Latin America. Composition and geographical location of Latin America. Common language of Latin America

Mexico is a country located in North America and directly borders the United States. Oddly enough, this is the only country on the northern continent that belongs to the countries of Latin America. This group of states includes those whose populations are native speakers of Spanish or French, with the only exception being Portuguese-speaking Brazil. Mexico is a state in which almost the entire population speaks Spanish, the language that the conquerors brought to them.

Latin America has a large number of indigenous inhabitants of these lands, which significantly distinguishes them from countries such as the United States and Canada, where constant struggle with the local population over the years has significantly reduced its ranks, simply wiping out entire tribes from the face of the earth. Mexico is home to just under 12% of indigenous Indians; it is one of the top ten countries in Latin America in terms of the number of indigenous people.

Like almost all countries in Latin America, Mexico is rich in oil and successfully extracts this valuable resource. Most of their trading operations Mexico, oddly enough, does not conduct negotiations with the countries of its region, but with Canada and the United States, which, in turn, greatly influences the policies pursued in it.

Mexico's connections to Latin America

Although Mexico interacts more strongly with the countries of North America, it is impossible to deny its ties with the Latin region to which it equally belongs.

Although Mexico is one of the richest countries in Latin America thanks to a large number endowed with mineral resources by nature, its historical past and culture are close to the rest of the countries of Central and South America. It was here that the most ancient Indian civilizations lived, possessing enormous knowledge and high culture, such as the Mayans and Aztecs. Mexico hospitably opens its doors to tourists from both Latin America and other countries of the world. You can purchase last-minute tours to Mexico in Almaty on the website oxtour.kz

But residents of other countries in this region enter Mexico not only as tourists, but also as workers, in search of income. Thus, residents of Guatemala annually come to the south of Mexico where they work in the fields.

Mexico is also connected with the rest of Latin America by huge deposits of oil, which it successfully produces and imports to a number of other countries. True, oil refining in Mexico is still quite poorly established, which is why oil products have to be purchased from other developed countries.

The nature and climate of Mexico also unite it with its region and are its distinctive feature. In the mountains, the thermometer ranges from 2 to 15 degrees Celsius, and on the coast it never drops below 20.

US influence on Mexican activities

Historically, Mexico, which borders the United States, is constantly under their close surveillance. Any wrong step by this state leads to the fact that its lands immediately become the property of America. This is one of the reasons for their deep connection.

Economically, the two countries are also highly interconnected. Already long years they successfully exchange goods according to an agreement on international cooperation NAPHTHA. Thus, Mexico supplies the United States with large cattle and crude oil.

The association of these countries is also determined geographically, since they all belong to North America.

In the 20th century, America had big influence on the culture and way of life of the Mexicans, while maintaining their own traditions and customs, they nevertheless borrowed a lot from their more successful and economically developed neighbors.

Mexico has a fairly high unemployment rate, which contributes to high migration of people to the United States in search of gainful work and a better life.

Mexico is quite economically developed country, which had a very turbulent past, battered both by external conquerors, for example, Spanish conquistadors, and by internal strife in the form of coups and revolutions. Thanks to the support, and sometimes despite the opposition of the countries of the Northern part of the mainland, she was able to overcome all her problems and become quite rich, using her resources wisely.

Today, Mexico is helping Latin American countries overcome problems with educating children, including bringing education to the indigenous people inhabiting these states. As one of the largest Spanish-speaking countries forming this region, it rightfully takes its place in it.

America is a part of the world that unites two continents - North and South America. If everything is extremely clear with the continents, then confusion often arises with the historical names of certain regions of America. New World, Central America, West Indies, Mesoamerica, Anglo-America, Latin America, Caribbean countries - sometimes it can be difficult to understand which part of America we're talking about. Today we will understand the intricacies of terminology, and at the same time find out why Latin America became “Latin”.

The New World is the name given to America by Europeans at the end of the 15th century. And Europe, Asia and Africa are united by the concept old light. That is, the New World and America are synonyms. And any part of North or South America can also successfully be called part of the New World.

Central America is the southern part of North America. Central America includes states that are located south of Mexico, all the way to the border with South America. At the same time, the islands Caribbean Sea are not part of Central America.

Central American countries shown yellow

Mesoamerica is often confused with Central America. This name is given to the historical and cultural region, which includes southern part Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, parts of Honduras and Nicaragua. It unites parts of North America in which, before the arrival of the colonialists, developed civilizations of the indigenous Indian population existed.

The West Indies and the Caribbean are the names of the same region, which includes all the islands of the Caribbean. The difference is that the West Indies is the traditional name given to the islands by European explorers, while the Caribbean, or Caribbean region, is more modern concept.

Anglo-America and Latin America are two regions into which almost all of America is conventionally divided. This division is made on the basis of the linguistic affiliation of the peoples who settled the region after the 15th century.

Anglo-America most often includes two countries: the United States of America and Canada. In these countries the government is English language, but some researchers do not include the Canadian province of Quebec in Anglo-America, where most of the population speaks French. Sometimes it includes Belize, Jamaica, Guyana and other English-speaking countries of America.

Anglo-America regions shown in dark green

And Latin America includes most of the American countries located south of the USA. The exception is a few countries that are not part of Latin America: Belize, El Salvador, Guyana, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas and some others. But Latin American countries do not speak Latin, and the ancient Romans had nothing to do with the colonization of this part of the New World. Where did this name come from then?

The fact is that in this part of America, in addition to the indigenous languages, they speak Spanish, Portuguese and French. These languages ​​belong to the group of Romance languages, which trace their origins to Latin, or Latin languages. Therefore, the region was called Latin to emphasize the common origin of the languages ​​in these countries. Interestingly, the vast majority of Latin American countries speak Spanish. The only country in America where Portuguese is the official language is Brazil. And the country where French is spoken is French Guiana, a French colony in South America, which is also part of Latin America.

Rio De Janeiro is one of largest cities Latin America

Latins

A collective term for countries that speak Romance languages ​​(Portuguese and Spanish), derived from Latin, hence the name. Latin America is often associated with Catholicism, and has strong Roman legal and cultural traditions. Latin America is often called Latin Europe in the West, just as there is Germanic Europe or Slavic Europe. The countries of South America began to be called Latin America in the 19th century, when very strong influence Roman Catholicism, in this region the most visible contributions of the European Romance countries were in terms of culture, language, religion, and also at the genetic level. Most Hispanics are of Latin European descent, specifically coming from Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal. North America, in contrast, is called Anglo-Saxon America, but the Americans themselves are called simply Americans by the Americans and residents of Latin America, Canada is simply Canada, and the residents are Canadians.

Population of Latin America

Today, the population of Latin America is estimated at more than 610 million people.

Ethnic groups

Latin America is the most diverse region in the world in terms of ethnic groups and races, ethnic composition varies from country to country, the majority of the population of Latin America are mestizos, descendants of marriages between Europeans and local Indians. In most countries the Indian population predominates, in some countries it is white, and there are countries where the majority of the population is black or mulatto. However, about 80% of Latin America's population is of European descent.

Latin American countries

The list of Latin American countries includes, in addition to the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of mainland America, also the countries of the Caribbean region: Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba. Often Latin American countries also include countries where they speak French, former and current colonies of France are French Guiana, Saint-Martin, Haiti, with the exception of Quebec, which is located in Canada.

Many Latin American countries belong to North America, so the concepts of South America and Latin should not be confused. North America includes Mexico, most countries in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Countries in which the majority of the population speaks English are traditionally not included in Latin America - these are Guyana, Belize, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica and others.

Latin America is picturesque and quaint, despite its unfavorable white man climatic conditions is popular tourist place, here is the world's highest Angel Falls, the largest mountain lake Titicaca and the largest functioning volcano Cotopaxi, the longest Andes mountain system on Earth, greatest river Amazon. There are a lot of natural resources here, many countries live off the sale of oil and gas.

Languages ​​in Latin America

Most Latin American countries are Spanish-speaking, Portuguese is spoken largest country in the region - Brazil. In Suriname they speak Dutch, French in Guiana, English in Guyana, Belize, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica.

60% of the population of Latin America considers Spanish their first language, 34% Portuguese, 6% of the population speak other languages ​​such as Quechua, Mayan, Guarani, Aymara, Nahuatl, English, French, Dutch and Italian. Portuguese is spoken only in Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese), the largest and most populous country in the region. Spanish is the official language of most of the rest of Latin America, as well as Cuba, Puerto Rico (where it has equal rights with English), and the Dominican Republic. French is spoken in Haiti and in the French overseas departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guiana, the French overseas community of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and French is also spoken in Panama. Dutch is the official language in Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. Dutch is a related language to Germanic, so these areas are not necessarily considered part of Latin America.

Amerindian languages: Quechua, Guarani, Aymara, Nahuatl, Lenguas Maya, Mapudungun are widely spoken in Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico, and to a lesser extent in Panama, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile. In Latin American countries not named above, populations of indigenous language speakers tend to be small or non-existent, such as Uruguay. Mexico is the only country that can boast a wider variety of indigenous languages ​​than any other Latin American country; the most widely spoken Indian language in Mexico is Nahuatl.

In Peru, the Quechua Indian language is the official language, along with Spanish and any other language of the other indigenous peoples of the country where they predominate. Ecuador has no official language and Quechua is a recognized indigenous language under the country's Constitution, but Quechua is spoken only by a few groups in the highlands. In Bolivia, the Indian languages ​​Aymara, Quechua and Guarani have official status along with Spanish. Guarani, along with Spanish, is the official language of Paraguay, where the majority of the population is bilingual; in the Argentine province of Corrientes, only Spanish is official. In Nicaragua, Spanish is the official language, but on the country's Caribbean coast English and indigenous languages ​​such as Miskito, Sumo and Rama are official.

Colombia recognizes all indigenous languages ​​spoken local residents, however, only 1% of the country's population are native speakers of these languages. Nahuatl is one of 62 indigenous mother tongues in Mexico that are officially recognized by the government as "national languages" along with Spanish.

Other European languages ​​that are common in Latin America are English, which is spoken by some groups in Puerto Rico, as well as in neighboring countries that are not considered Latin America, such as Belize and Guyana.

German is spoken in southern Brazil, southern Chile, parts of Argentina, Venezuela and Paraguay.

Italian is spoken in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Uruguay.

Ukrainian and Polish in the southern part of Brazil, in the southern part of Argentina.

Yiddish and Hebrew are spoken in the areas around Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

Japanese is spoken in Brazil and Peru, Korean in Brazil, Arabic in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, Chinese throughout South America.

In the Caribbean region, Creole languages ​​are common, including Haitian Creole, which is the predominant language of Haiti, this is primarily due to the mixing of French with West African languages, Amerindian, with influences from English, Portuguese and Spanish.

The Garifuna language is spoken along Caribbean coast in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize.

Latin American countries

The largest country in Latin America by area is Brazil with an area of ​​8,515,767 square kilometers, then Argentina 2,780,400, Mexico 1,972,550, Peru 1,285,216, Colombia 1,141,748, the smallest region is the French overseas territory of Saint Martin with an area of ​​25 square kilometers.

If you look at the population size, then again largest state is Brazil 201032714 people, then Mexico 118395054, Colombia 47387109 and only in fourth place is Argentina 41660417.

Cities in Latin America

The largest city in Latin America is the Mexican capital Mexico City 20631353 people, then Sao Paulo Brazil 19953698, Buenos Aires Argentina 13333912, Rio -de-Janeiro Brazil 11968886, Lima Peru 10231678, Bogota Colombia 8868395, Santiago Chile 7023767, Belo Horizonte Brazil 5504729, Caracas Venezuela 5297026, Guadalajara Mexico 4593444.

The richest city in Latin America is Buenos Aires with a per capita GDP of 26,129 US dollars, then Caracas 24,000, Sao Paulo 23,704, Santiago 21393, Mexico City 19,940, Lima 17,340, Belo Horizonte 17,239, Guadalajara 16,855, Rio de Janeiro 16,282, Bogota 15,891.

Religion in Latin America

90% of Hispanics are Christian, 70% of the Hispanic population consider themselves Latin Rite Catholics. As we have noticed, Catholicism predominates in Latin America, in contrast to Protestant North America with the USA and Canada.

Latin Americans and migration

For example, about 10 million Mexicans live in the United States today; 29 million Americans today can boast of Mexican roots. 3.33 million Colombians today live outside their homeland, and 2 million natives of this country live outside Brazil. One and a half million Salvadorans live in the United States, along with as many Dominicans and 1.3 million Cubans.

0.8 million Chileans live in Argentina, the United States, Canada, Sweden and Australia.

Education, schools and literacy in Latin America

In Latin America today there is big problem with access to education, nevertheless for last years the situation has improved, most children are already going to school. Children who live in remote regions, as well as children of black families who may live in extreme poverty, do not have access to education. Only 75% of the poorest youth aged 13 to 17 attend school. Currently, more than half of children in low-income or rural areas fail to complete nine years of secondary school.

Crime and violence in Latin America

Latin America is synonymous with the word crime. Latin America and the Caribbean is the most dangerous region in terms of crime modern world, it is in Latin America that the most dangerous cities in the world are located, which can be justified by the highest level of social inequality in income. The crime problem will not be solved until the social gap between rich and poor is closed. Therefore, crime prevention, increasing the number of police and prisons will lead to nothing. The murder rate in Latin America is the highest in the world. From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, the homicide rate increased by 50 percent. The main victims of such murders are young people, 69% of whom are between the ages of 15 and 19 years.

The most dangerous countries in Latin America

Themselves dangerous countries in Latin America are: Honduras 91.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, El Salvador 69.2, Venezuela 45.1, Belize 41.4, Guatemala 38.5, Puerto Rico 26.2, Dominican Republic 25, Mexico 23.7 and Ecuador 18.2 .

For example, the global average is 6.9. In 1995, Colombia and El Salvador broke the world record for crime rates - 139.1 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Crime and violence in Latin America are a major threat to human health and cost more lives than AIDS or other infectious diseases.

Economy of Latin America

nominal GDP of 5,573,397 million US dollars. Human Development Index (HDI) in Latin America

All Latin American countries are classified as developing economies. If we evaluate the countries of the region according to the Human Development Index (HDI), the leader here is Chile with a coefficient of 0.819, followed by Argentina 0.811, Uruguay 0.792, Panama 0.780, Mexico 0.775, Costa Rica 0.773, Peru 0.741, Colombia 0.719, Dominican Republic 0.702, Bolivia 0.675, Paraguay 0.669, Guatemala 0.628, Honduras 0.617, Nicaragua 0.599, Haiti is an underdog 0.456.

Poverty in Latin America

The poorest and richest countries in Latin America

If we evaluate countries by poverty level, people feel best in Uruguay, where only 3% of the population is below the poverty line, followed by Chile with a coefficient of 3.2, Argentina 3.7, Costa Rica 3.7, Cuba 4.6, Mexico 5.9, Venezuela 6.6, Panama 6.7, Colombia 7.6, Ecuador 7.9, Brazil 8.6, the worst indicator is Haiti 31.5. For example, 54.9% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day in Haiti, 16.9 in Guatemala, 15.8 in Nicaragua, 23.3 in Honduras, 15.1 in El Salvador

Malnutrition affects up to 47% of Haitians, 27% of Nicaraguans, 23% of Bolivians and 22% of Honduras.

Life expectancy in Latin America

Life expectancy is one of the most important indicators of quality of life. So from this point of view, it is best to live in Cuba, Costa Rica and Chile where the figure is 79 years. Mexico and Uruguay have 77, Panama, Ecuador and Argentina have 76, with Haiti having the lowest rate of 62.

The best countries in Latin or South America to live in

So, the palm is shared by Chile and Uruguay; Chile has the highest human development index, GDP, life expectancy and the lowest crime rate for this region. Uruguay boasts the most low rate income inequality, here is the most low level poverty, extreme poverty, and also this country has the highest indicator of peacefulness.

Panama is different the highest level real GDP growth. Cuba boasts success in education, it has the lowest rate of illiteracy among the local population, and people live very long in Cuba; Costa Rica also boasts a relatively high life expectancy for its citizens.

Haiti has the worst indicators; living in this country is scary. However, Haiti surprisingly has a very low crime rate, despite the extreme poverty of the population, the murder rate is only 6.9 per 100,000 people per year, approximately the same crime rate in prosperous Uruguay. But it is already very dangerous in Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, and Mexico.

The best country to live in Latin America

Popular countries Argentina and Brazil show average figures for the entire Latin American region. So, the most best country for life, from our point of view, these are Chile and Uruguay, followed by Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Data on accidents in Cuba may be distorted.

Ecology in Latin American countries

The highest ecology is in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador. The lowest are in Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Chile and Argentina.

Tourism in Latin America

Among Latin American countries, Mexico is doing well in terms of international triism, thanks to its close geographical location to the USA and a large number of archaeological sites, it is worth mentioning such a resort as Cancun.

Mexico is visited annually by 22.3 million foreign tourists, the next pursuer is very far behind, this is Argentina with an indicator of 5.2 million people, then Brazil 5.1, Puerto Rico with 3.6, Chile with 2.7, Colombia 2.38 , Dominican Republic 4.1, Panama 2.06.

The most visited cities and attractions in Latin America

The most visited cities and attractions in Latin America: Cancun, Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Cartagena, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Rio de Janeiro, El Salvador, Margarita Island, Sao Paulo, Salar de Uyuni, Punta del Este, Santo Domingo, Labadee, San Juan, Havana, Panama City, Iguazu Falls, Puerto Vallarta, Poas National Park Volcano, Punta Cana, Viña del Mar, Mexico City, Quito, Bogota, Santa Marta, San Andres, Buenos Aires, Lima, Maceio, Florianópolis, Cusco, Ponce and Patagonia.

If we talk about the effectiveness of tourism in Latin America, the leader here is the Dominican Republic, where the largest receipts from the tourism sector from the country's GDP, but tourism receipts per capita are the highest in Uruguay. Revenues from tourism in Venezuela are very high, but this is also due to cosmic local prices. A trip to Brazil, Panama and the Dominican Republic is considered very expensive.

The least attractive countries for tourism in Latin America are: Haiti, Paraguay, Venezuela, El Salvador - you can skip such countries on your trip to South America.

Latin America is a region located in Western Hemisphere and stretching from the US-Mexico border in the north, to Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica in the south, and stretches over 12,000 kilometers in length. It includes the southern part of the mainland North America, Central America, West Indies Islands and mainland South America. Washed from the west Pacific Ocean, from the east - Atlantic. Latin American countries are divided into 33 states and 13 colonies and dependent territories, and the total area of ​​this region is 21 million square meters. km, which is more than 15% of the globe's land area.

The name "Latin America" ​​was introduced by the French Emperor Napoleon III as a political term. Latin America and Indochina were then considered as territories in the sphere of special national interests Second Empire. This term originally denoted those parts of America in which Romance languages ​​were spoken, that is, territories inhabited by people from the Iberian Peninsula and France during the 15th and 16th centuries. Sometimes this region is also called Ibero-America.

The Cordillera belt, which in South America is called the Andes, constitutes the world's longest system of ridges and mountain ranges, which stretches along the Pacific coast for 11 thousand km, the largest peak of which is the Argentine Aconcagua (6959 m) near the border with Chile, and it is here (in Latin America) is the highest active volcano on Earth - Cotopaxi (5897 m), located near Quito and the most high waterfall world - Angel (979 m), located in Venezuela. And on the Bolivian-Peruvian border, the largest of the high-mountain lakes in the world is located - Titicaca (3812 m, 8300 sq. km). Also here is the most long river world - the Amazon (6.4 - 7 thousand km), which is also the deepest on the planet. The largest lake-lagoon Macaraibo (13.3 thousand sq. km) is located in the north-west of Venezuela. Animal world Latin America is rich and diverse; sloths, armadillos, American ostriches, and guanaco llamas are found nowhere else.

Since the time of the Conquest, European conquerors forcibly implanted their languages ​​in Latin America, therefore, in all its states and territories Spanish became the official language, with the exception of Brazil, where the official language is Portuguese. Spanish and Portuguese languages ​​function in Latin America in the form of national varieties (variants), which are characterized by a number of phonetic, lexical and grammatical features (most of them in conversational communication), which is explained on the one hand by the influence of Indian languages, and on the other by the relative autonomy of their development. In the Caribbean official languages are mainly English and French (Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana), and in Suriname, Aruba and the Antilles (Netherlands) Islands - Dutch. Indian languages ​​were supplanted after the conquest of America, and today only Quechua and Aymara in Bolivia and Peru , and Guaraní in Paraguay are official languages; they, like some others (in Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Chile), are written and literature is published. In a number of Caribbean countries, interethnic communication so-called Creole languages ​​arose, formed as a result of incomplete mastery European languages usually English and French. In general, a significant part of the population of Latin America is characterized by bilingualism (bilingualism) and even multilingualism.

The religious structure of the population of Latin America is marked by the absolute predominance of Catholics (more than 90%), since during the colonial period Catholicism was the only compulsory religion, and belonging to other religions was persecuted by the Inquisition.

The history of Latin America is rich, interesting and varied. Once upon a time, ancient civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayans, Incas, Mochicas and many other cultures of Latin America existed here, later conquered by the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro. Subsequently, there was the struggle for Independence from the Spanish crown, led by Father Hidalgo, Francisco Miranda, Simon Bolivar and Jose San Martin, and its recent history, with drug lords, juntas, Guirelleros guerrillas and terrorist organizations.

Dozens of diverse national parks, many archaeological sites, cities with colonial architecture and others interesting places, are located in this region. Small short videos You can watch videos from the most interesting places in Latin America at

Description of Latin America: list of countries, capitals, cities and resorts. Photos and videos, oceans and seas, mountains, rivers and lakes of Latin America. Tour operators and tours in Latin America.

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Latin American countries

The land of the mysterious civilizations of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs, the land of breathtaking beauties and noble caballeros, the main tobacco and coffee region of the planet, as well as the concentration of a mass of original and diverse traditions and cultures, Latin America occupies the lower edge of the North American continent, South America and a whole scattering of islands, perched near their narrow isthmus.

The term "Latin America" ​​arose as a designation for the dependent territories of the European metropolises, whose official languages developed from folk Latin - in particular, Spanish, Portuguese, French. Today the combination “Indian America” is in circulation (as it is more politically correct), although for travel agents and tourists the region, it seems, will remain “Latin” for a long time.

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In a tourist sense, Latin America is a motley “bouquet” of destinations. They come here for everything - both to personally touch the legendary architectural monuments and to ride jeeps in national parks and, of course, relax in style in coastal hotels. The public visiting Latin American countries is an inquisitive people with money (holidays in Latin America are very expensive). They have already traveled a lot around the world, have been to countries several times South-East Asia and are very demanding in terms of living conditions (70% of all tourists book five-star hotels). Most people prefer an educational holiday to passively lying on the beach, for which Latin America has everything they need.

Among the most popular Latin American destinations are Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Venezuela.