japanese Brazilian Miko Curitiba Paraná.jpg|thumb|upright|A Japanese-Brazilian [[Miko]] during a festival in [[Curitiba]]]]
[[File:Festuva.jpg|thumb|President of Brazil Lula and members of the [[Italian Brazilian]] community during the Grape Festival at [[Caxias do Sul]]]]
[[File:Quechuawomanandchild.jpg|thumb|[[Peruvian]] woman and her son]]

[[Genetic admixture]] occurs at high levels in South America. In Argentina, European influence accounts for 65–80% of the genetic background, [[Amerindian]] (indigenous people) 17–31% and sub-Saharan African 2–4%. In Colombia, the sub-Saharan African genetic background varied 1% to 89%, while the European genetic background varied from 20 to 79%, depending on the region. In Peru, European ancestries ranged from 1% to 31%, while the African contribution was only 1–3%.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Salzano |first1=F. M. |last2=Sans |first2=M. |year=2014 |title=Interethnic admixture and the evolution of Latin American populations |journal=Genet. Mol. Biol. |volume=37 |issue=1 Suppl |pages=151–170 |doi=10.1590/s1415-47572014000200003 |pmc=3983580 |pmid=24764751}}</ref> The Genographic Project determined the average Peruvian from Lima had about 25% European ancestry, 68% Native American, 3% Southwest Asian ancestry and 2% sub-Saharan African.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations/|title=Your Regional Ancestry: Reference Populations|website=National Geographic|access-date=31 December 2016|archive-date=27 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227020449/https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Descendants of [[Indigenous peoples of South America|indigenous peoples]], such as the [[Quechuas|Quechua]] and [[Aymara people|Aymara]], or the [[Urarina]]<ref>Dean, Bartholomew 2009. ''[http://www.upf.com/book.asp?id=DEANXS07 Urarina Society, Cosmology, and History in Peruvian Amazonia]'', Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida, {{ISBN|978-0-8130-3378-5}}. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717170729/http://www.upf.com/book.asp?id=DEANXS07|date=17 July 2011}}.</ref> of [[Amazonia]], make up the majority of the population in Bolivia (56%) and Peru (44%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/peru/|title=Peru|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=18 April 2009|archive-date=19 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119135020/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/peru/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bolivia/|title=Bolivia|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=18 April 2009|archive-date=27 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927041747/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bolivia/|url-status=live}}</ref> In Ecuador, Amerindians comprise two-fifths of the population. The indigenous population is also a significant element in most other countries in South America.

People who identify as of primarily or totally [[light skin|European descent]], or identify their [[phenotype]] as corresponding to such group, are a majority in Uruguay,<ref name=blanca>{{cite web|url=http://www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm|title=Argentina y Uruguay, su población está formada casi exclusivamente por una población blanca e blanca mestiza procedente del sur de Europa, más del 90% E. García Zarza, 1992, 19|publisher=Geografia.fflch.usp.br|access-date=18 April 2009|archive-date=4 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604052317/http://www.geografia.fflch.usp.br/publicacoes/Geousp/Geousp13/Geousp13_Intercambio_Maurel.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Argentina<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/argentina/|title=Argentina|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=18 April 2009|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417040319/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/argentina/|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Demographics of Chile|Chile]] (64.7%),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cruz-Coke |first1=R. |last2=Moreno |first2=R. S. |year=1994 |title=Genetic epidemiology of single gene defects in Chile |journal=Journal of Medical Genetics |volume=31 |issue=9 |pages=702–706 |doi=10.1136/jmg.31.9.702 |pmc=1050080 |pmid=7815439}}</ref> and are 43.5% of the population in Brazil.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/economia/censo/noticia/2023/12/22/censo-2022-cor-ou-raca.ghtml|title=Censo 2022: Pela 1ª vez, Brasil se declara mais pardo que branco; populações preta e indígena também crescem|date=22 December 2023|access-date=22 December 2023|archive-date=22 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222234415/https://g1.globo.com/google/amp/economia/censo/noticia/2023/12/22/censo-2022-cor-ou-raca.ghtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://revistas.ucm.es/fll/02104547/articulos/ALHI8383110228A.PDF|title=Latinoamerica.|website=Revistas.ucm.es|access-date=24 October 2010|archive-date=18 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318213911/http://revistas.ucm.es/fll/02104547/articulos/ALHI8383110228A.PDF|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.studentsgoabroad.com/en/internships/internship-in-chile/general-information.html|title=The Chilean population is rather homogeneous with 95.4% of its population having European ancestors|publisher=Studentsgoabroad.com|date=11 September 1973|access-date=24 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107043856/http://www.studentsgoabroad.com/en/internships/internship-in-chile/general-information.html|archive-date=7 January 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Venezuela, according to the census, 42% of the population is of primarily Spanish, Italian or Portuguese descendence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf|title=Calendario de Publicaciones del Censo 2011|website=Ine.gov.ve|access-date=11 November 2017|archive-date=15 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115145751/http://www.ine.gov.ve/documentos/Demografia/CensodePoblacionyVivienda/pdf/ResultadosBasicosCenso2011.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In Colombia, people who identify as from European descendants are about 20%.<ref name="The Society and Its Environment"/><ref name="schwartzman">{{cite web|url=http://www.schwartzman.org.br/simon/coesion_etnia.pdf|title=Étnia, condiciones de vida y discriminación|first=Simon|last=Schwartzman|date=27 January 2008|language=es|access-date=3 April 2014|archive-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911195451/http://www.schwartzman.org.br/simon/coesion_etnia.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In Peru, European descendants are the third group in number (15%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fppmedia.com/pdfs/html/moperu.html|title=Peru – An Overview of the Market|publisher=Fppmedia.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711022032/http://www.fppmedia.com/pdfs/html/moperu.html|archive-date=11 July 2011}}</ref>

[[Mestizo]]s (mixed European and Amerindian) are the largest ethnic group in Bolivia, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia<ref name="The Society and Its Environment">Bushnell, David & Rex A. Hudson (2010) "[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Colombia.pdf The Society and Its Environment], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605232154/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf/CS_Colombia.pdf|date=5 June 2011}}"; ''Colombia: a country study'': 87. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.</ref> and Ecuador and the second group in Peru, Chile and Argentina.

South America is home to one of the largest populations of [[Africans]]. This group is significantly present in Brazil, Colombia, [[Guyana]], [[Suriname]], French Guiana, Venezuela and Ecuador. Brazil, followed by Peru, has the largest Japanese, Korean and Chinese communities in South America. Lima has the largest ethnic Chinese community in Latin America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080115i1.html=search.japantimes.co.jp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204041835/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080115i1.html%3Dsearch.japantimes.co.jp|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 December 2008|title=Japan, Brazil mark a century of settlement, family ties|work=The Japan Times|author=Nakamura, Akemi|date=15 January 2008}}</ref> Guyana and Suriname have the largest ethnic [[India|East Indian]] community.

====Indigenous people====
{{main|List of Indigenous peoples of South America|Indigenous peoples of South America}}
[[File:Kamaiurá village in Xingu Indigenous Park.jpg|thumb|right|[[Xingu peoples|Xingu]], an [[Indigenous territory (Brazil)|Indigenous territory of Brazil]]]]
In some places indigenous people still practice a traditional lifestyle, based on subsistence agriculture or as hunter-gatherers. There are still [[uncontacted tribes]] residing in the Amazon Rainforest.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150723060435/http://www.astromonos.org/public/3/indigenasenamerica.jsf Indigenous peoples of]}} [http://www.southamerica-tours.net/ South America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160618150011/http://www.southamerica-tours.net/ |date=18 June 2016 }}. Astromonos.org. Retrieved 20 October 2015.</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=17em}}
* [[Aguarunas]]
* [[Alacalufe]]
* [[Arawaks]]
* [[Ashanincas]]
* [[Atacameños]]
* [[Awá-Guajá people|Awá]]
* [[Aymara people|Aymara]] – live in the [[Altiplano]] of [[Bolivia]], Chile and [[Peru]]. Their language is co-official in [[Bolivia]] and [[Peru]]. Traditional lifestyle includes llama herding.
* [[Banawá people|Banawa]]
* [[Cañari]]s
* [[Caiapos]]
* [[Chibcha]]
* [[Cocama language|Cocama]]
* [[Chayahuita]]
* [[Diaguita]]
* [[Enxet]]
* [[Ge (people)|Gê]],
* [[Guarani people|Guaraní]] – live in Paraguay, where the [[Guarani language]] is co-official with Spanish. They are also found in Bolivia.
* [[Juris]]
* [[Guna people|Guna]] live on the [[Colombia]]–[[Panama]] border.
* [[Mapuche]] – live mainly in southern Chile and southwestern Argentina (see [[Araucanian]]).
* [[Matsés]]
* [[Pehuenche]] – a branch of Mapuches that lived in the Andean valleys of southern (see [[Araucanian]]).
* [[Quechuas]] – make up a large part of the population of Peru and Bolivia. Are diverse as an ethnic group. The Incas spoke [[Southern Quechua]].
* [[Selkʼnam]]
* [[Shipibo]]
* [[Shuar]] (see [[Jivaroan peoples|Jívaro]]).
* [[Tupi people|Tupi]]
* [[Urarina]]
* [[Wai-Wai people|Wai-Wai]]
* [[Wayuu]]
* [[Xukuru people|Xucuru]]
* [[Yaghan people|Yaghan]]
* [[Yagua]]
* [[Yąnomamö]]
* [[Zaparos]]
{{Div col end}}

=== Populace ===
{{multiple image
| align = right
| caption_align = center
| direction = vertical
| width =
| header_background =
| header_align = center
| header = South American cities
| image1 = SP from Altino Arantes Building.jpg
| width1 = 200
| caption1 = [[São Paulo]]
| image2 = Buenos Aires Puerto Madero 13.jpg
| width2 = 200
| caption2 = [[Buenos Aires]]
| image3 = Urca, Rio de Janeiro - State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - panoramio (14).jpg
| width3 = 200
| caption3 = [[Rio de Janeiro]]
| image4 = Santiago de Chile (winter).jpg
| width4 = 200
| caption4 = [[Santiago]]
| total_width =
| alt1 =
}}

While Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia maintain the largest populations, large city populations are not restricted to those nations. The top ten largest South American metropolitan areas by population as of 2015, based on national censuses:

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
!Metro Area
!Population
!Area
!Country
|-
| [[Greater São Paulo|São Paulo]]
| 21,090,792
| {{convert|7947|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Brazil
|-
| [[Greater Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]]
| 13,693,657
| {{convert|3830|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Argentina
|-
| [[Greater Rio de Janeiro|Rio de Janeiro]]
| 13,131,431
| {{convert|6744|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Brazil
|-
| [[Lima metropolitan area|Lima]]
| 9,904,727
| {{convert|2819|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Peru
|-
| [[Metropolitan Area of Bogotá|Bogotá]]
| 9,800,225
| {{convert|4200|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Colombia
|-
| [[Santiago Metropolitan Region|Santiago]]
| 6,683,852
| {{convert|15403|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Chile
|-
| [[Greater Belo Horizonte|Belo Horizonte]]
| 5,829,923
| {{convert|9467|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Brazil
|-
| [[Greater Caracas|Caracas]]
| 5,322,310
| {{convert|4715|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Venezuela
|-
| [[Greater Porto Alegre|Porto Alegre]]
| 4,258,926
| {{convert|10232|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Brazil
|-
| [[Brasília]]
| 4,201,737
| {{convert|56433|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| Brazil
|}

Five of the [[List of metropolitan areas in the Americas|top ten metropolitan areas]] are in Brazil. These metropolitan areas all have a population of above 4 million and include the [[Greater São Paulo|São Paulo metropolitan area]], [[Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area]], and [[Belo Horizonte metropolitan area]]. Whilst the majority of the largest metropolitan areas are within Brazil, Argentina is host to the second largest metropolitan area by population in South America: the [[Greater Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires metropolitan region]], with a population in excess of 13 million.

South America has been witness to the growth of [[Megalopolis|megapolitan areas]]. In Brazil four megaregions exist including the [[Expanded Metropolitan Complex of São Paulo]] with more than 32 million inhabitants. The others are the Greater Rio, Greater Belo Horizonte and [[Greater Porto Alegre]]. Colombia also has four megaregions which comprise 72% of its population, followed by Venezuela, Argentina and Peru which are also homes of megaregions.
{{Clear}}