The 30 Largest Countries In America [Area Based]

On our planet, there are 194 countries, sovereign states, which are spread over the five continents, each with its own characteristics. Today we would like to show you the largest countries in America, both in the south, in the north or in the center, of the entire American continent.

In the world, we have 148,940,000 km² of land, 29.2%, while the remaining 70.8% is water, a total of 361,132,000 km². The total surface of our planet is 510,072,000 km².

With all this, America is the second of the largest continents that exist on Earth, only behind Asia. It has a surface area of 42,655,270 km2 and with many countries that are among the most populated in the world.

But in addition, America has tiny countries with very little surface area, located on islands and with very few inhabitants, which contrasts highly with the reality of other hyper-populated cities such as Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, New York or Sao Paulo.

Among the largest countries in America, we find authentic disarray between the richest in the North, and the most humble countries, in the South and Central America. The United States and Canada are two world powers with consolidated democracies and with GDP above most other countries on Earth.

However, this contrast is highly perceptible with the rest of the southern countries that, despite having large territories such as Brazil, have levels of poverty well above the average, closer to countries in other latitudes such as the south from Asia.

Largest Countries in America According to Their Area

Canada: it is the largest with an area of 9,893,340 km². Its capital is Ottawa. It has a federal parliamentary monarchy and its prime minister right now is Justin Trudeau. Canada has a population of 37,067,011 million and two official languages are spoken: English and French.
United States: its surface area is 9,826,671 km², and its capital is Washington DC. The United States has the Presidential Federal Republic now held by Joe Biden. Despite being smaller than Canada by a few hundred thousand kilometers, it thus exceeds its northern neighbor by many millions of inhabitants: 331,449,281 inhabitants, being the third most populous country in the world.
Brazil: it has an area of 8,514,877 km². Its capital is Brasilia. Currently, its president is Jair Bolsonaro and it is among the 5 most populous countries in the world with 212,216,052 inhabitants.
Argentina: already very far in size from the three countries that complete the podium, since its surface area is 2,780,400 km². Its capital is Buenos Aires. The president of the country is currently Alberto Fernández and it is estimated that it has a total population of 45,195,777 inhabitants.
Mexico: covers an area of 1,964,375 km², and its capital is Mexico City.
Peru: with an area of 1,285,216 km², its capital is the city of Lima.
Colombia: the coffee country par excellence covers an area of 1,141,748 km². Its capital is Bogota.
Bolivia: it has an area of 1,098,571 km². Its capital is Sucre.
Venezuela: already under one million, its surface is 916,445 km². Its capital is Caracas.
Chile: covers an area of 756,102 km². Its capital is Santiago.
Paraguay: it has an area of 406,752 km². Its capital is Asunción.
Ecuador: its extension is 283,561 km², and its capital is Quito.
Guyana: with an area of 214,970 km², its capital is the city of Georgetown.
Uruguay covers an area of 176,215 km². Its capital is Montevideo.
Suriname: its surface is 163,820 km², and its capital Paramaribo.
Nicaragua covers an area of 121,430 km2. Its capital is Managua.
Honduras: it has an area of 112,100 km². Its capital is Tegucigalpa.
Cuba: its surface is 110,860 km². Its capital is Havana.
Guatemala: has an area of 108,990 km². Its capital is Guatemala.
Panama: already below 100,000 km2 is Panama, which has an area of 78,260 km². Its capital is Panama.
Costa Rica : covers an area of 51,160 km². Its capital is San José.
Dominican Republic: its extension is 48,762 km², and its capital Santo Domingo.
Haiti: it has an area of 27,850 km². Its capital is Port-au-Prince.
Belize: its surface is 22,966 km², and its capital Belmopan.
El Salvador : covers an area of 21,481 km². Its capital is San Salvador.
Bahamas: with an area of 13,940 km², its capital is Nassau.
Jamaica: is one of the largest countries in America thanks to an area of 11,524 km². Its capital is Kingston.
Trinidad and Tobago: its extension is 5,128 km², and its capital is Port of Spain.
Dominica: quite far from all the previous ones, but still among the 30 largest countries in America, there is Dominica with 754 km². Its capital is Roseau.
Saint Lucia: it has an area of 623 km², and its capital is Castries.

What are the most populous cities in America?

In contrast to their countries, the most populous cities in America are significantly in the south, in Latin America. Despite the fact that as a whole, by area and inhabitants, the United States is the most populated of the entire continent, and the third most populous in the world, in Latin America we find the bulk of the ten cities with the most population.

This population is concentrated in these cities, leaving the rest of the country with much fewer inhabitants, evidencing the great differences that exist in South America between cities and more rural areas.

Mexico City: the Mexican capital always disputes first place with the Brazilian Sau Paulo. It has a total of 22.6 million inhabitants with its entire metropolitan area.
Sao Paulo: the most populous city in Brazil, and one of the most populated in the world. It is known as the Municipality of Sau Paulo where around 21 million people live together.
Buenos Aires: far behind the main capitals with the most population in America, we find the capital of Argentina, which has more than 15 million inhabitants.
Rio de Janeiro: it is the second Brazilian city that appears among the most populated on the continent. Rio de Janeiro has 13 million inhabitants, is located on the coast and was the capital of Brazil until 1960, when Brasilia was named as the capital.
Lima: it is the most populated city in Peru with more than 11 million inhabitants.
Bogotá: the capital of Colombia is ranked as the seventh most populated city in America. It has about 11 million inhabitants, very close to the figure for Lima.
New York. the first city in the north of the continent. Although the city has a large area, it has 9 million inhabitants, although joining the entire metropolitan area it could reach 19 million.