South America is a continent located in the Western Hemisphere and predominantly part of the Southern Hemisphere. It is situated to the South of the continent of North America. It is the fourth largest continent on Earth with a total land mass of almost 18 million square kilometres.
South America is made up of 12 countries; Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. It also includes French Guiana which belongs to France and the Falkland Islands and South Georgia which belong to the United Kingdom. Brazil is the largest of these countries both in terms of population and physical size.
It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the West, the Atlantic Ocean to the East and the Southern Ocean to the South. South America boasts the longest mountain range on Earth by way of the Andes, the largest rainforest on Earth in the Amazon Rainforest, and the largest river on Earth (according to volume) by way of the Amazon.
The most commonly spoken language in South America is Portuguese, although this is mainly due to the fact that it is the national language of Brazil which is home to more than half of the total population of South America. Spanish is the official language of most of the other countries, although French is also spoken, as well as other languages from around the world.
Some of the most prominent historical figures to come from South America include the controversial military leader General Augusto Pinochet, who held an infamous leadership of Chile, and the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara who was a major figure in the Cuban revolution.
South America has traditionally had a rich association with the game of football. Brazil has won the football World Cup a record 5 times, and both Argentina and Uruguay have won twice. South America has also seen truly great motor racing drivers with the likes of Juan Fangio of Argentina in the 1950s and Ayrton Senna of Brazil during the 1980s and 1990s.