SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES

Social Studies for 9th E.G.B.Teacher: Mauricio Torres

• It includes 10 countries as follows

SOUTH AMERICA

• Capital: Buenos Aires• President: Cristina Fernandez• Independence: May 25th 1810• Population: 40 million (aprox.)• Currency: Peso

ARGENTINA

Argentine Republic, is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.

• Facts:– A recognized middle power,

Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy.

– Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations.

ARGENTINA

Rioplatense SpanishPreliminary research has shown that Rioplatense Spanish, and particularly the speech of the city of Buenos Aires, has intonation patterns that resemble those of Italian dialects and differ markedly from the patterns of other forms of Spanish. Argentina, and particularly Buenos Aires, had huge numbers of Italian immigrant settlers since the 19th century. The researchers note that the development of this dialect is a relatively recent phenomenon, developing since the beginning of the 20th century and the main wave of Southern Italian immigration.

• Capital: Sucre• President: Evo Morales• Independence: August 6, 1825• Population: 10 million (aprox.)• Currency: Boliviano

BOLIVIA

Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country in central South America

BOLIVIA

Resourceful NationIts main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing goods such as textiles, clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum.

• Facts:– Named after Simón Bolivar.– Has the only native

american President in the World

• Capital: Brasilia• President: Dilma Rouseff• Independence: September 7

1822• Population: 192 million (aprox.)• Currency: Real

BRAZIL

Federative Republic of Brazil, is the world’s fifth largest country. It shares borders with all of the South American countries except for Ecuador and Chile. It became a Kingdom in the 1800s and afterwards an independent Republic.

BRAZIL

A Latin KingdomBrazil was a colony of Portugal until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.

Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system.

• Facts:– One of the fastest growing

major economies.– Five times world champions

(football).

• Capital: Santiago• President: Sebastian Pinera• Independence: Feb 12, 1818• Population: million (aprox.)• Currency: Peso

CHILE

Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south

CHILE

A Booming EconomyToday, Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous nations and a recognized middle power. It leads Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, economic freedom, low perception of corruption and state of peace.

• Facts:– Chilean territory includes

Easter Island– Renounced world producer

of copper.

• Capital: Bogotá• President: Juan Manuel Santos• Independence: July 29, 1810• Population: 46 million (aprox.)• Currency: Peso

COLOMBIA

Republic of Colombia , the world’s leading coffee producer and one of South America’s cultural centers.

COLOMBIA

Violent HistoryTensions between political parties have frequently erupted into violence, most notably in the Thousand Days War (1899–1902) and La Violencia, beginning in 1948. Since the 1960s, government forces, left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries have been engaged in the continent's longest-running armed conflict. Fueled by the cocaine trade, this escalated dramatically in the 1980s.

• Facts:– Has the second largest

population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world.

– Shakira, Juanes, Sofia Vergara, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Juan Pablo Montoya and Carlos Vives are all Colombian.

• Capital: Asunción• President: Fernando Lugo• Independence: May 14, 1811• Population: 6.3 million (aprox.)• Currency: Guarani

PARAGUAY

Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. . Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazón de América, or the Heart of America.

PARAGUAY

Guarani RulesThe official languages are Spanish and Guaraní, both being widely spoken in the country, with around 92% of the general population speaking Spanish and 98% speaking Guaraní. Most of the population are mestizos.

• Facts:– When the flag is turned around, the

coat of arms is different from the one in front.

– They fought a war against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay in the 1800s. The country was devastated and its effects are still felt today.

• Capital: Lima• President: Ollanta Humala• Independence: July 28, 1824• Population: 29.4 million (aprox.)• Currency: Nuevo Sol

PERU

Republic of Peru, its territory was home to ancient cultures, spanning from the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America.

PERU

Different environmentsIts geography varies from the arid plains of the Pacific coast to the peaks of the Andes Mountains and the tropical forests of the Amazon Basin.

• Facts:– Famous for the cuisine– Macchu Picchu: one of the

most visited sites on earth.

• Capital: Montevideo• President: Jose Mújica• Independence: August 25, 1825• Population: 3.3 million (aprox.)• Currency: Uruguayan Peso

URUGUAY

Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is one of the most economically developed countries in South America, and the first by human development in Latin America, when inequality is factored in.

URUGUAY

Strong EconomyUruguay and Bolivia were the only countries in the Americas which did not go into recession (2 consecutive quarters of retraction) as a result of the Late-2000s financial crisis. In 2009, Uruguay became the first nation in the world to provide every school child with a free laptop and internet.

• Facts:– It is home to 3.3 million people, of whom

1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European ancestry.

– Uruguay is reimbursed by the UN for the majority of its military spending, because the majority of its military is deployed as UN peacekeepers.

• Capital: Caracas• President: Hugo Chávez• Independence: July 5, 1811• Population: 27 million (aprox.)• Currency: Bolívar Fuerte

VENEZUELA

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil and has the largest oil reserves. Previously an underdeveloped exporter of agricultural commodities such as coffee and cocoa, oil quickly came to dominate exports and government revenues.

VENEZUELA

BiodiversityVenezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity, with habitats ranging from the Andes mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.

• Facts:– Venezuela is among the most

urbanized countries in Latin America; the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north, especially in the capital, Caracas.

AND OF COURSE… •ECUADOR

(which we already know)