Southern Cone
Encyclopedia
Southern Cone is a geographic region composed of the southernmost areas of South America
, south of the Tropic of Capricorn
. Although geographically this includes part of Southern
and Southeast
(São Paulo
) of Brazil
, in terms of political geography the Southern cone has traditionally comprised Argentina
, Chile
, Paraguay
, and Uruguay
. In the narrowest sense, it only covers Argentina
, Chile
and Uruguay
, bounded on the north by the states of Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and south to the junction between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, which it is the closest continental area of Antarctica (1000 km).
The main language spoken in the region is Spanish
owing to the Spanish colonization from the 16th to the 19th century; if one includes Brazil, Portuguese
would be first.
High life expectancy
, the highest Human Development Index
of Latin America, high standard of living, significant participation in the global markets and the emerging economy of its members make the Southern Cone the most prosperous macro-region in South America.
The climates are mostly temperate, but include humid subtropical, Mediterranean, highland tropical, maritime temperate, sub-Antarctic temperate, highland cold, desert and semi-arid temperate regions. Except for northern regions of Argentina (thermal equator
in January), the whole country of Paraguay, the Argentina-Brazil border and the interior of the Atacama desert
, the region rarely suffers from heat. In addition to that, the winter presents mostly cool temperatures. Strong and constant wind and high humidity is what brings low temperatures in the winter. The Atacama is the driest place on Earth.
One of the most peculiar plants of the region is the Araucaria
tree which can be found in Chile and Argentina. The only native group of conifers
found in the southern hemisphere had its origin in the Southern Cone. Araucaria angustifolia
, once widespread in Southern Brazil, is now a critically endangered species. The steppe region, situated in central Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil is known as the Pampas, and the typical people of the region are a mixture of Spanish
and some Amerindian blood, and are called Gaucho
s. Maritime tropical trees, cold steppe
s, Mediterranean vegetation and desert plants are also natural occurrences.
Besides languages and colonial heritage the states of the Southern Cone share some common cultural traits such as high football popularity and relatively good performance in that sport. This is reflected on the fact that Argentina
and Uruguay
have both won the FIFA World Cup
twice, and Brazil
five times, which makes them the only national teams outside Europe
to have won the cup. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay have all hosted the World Cup.
Other cultural expressions associated with the Southern Cone is the social and culinaire practise of the asado
barbecue. The asado was born out of the horsemen and cattle culture of the region, more specifically from the gaucho
s of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay (and southern Chile) and the huaso
s of Chile. In the Southern Cone horsemen are considered figures of national identity
and are as such embodied in the epic poem Martín Fierro
. Mate
is popular throughout the Southern Cone, especially in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and the state of Rio Grande do Sul
in Brazil. In Chile mate is popular in the southern regions
and in rural areas of South-central Chile.
In the countries of the Southern Cone 19th- and 20th-century European immigrants have had a high impact on the countries' culture, social life and politics.
(in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) or Portuguese
in the case of Brazil.
The Spanish-speaking countries of the Southern Cone are divided into three main dialects, Paraguayan Spanish which is highly influenced by the Guarani language
that is spoken alongside Spanish, the Rioplatense Spanish
spoken in Argentina and Uruguay, which its accent and everday language is heavily influenced by Italian, and Chilean Spanish
. These dialects share some common traits such as a number of Quechua loanword
s and Lunfardo
words.
, and particularly the speech of the city of Buenos Aires, has intonation patterns that resemble those of Italian dialects, and differ markedly from the patterns of other forms of Spanish. This correlates well with immigration patterns as Argentina, and particularly Buenos Aires, had huge numbers of Italian settlers since the 19th century.
The researchers note that this is a relatively recent phenomenon, starting in the beginning of the 20th century with the main wave of Southern Italian immigration
.
groups include Mapudungun
(also known as Mapuche), Quechua, Aymara
and Guarani
. The first one is primarily spoken in Araucanía and adjacent areas of Patagonia
, in southern Argentina and Chile. Guarani is an official language of Paraguay and is spoken in the northeastern Argentine provinces of Corrientes
and Misiones where it is an official language along with Spanish.
is spoken in the Falkland Islands
, a disputed territory between the U.K.
and Argentina (presently inhabited by British
subjects). Welsh
is spoken by descendants of immigrants in the Patagonia
region of Argentina. Portuñol
, Portunhol in Portuguese, is a pidgin language of Brazilian Portuguese
and Spanish
that is spoken on the border with Brazil.
Italian
(mostly its Northern
dialects, such as Venetian
) is spoken in rural communities across Argentina
and Southern Brazil. German
in some dialects is mostly spoken in Southern Chile
and Southern Brazil. Croatian
and other Slavic languages
are also spoken in the southernmost areas of Chilean Patagonia.
in the aftermath of the Argentine economic crisis at the beginning of the 21st century. Despite some parts of the Southern Cone's religious conservatism, it never curtailed the region's characteristics of social reform. Uruguay
, where agnosticism
and atheism
is very common, has a strong church and state separation policy and could be considered one of the most secular countries in the Americas
. Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, in that order, are the least religious countries in South America. According to a poll of Gallup, 51% of Uruguayans, 56% of Argentines, and 60% of Chileans thinks in religion as something important in their lives, contrasting with countries such as Brazil (87%), Bolivia (89%) and Paraguay (92%). Besides, Uruguay (69%), Argentina (58%) and Chile (52%) have the highest percentage of people who think in their countries as a good place to live to gay or lesbian people. This, contrats with countries such as Bolivia (24%), Ecuador (31%) and Peru (32%).
is the largest metropolitan area at 13.1 million and Santiago, Chile
has 6.4 million. When part of Southeastern Brazil is included, São Paulo
is the largest city, with 19.8 million; in the Southern Brazil
, the largest metropolitan area is Porto Alegre
, with more than 4 million. Uruguay's capital and largest city, Montevideo
, has 1.8 million, and it receives many visitors on ferry boats across the Río de la Plata
from Buenos Aires, 50 km (31.1 mi) away. Asunción
, Paraguay's capital city has a population of 2.1 million.
. Whites
make up a majority, 80%, of the total population of Argentina
, Chile
, Uruguay
and Southern Brazil
. Mestizo
s make up 15.8% of the population, being a majority in Paraguay
. Native Americans
make up 3% of the population, and mulatto
es (0.2%) and Asians (1.0%), mostly in Southern Brazil and Uruguay, the remaining 1.2%.
Different ethnic groups contributed for the composition of the population of the Southern Cone. The original population, the Amerindians, is in large areas extinct or fused into mestizo populations. As in the rest of South America, in the first centuries of colonization the region was settled by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers and most of them were men. Soon after their arrival, an intensive mixture between those European men and the local Amerindian women began, producing a new population named Mestizo
in Hispanophone
countries and Caboclo
or Mameluco
in Brazil. Amerindian ancestry is widespread in the region, mostly through the maternal line, while European ancestry is mostly found on the paternal line. African ancestry is mostly found in Brazil.
, a genetic study found out a 15,80% degree of Native American contribution and 4,30% of African ancestry. In the region of La Plata
, the European, Native American and African contributions were, respectively, 67.55% (+/-2.7), 25.9% (+/-4.3), and 6.5% (+/-6.4). As for the population of Mendoza, a genetic study found out the following autosomal composition for the population: 46,80% European, 31,60% Native American and 21,50% African.
The Chilean population is marked by the European and Native American ancestries, with a greater degree of European ancestry generally. A genetic study found out the composition of ancestries of the population of Santiago
to be 57% European
and 43% Native American
. Concepción
, another Chilean town, exhibited 65% European and 36% Native American ancestries. In Puerto Montt
, the composition found was 53% Native American and 47% European.
A genetic study from 2009, published by the American Journal of Human Biology
revealed that the composition of Uruguay
is mainly European, but with Native American (which varies from 1% to 20% in different parts of the country) and African (between 7% to 15% in different parts of the country) contributions. The native american contribution in Uruguay was estimated to be at 10%, on average, for the whole population. This number rises to 20% in Tacuarembó
and goes down to 2% in Montevideo
. Native American mtDNA reaches 62% in Tacuarembó
. A genetic study from 2006 found out the following autosomal DNA results for Cerro Largo
: 82% degree of European contribution, 8% of Native American ancestry and 10% of African contribution. On the maternal line, mtDNA, the results for Cerro Largo
were: 49% European, 30% Native American, and 21% African.
The Brazilian population has European, African and Native American contributions. The European is the most important, generally, among the "whites" and "pardos". African ancestry is greater among the "blacks". The Native American ancestry is present throughout Brazil, in "whites", "pardos" and "blacks", though in a lower degree. According to an autosomal DNA study from 2008, conducted by the University of Brasília
(UnB), European ancestry is predominant in all regions of Brazil, accounting for 65,90% of the heritage of the population, followed by the African contribution (24,80%) and Native American ancestry (9,3%). According to an autosomal DNA study conducted in 2011, with nearly 1000 "white" "pardo" "black" Brazilian samples, European ancestry is predominant in all regions of Brazil, with African and Native American contributions. According to this study, European ancestry accounts for 70% of the heritage of the population. . This study verified that Brazilians from different regions are genetically much more homogenous than some expected. According to an autosomal study from 2010, published in the American Journal of Human Biology
, European ancestry is predominant in Brazil, accounting for about 77% of the heritage of the whole population.The results also showed that physical features did not correlate well with ancestry in many instances. According to an autosomal DNA study from 2009, the Brazilian population as a whole exhibits a predominant degree of European ancestry, with African and Native American ancestries.
. Chile's, Argentina’s, and Uruguay's HDIs
—(0.805), (0.795), and (0.783)—are the highest in Latin America, similar to those of the richest countries in Eastern Europe
, such as Slovenia
, Poland
or Hungary
. Uruguay
, where illiteracy technically doesn't exist, reaches the same level in this area, even considering that it faces restrictions to its industrial and economic growth. High life expectancy
, health and education access, significant participation in the global markets and the emerging economy profile of its members make the Southern Cone the most prosperous macro-region in Latin America. This is, however, contrasted by high levels of inequality.
Southern Cone =
Mexico =
South America =
Central America =
s, military nationalistic dictatorships.
Around the 1970s, these regimes collaborated in Plan Cóndor
against leftist opposition, including urban guerrillas.
However, by the early 1980s Argentina and Uruguay restored their democracies, Chile followed suit in 1990.
Nowadays, the southernmost states of Brazil (the states of São Paulo
, Paraná
, Santa Catarina
and Rio Grande do Sul
) are generally included because they share the same characteristics with Uruguay, Argentina and Chile: above average standard of living, mild climate, high level of industrialization and strong European immigration.
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, south of the Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn, or Southern tropic, marks the most southerly latitude on the Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This event occurs at the December solstice, when the southern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun to its maximum extent.Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five...
. Although geographically this includes part of Southern
Southern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...
and Southeast
Southeast Region, Brazil
The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are three richest states of Brazil,...
(São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
) of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, in terms of political geography the Southern cone has traditionally comprised Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. In the narrowest sense, it only covers Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, bounded on the north by the states of Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, on the west by the Pacific Ocean, and south to the junction between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, which it is the closest continental area of Antarctica (1000 km).
The main language spoken in the region is Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
owing to the Spanish colonization from the 16th to the 19th century; if one includes Brazil, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
would be first.
High life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
, the highest Human Development Index
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
of Latin America, high standard of living, significant participation in the global markets and the emerging economy of its members make the Southern Cone the most prosperous macro-region in South America.
Geography and extent
Thermal equator
The thermal equator is a belt encircling the Earth, defined by the set of locations having the highest mean annual temperature at each longitude around the globe...
in January), the whole country of Paraguay, the Argentina-Brazil border and the interior of the Atacama desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
, the region rarely suffers from heat. In addition to that, the winter presents mostly cool temperatures. Strong and constant wind and high humidity is what brings low temperatures in the winter. The Atacama is the driest place on Earth.
One of the most peculiar plants of the region is the Araucaria
Araucaria
Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 extant species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil.-Description:Araucaria are mainly...
tree which can be found in Chile and Argentina. The only native group of conifers
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
found in the southern hemisphere had its origin in the Southern Cone. Araucaria angustifolia
Araucaria angustifolia
Araucaria angustifolia, the Paraná pine or Brazilian pine , is a species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Covering an original area of 233000 km², it is native to southern Brazil Araucaria angustifolia, the Paraná pine or Brazilian pine , is a species in the conifer genus Araucaria. Covering an...
, once widespread in Southern Brazil, is now a critically endangered species. The steppe region, situated in central Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil is known as the Pampas, and the typical people of the region are a mixture of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and some Amerindian blood, and are called Gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
s. Maritime tropical trees, cold steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s, Mediterranean vegetation and desert plants are also natural occurrences.
Culture
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
and Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
have both won the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
twice, and Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
five times, which makes them the only national teams outside Europe
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
to have won the cup. Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay have all hosted the World Cup.
Other cultural expressions associated with the Southern Cone is the social and culinaire practise of the asado
Asado
Asado is a term used both for a range of barbecue techniques and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and southern Brazil. In the former countries asado is also the standard word for barbecue. An asado usually consists of beef alongside various...
barbecue. The asado was born out of the horsemen and cattle culture of the region, more specifically from the gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
s of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay (and southern Chile) and the huaso
Huaso
A huaso is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the Argentinian, Rio Grande do Sul's or Uruguayan gaucho, the American cowboy, the Australian stockman, and Mexican vaquero and charro. A female huaso is called a huasa, although the term china is far more commonly used for his wife...
s of Chile. In the Southern Cone horsemen are considered figures of national identity
National identity
National identity is the person's identity and sense of belonging to one state or to one nation, a feeling one shares with a group of people, regardless of one's citizenship status....
and are as such embodied in the epic poem Martín Fierro
Martín Fierro
Martín Fierro is a 2,316 line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, El Gaucho Martín Fierro and La Vuelta de Martín Fierro . The poem is, in part, a protest against the modernist tendencies of Argentine president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento...
. Mate
Mate (beverage)
Mate , also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, is a traditional South American infused drink, particularly in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern states of Brazil, south of Chile, the Bolivian Chaco, and to some extent, Syria and Lebanon...
is popular throughout the Southern Cone, especially in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and the state of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
in Brazil. In Chile mate is popular in the southern regions
Zona Austral
The Zona Austral is one of the five natural regions into which CORFO divided continental Chile in 1950 corresponding to the Chilean portion of Patagonia. It is surrounded by the Southern Zone and the Chacao Channel to the north, the Pacific Ocean and Drake's Passage to the south and west, and the...
and in rural areas of South-central Chile.
In the countries of the Southern Cone 19th- and 20th-century European immigrants have had a high impact on the countries' culture, social life and politics.
Language
The overwhelming majority, including those of recent immigrant background, speak SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
(in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) or Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
in the case of Brazil.
The Spanish-speaking countries of the Southern Cone are divided into three main dialects, Paraguayan Spanish which is highly influenced by the Guarani language
Guaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
that is spoken alongside Spanish, the Rioplatense Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
spoken in Argentina and Uruguay, which its accent and everday language is heavily influenced by Italian, and Chilean Spanish
Chilean Spanish
Chilean Spanish is the variety of Spanish spoken in most of Chile. Though still entirely mutually intelligible with standard Spanish, Chilean Spanish has distinctive pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and slang usage...
. These dialects share some common traits such as a number of Quechua loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s and Lunfardo
Lunfardo
Lunfardo is a dialect originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in Buenos Aires and the surrounding Gran Buenos Aires, and from there spread to other cities nearby, such as Rosario and Montevideo, cities with similar socio-cultural situations...
words.
Rioplatense Spanish
Preliminary research has shown that Rioplatense SpanishRioplatense Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish or River Plate Spanish is a dialectal variant of the Spanish language spoken mainly in the areas in and around the Río de la Plata basin of Argentina and Uruguay, and also in Rio Grande do Sul, although features of the dialect are shared with the varieties of Spanish spoken...
, and particularly the speech of the city of Buenos Aires, has intonation patterns that resemble those of Italian dialects, and differ markedly from the patterns of other forms of Spanish. This correlates well with immigration patterns as Argentina, and particularly Buenos Aires, had huge numbers of Italian settlers since the 19th century.
The researchers note that this is a relatively recent phenomenon, starting in the beginning of the 20th century with the main wave of Southern Italian immigration
Italian Argentine
An Italian Argentine is a person born in Argentina of Italian ancestry. It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent...
.
Native American languages
Autochthonous languages, spoken by some Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
groups include Mapudungun
Mapudungun
The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian...
(also known as Mapuche), Quechua, Aymara
Aymara language
Aymara is an Aymaran language spoken by the Aymara people of the Andes. It is one of only a handful of Native American languages with over three million speakers. Aymara, along with Quechua and Spanish, is an official language of Peru and Bolivia...
and Guarani
Guaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
. The first one is primarily spoken in Araucanía and adjacent areas of Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, in southern Argentina and Chile. Guarani is an official language of Paraguay and is spoken in the northeastern Argentine provinces of Corrientes
Corrientes
Corrientes is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12...
and Misiones where it is an official language along with Spanish.
Non-Iberian European languages
Furthermore, EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
is spoken in the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, a disputed territory between the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Argentina (presently inhabited by British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
subjects). Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
is spoken by descendants of immigrants in the Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
region of Argentina. Portuñol
Portuñol
Portuñol or Portunhol is the code-switching of Portuguese and Spanish.The word portunhol is a portmanteau of the words Portugués/Português and Español/Espanhol ....
, Portunhol in Portuguese, is a pidgin language of Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
that is spoken on the border with Brazil.
Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
(mostly its Northern
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
dialects, such as Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
) is spoken in rural communities across Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Southern Brazil. German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in some dialects is mostly spoken in Southern Chile
Southern Chile
Southern Chile may refer to different areas of Chile depending on the context. It may refer to:*Any place south of Santiago*All the region south of Biobío River*The Zona Sur region between Biobío and Chacao Channel....
and Southern Brazil. Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
and other Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
are also spoken in the southernmost areas of Chilean Patagonia.
Religion
The majority is Roman Catholic, but there are Jewish and Protestants as well (mostly in Argentina and Chile). Religions include Muslims, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox, Buddhists and Daoists. Jewish communities thrive in Argentina and Uruguay; however, a large proportion of the Argentine Jewish community emigrated to IsraelAliyah from Latin America in the 2000s
Following the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, and in the wake of the 1999–2002 Argentine political and economic crisis, many Argentine Jews emigrated to Israel....
in the aftermath of the Argentine economic crisis at the beginning of the 21st century. Despite some parts of the Southern Cone's religious conservatism, it never curtailed the region's characteristics of social reform. Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, where agnosticism
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
and atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
is very common, has a strong church and state separation policy and could be considered one of the most secular countries in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. Uruguay, Argentina and Chile, in that order, are the least religious countries in South America. According to a poll of Gallup, 51% of Uruguayans, 56% of Argentines, and 60% of Chileans thinks in religion as something important in their lives, contrasting with countries such as Brazil (87%), Bolivia (89%) and Paraguay (92%). Besides, Uruguay (69%), Argentina (58%) and Chile (52%) have the highest percentage of people who think in their countries as a good place to live to gay or lesbian people. This, contrats with countries such as Bolivia (24%), Ecuador (31%) and Peru (32%).
Countries and territories
| Country Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously... or territory |
Area (km²) |
Population (2011) |
Population density (per km²) |
Capital or most important city |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ArgentinaArgentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... |
14.42 | Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... |
||
 ChileChile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... |
22.60 | Santiago Santiago Santiago is the capital city of Chile. Santiago may also refer to:*Santiago *Santiago , a Spanish given name*Santiago!, a shortened form of the Reconquista battle cry "Santiago y cierra, España"... |
||
 São PauloSão Paulo (state) São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil... and Southern Brazil |
83.23 | São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among... |
||
 UruguayUruguay Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area... |
19.43 | Montevideo Montevideo Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento... |
||
 ParaguayParaguay Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the... |
15.88 | Asunción Asunción Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San... |
||
| Total | 27.45 |
Demography
The population of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay is 40, 16.8 and 3.6 million respectively. Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
is the largest metropolitan area at 13.1 million and Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
has 6.4 million. When part of Southeastern Brazil is included, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
is the largest city, with 19.8 million; in the Southern Brazil
Southern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...
, the largest metropolitan area is Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
, with more than 4 million. Uruguay's capital and largest city, Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, has 1.8 million, and it receives many visitors on ferry boats across the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
from Buenos Aires, 50 km (31.1 mi) away. Asunción
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
, Paraguay's capital city has a population of 2.1 million.
Ethnicity
As far as ethnicity is concerned, the population of the Southern Cone was largely influenced by immigration from EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Whites
White Latin American
White Latin Americans are the people of Latin America who are white in the racial classification systems used in individual Latin American countries. Persons who are classified as White in one Latin American country may be classified differently in another country...
make up a majority, 80%, of the total population of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and Southern Brazil
Southern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...
. Mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
s make up 15.8% of the population, being a majority in Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
make up 3% of the population, and mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
es (0.2%) and Asians (1.0%), mostly in Southern Brazil and Uruguay, the remaining 1.2%.
Different ethnic groups contributed for the composition of the population of the Southern Cone. The original population, the Amerindians, is in large areas extinct or fused into mestizo populations. As in the rest of South America, in the first centuries of colonization the region was settled by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers and most of them were men. Soon after their arrival, an intensive mixture between those European men and the local Amerindian women began, producing a new population named Mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
in Hispanophone
Hispanophone
Hispanophone or Hispanosphere denotes Spanish language speakers and the Spanish-speaking world. The word derives from the Latin political name of the Iberian Peninsula, Hispania, which comprised basically the territory of the modern states of Spain and Portugal.Hispanophones are estimated at...
countries and Caboclo
Caboclo
A caboclo or caboco is a person of a mixed Brazilian Indian and European ancestry. In Brazil, a caboclo is a specific type of mestiço as is the mulato, a person of a mixed Afro-Brazilian and European ancestry....
or Mameluco
Mameluco
Mameluco the word is believed to be of Arabic origin. The word in Arabic is Mamluk or Mamluka مملوك or مملوكة...
in Brazil. Amerindian ancestry is widespread in the region, mostly through the maternal line, while European ancestry is mostly found on the paternal line. African ancestry is mostly found in Brazil.
Genetic studies on Southern Cone populations
In Argentina the European ancestry is predominant, but with significant Native American ancestry, and the African contribution is present. According to a genetic study from 2009, the composition of Argentina is: 78,50% European, 17,30% Native American, and 4,20% SSA African. In Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, a genetic study found out a 15,80% degree of Native American contribution and 4,30% of African ancestry. In the region of La Plata
La Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
, the European, Native American and African contributions were, respectively, 67.55% (+/-2.7), 25.9% (+/-4.3), and 6.5% (+/-6.4). As for the population of Mendoza, a genetic study found out the following autosomal composition for the population: 46,80% European, 31,60% Native American and 21,50% African.
The Chilean population is marked by the European and Native American ancestries, with a greater degree of European ancestry generally. A genetic study found out the composition of ancestries of the population of Santiago
Santiago
Santiago is the capital city of Chile. Santiago may also refer to:*Santiago *Santiago , a Spanish given name*Santiago!, a shortened form of the Reconquista battle cry "Santiago y cierra, España"...
to be 57% European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and 43% Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Concepción
Concepción
Concepción is the name of several towns and cities. The largest of these is Concepción, Chile, the conurbation of which is home to over one million people...
, another Chilean town, exhibited 65% European and 36% Native American ancestries. In Puerto Montt
Puerto Montt
Puerto Montt is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region. The commune spans an area of and had a population of 175,938 in 2002. It is located 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago...
, the composition found was 53% Native American and 47% European.
A genetic study from 2009, published by the American Journal of Human Biology
American Journal of Human Biology
The American Journal of Human Biology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering human biology. It is the official publication of the Human Biology Association...
revealed that the composition of Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
is mainly European, but with Native American (which varies from 1% to 20% in different parts of the country) and African (between 7% to 15% in different parts of the country) contributions. The native american contribution in Uruguay was estimated to be at 10%, on average, for the whole population. This number rises to 20% in Tacuarembó
Tacuarembó
Tacuarembó is the capital city of the Tacuarembó Department in north-central Uruguay. It is located on Km. 390 of Route 5, south-southwest of Rivera, the capital city of the Rivera Department. Routes 26 and 31 also meet Route 5 within the city limits...
and goes down to 2% in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. Native American mtDNA reaches 62% in Tacuarembó
Tacuarembó
Tacuarembó is the capital city of the Tacuarembó Department in north-central Uruguay. It is located on Km. 390 of Route 5, south-southwest of Rivera, the capital city of the Rivera Department. Routes 26 and 31 also meet Route 5 within the city limits...
. A genetic study from 2006 found out the following autosomal DNA results for Cerro Largo
Cerro Largo
Cerro Largo may refer to:;Brazil*Cerro Largo, Rio Grande do Sul;Uruguay*Cerro Largo Department*Cerro Largo FC...
: 82% degree of European contribution, 8% of Native American ancestry and 10% of African contribution. On the maternal line, mtDNA, the results for Cerro Largo
Cerro Largo
Cerro Largo may refer to:;Brazil*Cerro Largo, Rio Grande do Sul;Uruguay*Cerro Largo Department*Cerro Largo FC...
were: 49% European, 30% Native American, and 21% African.
The Brazilian population has European, African and Native American contributions. The European is the most important, generally, among the "whites" and "pardos". African ancestry is greater among the "blacks". The Native American ancestry is present throughout Brazil, in "whites", "pardos" and "blacks", though in a lower degree. According to an autosomal DNA study from 2008, conducted by the University of Brasília
University of Brasília
The University of Brasília , is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian public universities funded by the Brazilian federal government...
(UnB), European ancestry is predominant in all regions of Brazil, accounting for 65,90% of the heritage of the population, followed by the African contribution (24,80%) and Native American ancestry (9,3%). According to an autosomal DNA study conducted in 2011, with nearly 1000 "white" "pardo" "black" Brazilian samples, European ancestry is predominant in all regions of Brazil, with African and Native American contributions. According to this study, European ancestry accounts for 70% of the heritage of the population. . This study verified that Brazilians from different regions are genetically much more homogenous than some expected. According to an autosomal study from 2010, published in the American Journal of Human Biology
American Journal of Human Biology
The American Journal of Human Biology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering human biology. It is the official publication of the Human Biology Association...
, European ancestry is predominant in Brazil, accounting for about 77% of the heritage of the whole population.The results also showed that physical features did not correlate well with ancestry in many instances. According to an autosomal DNA study from 2009, the Brazilian population as a whole exhibits a predominant degree of European ancestry, with African and Native American ancestries.
Education and standards of living
The other conspicuous characteristic of the Southern Cone is its relatively high standard of living and quality of lifeHuman Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
. Chile's, Argentina’s, and Uruguay's HDIs
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
—(0.805), (0.795), and (0.783)—are the highest in Latin America, similar to those of the richest countries in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, such as Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
or Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, where illiteracy technically doesn't exist, reaches the same level in this area, even considering that it faces restrictions to its industrial and economic growth. High life expectancy
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
, health and education access, significant participation in the global markets and the emerging economy profile of its members make the Southern Cone the most prosperous macro-region in Latin America. This is, however, contrasted by high levels of inequality.
| Country | GDP per capita (PPP) (2011 estimates) USD |
Income equality (2011) Gini index |
Poverty Index (2007) HPI-1 Human Poverty Index The Human Poverty Index is an indication of the standard of living in a country, developed by the United Nations . For highly developed countries, the UN considers that it can better reflect the extent of deprivation compared to the Human Development Index.... % |
Human Develop. (2010 estimates) HDI Human Development Index The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries... |
Quality of life (2005) index |
Annual economic growth (2010) % |
Envirnm. Perform. (2008) EPI Environmental Performance Index The Environmental Performance Index is a method of quantifying and numerically benchmarking the environmental performance of a country's policies. This index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, first published in 2002, and designed to supplement the environmental targets... | FSI 2011 | CPI Corruption Perceptions Index Since 1995, Transparency International publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index annually ranking countries "by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys." The CPI generally defines corruption as "the misuse of public power for private... 2010 | IEF Index of Economic Freedom The Index of Economic Freedom is a series of 10 economic measurements created by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. Its stated objective is to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations.... 2011 | GPI Global Peace Index The Global Peace Index is an attempt to measure the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness. It is the product of Institute for Economics and Peace and developed in consultation with an international panel of peace experts from peace institutes and think tanks with data collected... 2011 | DI Democracy Index The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit that claims to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 165 are UN member states... 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Cone | 16,338 | 46.8 | 3.3 | 0.795 (H) | 6.766 | 7.6 | 82.5 | 42.6 | 5.7 | 69.7 | 1.694 | 7.54 |
| Mexico | 15,121 | 51.7 | 5.9 | 0.770 (H) | 6.542 | 5.4 | 79.8 | 75.1 | 3.1 | 67.8 | 2.362 | 6.93 |
| South America | 9,019 | 51.7 | 9.1 | 0.705 (H) | 6.000 | 6.0 | 79.4 | 77.3 | 2.9 | 55.7 | 2.190 | 6.19 |
| Central America | 7,553 | 52.2 | 12.6 | 0.662 (M) | 5.897 | 3.8 | 79.3 | 70.6 | 3.4 | 63.3 | 2.077 | 6.53 |
Southern Cone =
Mexico =
South America =
Central America =
Politics
During the second half of 20th century, these countries were in some periods ruled by right-wing juntaMilitary dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
s, military nationalistic dictatorships.
Around the 1970s, these regimes collaborated in Plan Cóndor
Operation Condor
Operation Condor , was a campaign of political repression involving assassination and intelligence operations officially implemented in 1975 by the right-wing dictatorships of the Southern Cone of South America...
against leftist opposition, including urban guerrillas.
However, by the early 1980s Argentina and Uruguay restored their democracies, Chile followed suit in 1990.
Usage of the term
When only entire countries are included, in most of cases only Argentina, Uruguay and Chile are included in the Southern Cone. In some other definitions, when used for describing the countries under military dictatorship during the middle of 20th century, Brazil is fully included, although most of the Brazilian lands are geographically outside the Southern Cone.Nowadays, the southernmost states of Brazil (the states of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
, Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
and Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
) are generally included because they share the same characteristics with Uruguay, Argentina and Chile: above average standard of living, mild climate, high level of industrialization and strong European immigration.
See also
- ABC nations
- MercosurMercosurMercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...
- Andean statesAndean statesThe Andean States are a group of nations in South America that are defined by sharing a common geography or culture such as the Quechua language and Andean cuisine which was primarily spread during the times of the Inca Empire, but also before and after it.Politically speaking, Argentina and Chile...
- Eastern South America – BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
- Northern South AmericaNorthern South AmericaNorthern South America is a region in the continent South America. This region has a rich range of natural resources exploited by European explorers over the past couple of centuries. Most of the most populous cities, such as Bogotá, are located temperate conditions of the Andes...