Our Series on the World in 2022 focuses on South America.
As of 2022, South America is home to twelve independent nations and one external territory (French Guiana). Nine of these nations come from the disintegration of the Spanish Empire (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay) and one, Brazil, the largest and most populous country in South America, is heir to the Portuguese Empire. Two small countries in the North are former British (Guyana) and Dutch (Surinam) colonies.
While many territorial disputes have plagued the continent for two centuries, the landscape as of 2022 is much more stable, with few rival territorial claims remaining. There are a few exceptions: Venezuela claims about 50% of the territory of its neighbour Guyana, Ecuador and Peru disagree on the drawing of their border, which led to numerous incidents in recent history, Colombia holds a few islands in the Caribbean Sea that are contested by several Central American nations. Also, Argentina contests British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. Argentina and Chile still have some demarcation issues in the high Andes, but it is very minor compared to the territorial conflicts that were resolved in the last century.
South America in 2022
