Cono Sur redirects to this page. For the subregion of the Lima Metropolitan Area of Peru, see Cono Sur (Lima)

Dark green: region included in the Southern Cone in all times. This article is about the administrative division For the city see Lima The Lima Metropolitan Area ( Spanish: Área Metropolitana The Cono Sur is one of the six areas that make up the Lima Metropolitan Area. Medium green: region sometimes included in the Southern Cone. Light green: region only in rare exceptions included in the Southern Cone

The term Southern Cone (Spanish: Cono Sur, Portuguese: Cone Sul) refers to a geographic region composed of the southernmost areas of South America, below the Tropic of Capricorn. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a For the novel by Henry Miller, see Tropic of Capricorn (novel. The region includes all of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, and sometimes Paraguay and southern portions of Brazil which include the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná and São Paulo. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay ( Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái) is one of the only |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld (ʁiu ˈgɾɐ̃de do ˈsuɫ lit "Large River of the South" is the southernmost State of Brazil, and the State with the fourth highest Human Development (ˈsɐ̃ta kataˈɾina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country Other meanings Paraná Argentina, Paraná River Paraná (paɾaˈna is one of the states of Brazil, ( is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy

Language

The main language spoken is Spanish (castellano) owing to the Spanish colonization from the 16th to the 19th century; if one includes Brazil, Portuguese places a close second. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal.

Autochthonous languages, spoken by some Amerindian groups include Mapudungun (also known as Mapuche) and Guarani. An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a Language that is native to a region and spoken by Indigenous peoples but has been reduced For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. Mapudungun (from mapu 'earth land' and dungun 'speak speech' is a Language isolate spoken in central Chile and west central Argentina Guaraní /gwaraˈni/ (local name avañe'ẽ) is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí-Guaraní subfamily of the

Italian (mostly its Northern dialects, such as Venetian) is spoken in rural communities across Argentina and Southern Brazil. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Related categories Central Italy Southern Italy Insular Italy Northeast Italy Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken by over two million people mostly in the Veneto region of Italy. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. The South Region of Brazil is one of the five administrative regions of Brazil German in some dialects is mostly spoken in Southern Brazil, Southern Argentina and in some communities in Southern Chile. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Southern Chile is one of the five natural regions of Chile defined by the CONAMA.

Furthermore English is spoken in the Falkland Islands, a disputed territory between the U.K. (inhabited by British subjects) and Argentina. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located British people, or Britons, are the native inhabitants of Great Britain and their descendants or citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Welsh is spoken by descendants of immigrants in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term Llao LLaojpg|thumb|250px| Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche, Argentina Japanese has speakers in communities of Southeastern Brazil and Korean in the main cities. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. This article is mainly about the spoken Korean language See Hangul for details on the native Korean writing system Portuñol, Portunhol in Portuguese, is a pidgin language of Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish that is spoken in the border with Brazil. Portuñol or Portunhol ( is a Portmanteau of the words Português/Portugués (Portuguese and Español/Espanhol (Spanish Brazilian Portuguese ( Language code pt-BR Portuguese: português brasileiro or português do Brasil) is a group of Portuguese

The overwhelming majority though, including those of recent immigrant background, speak castellano (in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay) and Portuguese (in Brazil) as the first language. Immigration refers to the movement of people among countries While the movement of people has existed throughout human history at various levels modern immigration implies long-term

Demographics and Ethnicity

Population density of the Southern Cone by first level national administrative divisions. Population/km²

The population of these countries: Argentina (39. 3 million), Chile (16. 4 million) and Uruguay (3. 6 million). Buenos Aires is the largest metropolitan area at 13. Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is geographically located on the southern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern 1 million and Santiago, Chile has 6. Santiago ( (litteraly in spanish Saint James) is the Capital of Chile, and the center of its largest Conurbation ( Greater Santiago 4 million. When southern Brazil is included, São Paulo is the largest city, with 19. São Paulo ( is the largest city in Brazil, with its metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world 8 million. Uruguay's capital and largest city, Montevideo, has 1. Montevideo (monteβi'ðeo is the largest city the capital and chief port of Uruguay. 8 million, and it receives many visitors on ferry boats across the Río de la Plata from Buenos Aires, 50 km (35 miles) away. The Río de la Plata ( Spanish: " Silver River" &mdash which is often referred to in English-speaking countries as the River Plate

As far as ethnicity is concerned, the population of the Southern Cone is racially and culturally very similar to the European making up about 80 percent of the total population, being majority in Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil, and a significant part of the Chilean population. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Mestizos make up 17% of the population, being majority in Paraguay and Chile, though their characteristics lean towards the nations of Southern Europe. Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay ( Spanish: República del Paraguay; Guaraní: Tetã Paraguái) is one of the only Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Native Americans make up 2% of the population, and mulattoes, mostly in Southern Brazil and Uruguay, the remaining 1%. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. Mulatto is a term used to describe a person with one white parent and one black parent or a person whose Ancestry is a mixture of black and white

Argentina is a melting pot of different peoples, both autochthonous and immigrants. Citizens of European descent make up the great majority of the population, with estimates varying from white 89. White Latin Americans are the white population of Latin America. 7%^[1] to 97%^[2] of the total population. The last national census, based on self-ascription, indicated a similar figure. ^[3] Nonetheless, a study conducted by the Genetic Department of the University of Buenos Aires,^[4] and confirmed by other research studies,^[5] estimated that 56% of the Argentine population had at least one Amerindian ancestor, though not fully visible in physical appearance, on either the paternal or maternal lineages and 10% of the population had Amerindian ancestors on both lineages. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. ^[5]

In Uruguay case, where the majority of the population is of Spanish and Italian descent, the indigenous population is now extinct, yet retains a visible minority with mestizos and blacks making up 12% of the population. ^[6]

Meanwhile, although the majority of the population of Paraguay is composed of mestizos (mixed European & Amerindian),^[7] the European contribution has impacted significantly. Paraguay 's population is distributed unevenly throughout the country Mestizo is a Spanish term that was coined during the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in Latin For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. It is not uncommon for the admixture in their mestizos to lean more towards the European element, as opposed to a relatively equal amount of both in the rest of Latin America, and in some cases it is the only discernible element. This situation has led to the often contentious question on the proportion of white people. White People is the second album by Handsome Boy Modeling School. Paraguay has an undetermined number of unmixed White Europeans, as well as a visible Amerindian minority. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States.

The bulk of the Chilean population features a white and white mestizo composition^[8], the product of miscegenation between colonial Spanish immigrants and Amerindian females. Miscegenation (Latin miscere "to mix" + genus "kind" is the mixing of different racial groups, that is marrying, cohabiting For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. ^[9]. Whites are mostly Spanish in origin (mainly Castilians, Andalusians and Basques), and to a lesser degree from Chile's various waves of immigrants (Italians, Germans, Israelis, Yugoslavians, Arabs, etc. Castilian is a noun and adjective that refers to the region and former kingdom of Castile in Spain; in particular it may refer to a native person The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. The' Italian people' are a Southern European Ethnic group located primarily in Italy, Switzerland, France and by virtue of a wide-ranging The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding ). Foreigners have always been scarce in Chile. In the 1960 census they numbered 105,000 (55% being Spanish, Germans, Italians or Argentines, in that order). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Besides being small in number, they mixed quickly with the locals. The black population was always scant, reaching a high of 25,000 during the colonial period; its racial contribution is less than 1%. The current Native American population is relatively small (see below) according to the censuses; their numbers are augmented when one takes into consideration those that are physically similar, and those that are linguistically or socially thought to belong to them.

Education and Standards of Living

The other conspicuous characteristic of the Southern Cone is its relatively high standard of living and quality of life. This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP The Argentina's and Chile’s HDIs—(0. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 869), (0. 863) the highest in Latin America—are similar to those of the richest countries in Eastern Europe, such as Slovenia, Croatia or Hungary. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija) is a Country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west Croatia (Hrvatska ˈxȓvatska officially the Republic of Croatia ( Republika Hrvatska) is a southern Central European country at the crossroads between Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic 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. Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America Argentina and Chile are considered developed countries when it comes to human development, since their high indices of 0. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the 869 and 0. 863 respectively surpass many places in Europe and other industrialized regions. ^[10] 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. Life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age

Religion

The overwhelming majority is Roman Catholic, but there are Muslims, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Buddhists and Daoists. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists. Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools Individuals are grouped by nationality except in cases where the Taoism (pronounced /ˈdaʊɪzəm/ or /ˈtaʊɪzəm/ also spelled '''Daoism''') refers to a variety of related Philosophical and Religious traditions Jewish communities thrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ 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 the most secular country in Latin America. Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America Agnosticism ( Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the Atheism Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. The more conservative Chile only recently passed a law to legalize divorce, contrasting with Brazil and Argentina, countries where gay union is already possible in some regions. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the

Geography

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 intense heat. The thermal equator (also known as "the heat equator" is a belt encircling the Earth, defined by the set of locations having the highest Mean annual Atacama redirects here for the political-administrative region of Chile, see Atacama Region. In addition to that, the winter presents mostly cool temperatures, except for the Andes and Patagonia desert (almost unoccupied regions). The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. Llao LLaojpg|thumb|250px| Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche, Argentina Strong and constant wind and high humidity is what brings sensation of low temperatures in the winter. The Atacama is the driest place on Earth.

Botany

The most peculiar plant of the region is the Araucaria tree (pinus) which can be found in Argentina and Chile. Araucaria is a Genus of Evergreen coniferous Trees in the family Araucariaceae. The only native species of pinus 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. "Candelabra Tree" redirects here The Spurge Euphorbia ingens (naboom is also sometimes called thus 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 Gauchos. Laguna de Gomezjpg|thumb|left|240px|Lake Gomez near Junín in the heart of the Pampas grain belt Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Gaucho ( gaúcho in Portuguese, "gaucho" in Spanish) is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American Pampas Maritime tropical trees, tundra, Mediterranean vegetation and desert plants are also natural occurrences. In physical Geography, tundra is an area where the Tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons Besides Antarctica, Patagonia is the cleanest place on earth. Llao LLaojpg|thumb|250px| Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche, Argentina

Politics

During the second half of 20th century, these countries were often ruled by juntas, military nationalistic dictatorships. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on A military dictatorship is a Form of government wherein the political power resides with the Military; it is similar but not identical to a Stratocracy, Around the 1970s, these regimes collaborated in Plan Cóndor against leftist opposition, including urban guerrillas. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. For other uses of Operation Condor please see Operation Condor (disambiguation Operation Condor (Operación Cóndor Operação Condor was a campaign Urban guerrilla redirects here For the Hawkwind song see Urban Guerrilla. However, by the 1990s, these countries restored democracies. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999

Currently, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet have restored credible and reformist governments. Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (born February 19 1953) commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner, is an Argentine Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria beˈɾonika mɪˈʃɛl baʃˈle ˈxeɾja / --> (born September 29 1951) is a center-left politician and Uruguay has a liberal and secular tradition where their social welfare policies, freedom rights history and democratic stability are sometimes held as the "Switzerland of Latin America". Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation For information on countries' political histories, see Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Chile, officially the Republic of Chile ( Spanish:) is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow Coastal strip wedged between the Uruguay.(official full name in República Oriental del Uruguay;, Oriental Republic of Uruguay) is a country located in the southeastern part of South America

Inclusion of Brazil

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. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on

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 (the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul receive snowfalls every year), high level of industrialization and strong European immigration. ( is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy Other meanings Paraná Argentina, Paraná River Paraná (paɾaˈna is one of the states of Brazil, (ˈsɐ̃ta kataˈɾina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country (ʁiu ˈgɾɐ̃de do ˈsuɫ lit "Large River of the South" is the southernmost State of Brazil, and the State with the fourth highest Human Development (ˈsɐ̃ta kataˈɾina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country (ʁiu ˈgɾɐ̃de do ˈsuɫ lit "Large River of the South" is the southernmost State of Brazil, and the State with the fourth highest Human Development Parts of the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais also share the same characteristics. Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, the second most populous and fourth largest by area in the federation

Exclusion of Paraguay

Due to the geographic position and the past military dictatorship, Paraguay is often included in the Southern Cone . But, due to its great poverty, non-industrialized trait and mostly tropical climate, in opposition to the other countries of the Southern Cone, it's many times excluded from the definition. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of

See also

• ABC countries
• Mercosur
• Anglican Province of the Southern Cone

References