Answering the question of which countries are in North America, many will say without hesitation that these are the USA, Mexico and Canada. In fact, the region includes not only these three states, about which quite a lot is known. More details about the rest of North American countries will be discussed later.
St. Pierre and Miquelon are located in the northwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean on the islands of the same name. The state is considered a French possession and covers an area of 240 km2. The main occupation of the population, whose number is about five thousand, is cod fishing and its further processing. During the fishing season, a large number of French vessels can be seen near this North American country.
Puerto Rico has about two and a half million people. The state is located on an island in the West Indies and has an area of almost 9 thousand km2. Approximately 80 percent of the local territory, as well as the largest mines and enterprises, are owned by American companies. Although this constitutionNorth American countries position Puerto Rico as a state that freely joined the United States, many colonial foundations in its administration have survived to this day.
Cuba is located on several Caribbean islands and covers an area of 115 thousand km2. The population of the country is seven million people, and its capital, Havana, is 1.2 million. Its interesting feature is that here all production facilities are the property of the people.
On the island of Haiti and several adjacent pieces of land, there are two countries of North America at once. In the eastern part is the Dominican Republic with an area of 49 thousand km2 with a population of just over three thousand people. The local economy is based on the cultivation and export of sugar cane. The best lands of the country are also occupied by banana plantations owned by large owners. At the same time, most of the peasants do not have even the slightest piece of land at their disposal. Every year, American capital expands its positions here, which has recently been directed to the exploration of oil fields. In the western part of the island there is a state of the same name with an area of 28 thousand km2. About 3.5 million people live in it. Haiti is an agricultural, economically backward country with a large share of capital from the United States.
Guadeloupe with a population of 270 thousand people is located on an island in the West Indies, which is part of the Lesser Antilles. People are engaged in agriculture, mainly sugar growing.cane.
The countries of North America are also represented by the Virgin Islands, which are located in the Caribbean Sea. Their total area is 200 km2, and the population is 7 thousand people. It should be noted that about 50 of them belong to the United States.
The West Indies Federation appeared in 1958 as a result of the unification of the British colonies located on the islands of the Caribbean. Among them are Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and others. The state is also known as the Caribbean Federation. Local legislative power is vested in the Federal Parliament and the Queen of England.
There are also Dutch possessions in the region. In this case, we are talking about the Netherlands West Indies. It has an area of 947 square meters and consists of six small islands. In 1954, the country was proclaimed an overseas autonomous territory of the Netherlands. An interesting fact is that several US-owned oil refineries have been built here.
Summing up, it should be noted that the correct answer to the question of how many countries in North America will be far from three, but twenty-three, because, in addition to the USA, Canada and Mexico, there are several other continental and island states.
