How to play
- Press Start. You have 2 minutes for all 12 countries.
- Type a country’s name. It counts as soon as it matches and turns green on the map; a country from another continent clears the box, with a note saying where it is.
- Pause whenever you like. When the time is up, the lists below the map show what you named and what you missed.
About the countries of South America
With only 12 countries, South America is the shortest continent quiz, and the clock is short too: 2 minutes. The biggest country covers almost half the continent and borders all but two of the others. Two countries have no coastline. Spanish is the main language in nine countries, and the other three speak Portuguese, English and Dutch, a legacy of their colonial history.
Look out for the north-east coast between the Amazon and the Caribbean: two small countries sit there next to French Guiana, which is part of France and isn’t an answer. The Falkland Islands aren’t answers either. Going round the coast clockwise from the Caribbean, then filling in the two inland countries, catches all of them.
More about the countries of South America (names some answers)
Brazil is the largest country; the only other countries it doesn’t border are Chile and Ecuador. Suriname is the smallest. Bolivia and Paraguay are the two without a coastline. Ecuador is named after the equator, which crosses it, and Colombia after Christopher Columbus. Guyana speaks English and Suriname Dutch.
Which countries count
South America here follows the UN’s grouping of countries: the twelve sovereign states of the continent. Territories and dependencies aren’t answers, and land outside the quiz is shown in a lighter shade.
Spelling: capitals, accents, spaces and punctuation don’t matter, and well-known alternative names count.
The accepted alternative names appear here when your quiz ends, so they don’t give any answers away.
| Country | Also accepted |
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Questions
Is Panama in South America?
No. Panama is in Central America, which counts as North America here, although it was part of a South American country until 1903. Type it and a note says where it belongs.
Why is French Guiana lighter on the map?
It is an overseas region of France, not a country, so it isn’t an answer. The same goes for the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory.
More geography
- Capitals of South America: the same countries, naming their capitals
- Countries of the World: all 197 at once
- Other continents: Countries of Africa, Countries of Asia, Countries of Europe, Countries of North America, Countries of Oceania
More to play
- Countries of the World: Type every country you can before the clock runs out.
- Capitals of the World: Name the capital of every country before the clock runs out.
- Periodic Table: Name every chemical element before the clock runs out.
- Flags of the World: Name the country from its flag.
- All quizzes
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