The Southern Cone (, ) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, mostly south of the

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reach ...

. Traditionally, it covers

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, bounded on the west by the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

and on the east by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. In terms of geography, the Southern Cone comprises

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and sometimes includes

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

's four southernmost states ( Paraná,

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

, Santa Catarina, and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

). The Southern Cone is the

subregion A subregion is a part of a larger geographical region or continent. Cardinal directions are commonly used to define subregions. There are many criteria for creating systems of subregions; this article is focusing on the United Nations geoschem ...

with the highest

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

, and highest

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Geography and extent

Countries

In most cases, the term "Southern Cone" refers specifically to

, and

, due to their geographical, cultural, ethnic, and economic similarities.

Other regions

Brazil

Brazil's four southernmost states ( Paraná,

, Santa Catarina and

) share characteristics with Argentina, and Uruguay (similar local climate, high

, high levels of

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

and greater percentage European ethnic component due to

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

). Brazil's other states are more similar to the other South American countries in these issues. When the definition is not limited to entire countries, the states of the South Region and the state of

are generally included.

Paraguay

Due to the geographical proximity, common history, geography and political cycles,

is sometimes included in what is meant by Southern Cone, geographically speaking, but excluded due to differences in climate, economy and development, and cultural identity. While Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Southern Brazil are located in the southernmost part of South America, with temperate climates and a dominant European ancestry shaping their demographics and culture, Paraguay is a landlocked country further north, with a subtropical climate and a unique cultural identity rooted in its Guaraní heritage. Economically, Paraguay has a lower Human Development Index (HDI) compared to the Southern Cone countries, which rank among the highest in Latin America. Paraguay’s economy, focused on agriculture and hydroelectric power, is also less diversified and globally integrated.

Climate

The climates are mostly Mediterranean temperate, but include humid subtropical, highland tropical, maritime temperate, sub-Antarctic temperate, highland cold, desert and semi-arid temperate regions. (Except for the 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 Atacama Desert () is a desert plateau located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of South America, in the north of Chile. Stretching over a strip of land west of the Andes Mountains, it covers an area of , which increases to if the barre ...

). The region rarely suffers from heat. In addition to that, the winter presents mostly cold temperatures. Strong and constant wind and high humidity are what brings low temperatures in the winter. One of the most peculiar plants of the region is the ''

Araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. While today they are largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous they were glo ...

'' tree, which can be found in Chile, Argentina and parts of Brazil. The only native group of

conifers Conifers () are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All e ...

found in the southern hemisphere had its origin in the Southern Cone. ''

Araucaria angustifolia ''Araucaria angustifolia'', the Paraná pine, Brazilian pine or candelabra tree (, or ), is a critically endangered species in the Pinophyta, conifer genus ''Araucaria''. Although the common names in various languages refer to the species as a " ...

'', once widespread in Southern Brazil, is now a critically endangered species, protected by law. The prairies region of central Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil is known as the

Pampas The Pampas (; from Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all o ...

. Central Chile has Mediterranean vegetation and a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, grading southward into an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

. The Atacama, Patagonian and Monte deserts form a diagonal of arid lands separating the woodlands, croplands and pastures of La Plata basin from Central and Southern Chile. Apart from the desert diagonal, the north–south running Andes form a major divide in the Southern Cone and constitute, for most of its part in the southern cone, the

Argentina–Chile border The Argentina–Chile border is the longest international border of South America and the third longest in the world after the Canada–United States border and the Kazakhstan–Russia border. With a length of , it separates Argentina from Chile a ...

. In the east the river systems of the

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

basin form natural barriers and sea lanes between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The

is the driest place on Earth, with some regions having no recorded rainfall in history.

Image gallery

File:Cono-sur-anual-sat.gif, Satellite images of the Southern Cone month by month. File:Ischigualasto national park.jpg, Landforms in the Monte Desert at Ischigualasto, Argentina. Much of the southern cone is covered by the Arid Diagonal of which Monte Desert is part. File:Cabanas curarrehue.jpg, Snow in the

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

in Curarrehue,

. File:L' automne rouge.JPG,

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall (especially in US & Canada), is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southern Hemisphe ...

in Bariloche,

. File:Aconcagua (aerial).jpg, Located in between Chile and Argentina,

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in both the Western Hemisphere and the ...

, almost 7000 meters high, is the highest mountain on Earth outside the Himalayas, and continues to rise. File:Neve na SC-438 em São Joaquim.JPG, Snow in the

of the ''Planalto Serrano'' mountain range of the state of Santa Catarina, southern

. File:Jacarandas at Plaza Miserere.jpg,

Jacaranda ''Jacaranda'' is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas while cultivated around the world. The generic name is also used as the common name. The species ' ...

s in bloom in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

during spring. File:Campo Departamento Conhelo.jpg, The extensive temperate prairies of the

in the center of

Culture

Besides sharing languages and colonial heritage, in this area, there was extensive European immigration during the 19th- and 20th-centuries, who, with their descendants, have strongly influenced the culture, social life and politics of these countries. Immigration reshaped the modern-day societies of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, countries where the influx of newcomers was massive. The residents of the states of the Southern Cone are avid players and fans of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, with top-notch teams competing in the sport.

has won the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

three times, while

has won the cup twice; they are the only national teams along with Brazil outside

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

to have won the cup. Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil have all hosted the World Cup. Additionally, national teams from the region have won several Olympic medals in football. Also, football clubs from the Southern Cone countries have won large numbers of club competitions in

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

- American competitions, Pan-American competitions, and world-FIFA Club World Cup-level competitions. ''

Gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...

s'' (Argentina and Uruguay) and '' Huasos'' (Chile) are horsemen that are considered icons of

national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...

(like cowboys); they are featured in the

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

'' Martín Fierro''.

Gastronomy

The '' Asado'' (barbecue) is a culinary tradition typical of the Southern Cone main countries and was developed by ''

gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...

s'' and '' huasos''. Mate is a popular infusion throughout the Southern Cone.

Religion

Like the rest of Latin America, most residents of the Southern Cone are members of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, with a minority of Protestants, including a significant

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

population in South Brazil and South Chile. Other religions also present in the southern cone include

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

and

Daoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

communities have thrived in cities of Argentina and Uruguay. While the Southern Cone has been conservative in some aspects of religion, it has had a tradition of social reform and liberation theology has been followed by many in the Catholic Church.

, where

agnosticism Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer t ...

and

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

is common, has a policy of strong separation of church and state; it is one of the most

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

countries in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. Uruguay, Chile and Argentina, in that order, have the least religious residents in South America, according to their responses about the significance of religion in their lives. According to the Pew Research Center, 28% of Uruguayans, 43% of Argentines, and 41% of Chileans think of religion 'very important in their lives,' contrasting with the higher values given by the residents of countries such as Peru (72%), Colombia (77%) and Ecuador (76%). The Southern Cone produced the first pope from the Western Hemisphere,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, elected in 2013, born in

Other Cultural

In a 2014 social survey, residents rated their countries as 'good places for gay or lesbian people to live;' the following percentages said 'yes' in Uruguay (71%), Argentina (68%), and Chile (52%).

Language

The overwhelming majority, including those of recent

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

background, speak Spanish (in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) or Portuguese in the case of Southern Brazil. The Spanish-speaking countries of the Southern Cone are divided into two main dialects: * Castellano Rioplatense (River Plate Spanish), spoken in Argentina and Uruguay, where the accent and daily language is heavily influenced by 19th-20th century Italian immigrants, has a particular intonation famously recognized by Spanish speakers from around the world. It is sometimes unofficially referred to as "Castellano Argentino/Argentine Spanish" due to the majority of the speakers (by population) being Argentines. Preliminary research has shown that

Rioplatense Spanish Rioplatense Spanish ( , ), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, or River Plate Spanish, is a variety of SpanishAlvar, Manuel, "''Manual de dialectología hispánica. El español de América''", ("Handbook of Hispanic Dialectology. Spanish Lan ...

has intonation patterns that resemble those of Italian dialects in the Naples region, differing markedly from those of other forms of Spanish. Buenos Aires,

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

, and Montevideo had a massive influx of Italian immigrant settlers from the mid-19th until mid-20th centuries. Researchers note that the development of this dialect is a relatively recent phenomenon, developing at the beginning of the 20th century with the main wave of Italian immigration. * Castellano Chileno (Chilean Spanish), spoken in Chile, features multiple accents, but one of its most common characteristics is the omission of the letter "s" when pronouncing words. For example, "Los chilenos" is pronounced as "Lo' chileno'." Additionally, in informal and colloquial speech (especially among close friends), the use of reverential voseo is common. This phenomenon changes phrases like "¿Dónde estás?" ("Where are you?") into "¿Dónde estáis?". However, since Chileans often omit the final "s," the resulting pronunciation is "¿Dónde estai?" These dialects share common traits, such as a number of

Lunfardo Lunfardo (; from the Italian ) is an argot originated and developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the lower classes in the Río de la Plata region (encompassing the port cities of Buenos Aires in Argentina and Montevideo in Uruguay) ...

and Quechua words. Minor languages and dialects include Cordobés, Cuyo, and

Portuñol Portuñol (Spanish spelling) or Portunhol (Portuguese spelling) () is a portmanteau of the words portugués/português ("Portuguese") and español/espanhol ("Spanish"), and is the name often given to any non-systematic mixture of Portuguese an ...

, a hybrid between Rioplatense and

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (; ; also known as pt-BR) is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of Portuguese language native to Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the 203 million inhabitants of Brazil and widely across the Brazilian diaspora ...

that is spoken in Uruguay on the border with Brazil.

Native American languages

Some Native American groups, especially in rural areas, continue to speak autochthonous languages, including

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

(also known as

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

), Quechua, Aymara, and Guarani. The first is primarily spoken in Araucanía and adjacent areas of

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, in southern Argentina and Chile. Guarani is the official language of Paraguay, the most widely spoken language in that country, and in 2010, the city of Tacuru, in the Brazilian state of

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...

, adopted Guarani as the official language, besides Portuguese. It is also a co-official language in the northeastern Argentine provinces of Corrientes and Misiones.

Non-Iberian languages

Italian (mostly its Northern dialects, such as Venetian), is spoken in rural communities across

, Southern Brazil, and

where immigrants had settled. German, in various dialects, is mostly spoken in Southern Chile and Southern Brazil. As well as in the Chaco (Paraguay) by

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

. It is the second most spoken mother tongue in Brazil. The Southern Cone is also known to have high English proficiency compared to other South American countries. This language is spoken in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

, a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

(disputed by Argentina). Polish, Dutch and Ukrainian are also spoken in Southern Brazil. Dutch is spoken in Chile as well, and Ukrainian is used in Argentina as well. Croatian and other

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...

are also spoken in the southernmost areas of Chilean Patagonia, reflecting patterns of immigration and settlement.

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

can be heard mainly in

, Argentina and

, Brazil. In Brazil, Japanese is spoken by immigrant communities in the states of São Paulo and Paraná. By descendants in Argentina and Chile, Welsh is spoken by descendants of

s in the

region. Comparison of selected words Below there are selected words to show vocabulary in the dialects of the countries of the Southern Cone and other Spanish-speaking countries in South America and the dialect of Portuguese spoken in Brazil.

Demography

The population of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay is 40, 16.8 and 3.6 million respectively.

is the largest metropolitan area at 13.1 million and

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

has 6.4 million. Uruguay's capital and largest city,

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, has 1.8 million, and it receives many visitors on ferry boats across the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

from Buenos Aires, away. By contrast, the

region of southern Chile and Argentina is very sparsely populated, with a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of less than two people per square kilometer.

Ethnicity

The population of the Southern Cone has been strongly influenced by waves of immigration from

in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. People of direct European descent, make up 88% of total population of

, 85% of the total population of

and 65% of the total population of

. The remainder of the population in these countries consists predominantly of mestizos with a significant proportion of European ancestry.SOCIAL IDENTITY Marta Fierro Social Psychologist.
In

, Paraná,

, and Santa Catarina self-identified

white people White is a Race (human categorization), racial classification of people generally used for those of predominantly Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry. It is also a Human skin color, skin color specifier, although the definition can var ...

are 61.3%; 70.0%; 82.3%; and 86.8% of the population respectively, with people of Italian, Polish and German ancestry predominating.

Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...

started to emigrate to the Southern Cone as early as the second half of the 17th century, and it became a mass phenomenon between 1880 and 1920 when Italy was facing social and economic disturbances. As a consequence of mass Italian immigration, the Southern Cone has the largest

Italian diaspora The Italian diaspora (, ) is the large-scale emigration of Italians from Italy. There were two major Italian diasporas in Italian history. The first diaspora began around 1880, two decades after the Risorgimento, Unification of Italy, and ended ...

in the world, with people of Italian descent being the majority in many places, with the highest percentage being in

(62.5% Italian), and in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (60% Italian). Among all Italians who immigrated to Brazil, 70% went to the

State of São Paulo State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. In consequence, the State of São Paulo has more people with Italian ancestry than any

region of Italy The regions of Italy () are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italy, Italian Republic, constituting its second Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, #Autonomous regio ...

itself, with

São Paulo city SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

being the most populous city with Italian ancestry in the world, of the 10 million inhabitants of São Paulo city, 60% (6 million people) have full or partial Italian ancestry (the largest city of Italy is Rome, with 2.5 million inhabitants). Small towns, such as Nova Veneza, have as much as 95% of their population of Italian descent. The region also has a large German diaspora (second largest after the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

), with People of German descent being 25% of the population of

and 35% of the population of Santa Catarina. Residents of German descent even predominate in South Chile due to German colonization of Valdivia, Osorno and Llanquihue.

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

s make up 15.8% of the population and are a majority in

. Native Americans make up 3% of the population, living in communities in Araucanía region in Chile.

Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

es (people of European and African ancestry) mostly in Uruguay (0.2%), and Asians (1.0%), mostly in Argentina, the remaining 1.2%. There is also a strong

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

presence in the Southern Cone, with people of full or at least partial Arab ancestry being 5% of the population of

and

, 9.8% of the population of

, and 11% of the population of

. Brazil has the largest number of Arabs outside the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, with 20 million Brazilians being descendants of Arabs, while the Palestinian community in Chile is considered the largest outside the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

Genetic and historical roots

Since interethnic marriages are widespread in Latin America, complex ethnic classifications emerged, including more than a dozen of "racial" categories created in 18th century

Hispanic America Hispanic America ( or ), historically known as Spanish America () or Castile (historical region), Castilian America (), is the Spanish-speaking countries and territories of the Americas. In all of these countries, Spanish language, Spanish is th ...

, with notorious examples being '' castizo'', ''morisco'' and . In Brazil, about 190 "racial" categories were detected by the Census of 1976. A study conducted on 218 individuals in 2010 by the Argentine geneticist Daniel Corach, has established that the genetic map of Argentina is composed of 79% different European ethnicities (mainly Spanish and Italian ethnicities), 18% of different indigenous ethnicities, and 4.3% of African ethnic groups, in which 63.6% of the tested group had at least one ancestor who was Indigenous. An autosomal DNA study from 2009 found the composition of the Argentine population to be 78.5% European, 17.3% Amerindian, and 4.2%

Sub-Saharan African Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

(SSA). Blacks made up 25% of the population of Buenos Aires in 1810, 1822 and 1838. In 1887, the government decided to cease asking Argentine citizens about their race. According to Laura López, it was a way to "hide" the Black population, not only from the Census, but also from public opinion. Multiple studies concluded that Whites make 50-65% of the Chilean population and the CIA concluded that 89% are Whites, Castizos and Mestizos.
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) The use of mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome test results show the following: The European component is predominant (91.0%, versus 9.0% of the aboriginal one) in the Chilean upper class, the middle classes, 66.8%-62.3% European component and 37.7%-33.2 of mixed aboriginal and lower classes at 55–52.9% European component and 47.1%-45% mix of Aboriginal. A DNA study from 2009, published in the American Journal of Human Biology, showed the genetical composition of Uruguay to be mainly European, but with Native American (which varies from 1% to 20% in different parts of the country) and also SSA (7% to 15% in different parts of the country). Similar to the rest of Latin America, the genetic ancestry of the population of the Southern Cone reflects the history of the continent: the Iberian colonizers were mostly men who arrived without women. European immigration to this part of the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought more European and Middle Eastern components to the local population.

Education and standards of living

Human Development Index of Southern Cone Subregions

The Southern Cone is the most prosperous region in Latin America. The region has relatively high

and

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

. Chile's, Argentina's, and Uruguay's HDIs — (0.860), (0.849) and (0.830) — are the highest in Latin America, similar to European countries like

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The region has a high

life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...

, and access to health care and education. In

, illiteracy technically does not exist. From an economic point of view, the Southern Cone countries has been praised for being the most

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

and pro

Free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

that gave them the profile of "emerging economies".

Crime rate In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

is significantly lower in this region compared other countries in Latin America. Since the return to democracy, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay have experienced significant democratic stability. After enduring military dictatorships during the 1970s and 1980s, each country transitioned to democratic governance, leading to a more open and participatory political environment.

Politics

During the second half of 20th century, these countries were in some periods ruled by

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

juntas, military nationalistic dictatorships. Around the 1970s, these regimes collaborated in Plan Cóndor against

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

opposition, including urban guerrillas. However, by the early 1980s Argentina and Uruguay restored their democracies; Chile followed suit in 1990.

Governments

Timeline of presidents

ImageSize = width:1075 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:60 bottom:60 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1950 till:20/04/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:peronist value:pink legend:Peronist id:colo value:orange legend:Colorado id:frenteamplio value:green legend:Frente_Amplio id:blanco value:yellow legend:Blanco id:radical value:teal legend:Radical id:dictatorship value:black legend:Dictator id:socialist value:red legend:Socialist id:PDC value:purple legend:Christian_Democrat id:PRN value:blue legend:Chilean_right_and_center-right Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1950 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1951 BarData = bar:arg text:"Argentina" bar:chi text:"Chile" bar:uru text:"Uruguay" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:arg from:01/01/1950 till:16/09/1955 color:peronist bar:arg from:16/09/1955 till:01/05/1958 color:dictatorship bar:arg from:01/05/1958 till:28/06/1966 color:radical bar:arg from:28/06/1966 till:25/05/1973 color:dictatorship bar:arg from:25/05/1973 till:24/03/1976 color:peronist bar:arg from:24/03/1976 till:10/12/1983 color:dictatorship bar:arg from:10/12/1983 till:08/07/1989 color:radical bar:arg from:08/07/1989 till:10/12/1999 color:peronist bar:arg from:10/12/1999 till:23/12/2001 color:radical bar:arg from:23/12/2001 till:10/12/2015 color:peronist bar:arg from:10/12/2015 till:10/12/2019 color:radical bar:arg from:10/12/2019 till:20/04/2020 color:peronist bar:chi from:03/11/1958 till:03/11/1964 color:PRN bar:chi from:03/11/1964 till:03/11/1970 color:PDC bar:chi from:03/11/1970 till:11/09/1973 color:socialist bar:chi from:11/09/1973 till:11/03/1990 color:dictatorship bar:chi from:11/03/1990 till:11/03/2000 color:PDC bar:chi from:11/03/2000 till:11/03/2010 color:socialist bar:chi from:11/03/2010 till:11/03/2014 color:PRN bar:chi from:11/03/2014 till:11/03/2018 color:socialist bar:chi from:11/03/2018 till:20/04/2020 color:PRN bar:uru from:01/01/1950 till:01/03/1951 color:colo bar:uru from:01/03/1967 till:27/06/1973 color:colo bar:uru from:27/06/1973 till:01/03/1985 color:dictatorship bar:uru from:01/03/1985 till:01/03/1990 color:colo bar:uru from:01/03/1990 till:01/03/1995 color:blanco bar:uru from:01/03/1995 till:01/03/2005 color:colo bar:uru from:01/03/2005 till:01/03/2020 color:frenteamplio bar:uru from:01/03/2020 till:20/04/2020 color:blanco

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:20/01/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:centerright value:skyblue legend:Centre-right id:right value:blue legend:Right id:centerleft value:pink legend:Centre-left id:left value:red legend:Left Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1990 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1990 BarData = bar:arg text:"Argentina" bar:chi text:"Chile" bar:uru text:"Uruguay" PlotData = width:16 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:arg from:01/01/1990 till:10/12/1999 color:right text:"Menem" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:arg from:10/12/1999 till:21/12/2001 color:centerright text:"Rua" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:arg from:02/01/2002 till:25/05/2003 color:centerleft text:"D." textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:arg from:25/05/2003 till:10/12/2007 color:left text:"Kirchner" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:arg from:10/12/2007 till:10/12/2015 color:left text:"C. Fernández de Kirchner" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:arg from:10/12/2019 till:31/12/2020 color:centerleft text:"A. Fernández" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:arg from:10/12/2015 till:10/12/2019 color:centerright text:"Macri" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:chi from:01/01/1990 till:11/03/1990 color:right bar:chi from:11/03/1990 till:11/03/1994 color:centerleft text:"Aylwin" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:chi from:11/03/1994 till:11/03/2000 color:centerleft text:"Frei" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:chi from:11/03/2000 till:11/03/2006 color:centerleft text:"Lagos" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:chi from:11/03/2006 till:11/03/2010 color:centerleft text:"Bachelet" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:chi from:11/03/2014 till:11/03/2018 color:centerleft text:"Bachelet" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:chi from:11/03/2010 till:11/03/2014 color:centerright text:"Piñera" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:chi from:22/03/2018 till:20/01/2021 color:centerright text:"Piñera" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:uru from:01/03/1990 till:01/03/1995 color:centerright text:"A. Lacalle" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:uru from:01/03/1995 till:01/03/2000 color:centerright text:"Sanguinetti" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:uru from:01/03/2000 till:01/03/2005 color:centerright text:"Batlle" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:uru from:01/03/2005 till:01/03/2010 color:centerleft text:"Vázquez" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:uru from:01/03/2010 till:01/03/2015 color:centerleft text:"Mujica" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:uru from:01/03/2015 till:01/03/2020 color:centerleft text:"Vázquez" textcolor:white mark:(line,white) bar:uru from:01/03/2020 till:20/01/2021 color:centerright text:"L. Lacalle" textcolor:white mark:(line,white)

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control