The American continent consists of two large continents - North and South America. On the territory of the first there are 23 independent large and tiny states, and the second includes 15 countries. The indigenous people here are Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts and some others. After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492, active colonization began. As a consequence of this, throughout the continent of America, the population now has European roots. It should be noted that, according to historical data, the Vikings first visited here about one thousand years ago. However, their expeditions were rare, so they did not make a significant impact on the population.
Ethnic composition of North American residents
As of today, on the mainland of North America, the population is mainly the descendants of the British, French, and Spaniards who moved here during the years of colonization. In this regard, most of the inhabitants of local countries userespective languages. An exception can be considered some Indian peoples, mainly living in Mexico. They managed to preserve their native language to this day. About twenty million Americans are Negroes. Their ancestors were brought here from Africa by the colonialists in order to provide slave labor on local plantations. Now they are officially considered part of the American nation and mainly live in the United States, as well as in the countries of the Caribbean region, where there are also a large number of mulattoes and mestizos.
Population size and density
The population of North America exceeds 528 million inhabitants. Most of them are concentrated in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the first two countries, descendants of immigrants from France and England predominate, and in the third - from Spain. The first civilized states here were created by the Mayan and Aztec tribes. An interesting feature that characterizes the mainland of North America is that the population here is extremely unevenly distributed. Its highest density is observed in the Caribbean and in the southern part. Here it is more than two hundred people per square kilometer. In addition, this figure is quite high in the eastern part of the mainland and in the United States.
Ethnic composition of South Americans
Mostly on the mainland of South America, the population is represented by three large races - Caucasoid, Equatorial and Mongoloid. Its ethnic composition is largely due to somefeatures in the historical development of the region. Currently, representatives of almost 250 nationalities live here, most of which, unlike North American ones, were formed relatively recently. Indigenous Indians, European emigrants, as well as African slaves took part in their formation.
Now the population of South America is largely composed of Creoles - descendants of the conquerors from Spain and Portugal, who were born on this continent. Based on such a parameter as number, then there are mestizos and mulattoes. Most of the states located here have a rather complex composition of inhabitants, based on an ethnic point of view. For example, about eighty tribes live in Brazil (excluding the smallest), in Argentina - about fifty, in Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Bolivia - more than twenty in each of the countries.
South American population and density
According to the latest official figures, the population of South America exceeds 382 million people. Its average density on the mainland is in the range of ten to thirty inhabitants per square kilometer. This figure is lower only in Bolivia, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana. In South America, many researchers distinguish two main types of settlement - inland and oceanic. The first of them is characteristic mainly of the Andean states (for example, Bolivia, which is the highest mountainous country on our planet), andthe second - to countries whose development is influenced by colonization by Europeans (Argentina, Brazil).
Languages in South America
South Americans speak Spanish in most countries. It is official in many local states. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the fact that it has a huge number of borrowings from English, French, Italian and German. The second place on the mainland belongs to the Portuguese language. The largest country in which it is recognized as official is Brazil. Among the English-speaking territories, Guyana, which was once a British colony, can be noted. In Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, the second official languages are Indian languages - Aztec, Guarani and Quechua.
