Largest/Smallest
Smallest Countries in South America 2026
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Country | Area (km²)↑ | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Falkland Islands | 12.2K | 3,465 |
 | French Guiana | 83.5K | 318,872 |
 | Suriname | 163.8K | 645,256 |
 | Uruguay | 181K | 3,382,540 |
 | Guyana | 215K | 840,890 |
 | Ecuador | 276.8K | 18,444,500 |
 | Paraguay | 406.8K | 7,095,280 |
 | Chile | 756.1K | 19,945,800 |
 | Venezuela | 916.4K | 28,633,700 |
 | Bolivia | 1.1M | 12,749,300 |
 | Colombia | 1.1M | 53,936,200 |
 | Peru | 1.3M | 34,922,100 |
 | Argentina | 2.8M | 46,003,700 |
 | Brazil | 8.5M | 213,563,000 |
Snapshot
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Suriname is the smallest sovereign country in South America by land area, covering about 163,800 km² (63,250 sq mi), and also has the continent’s smallest population at roughly 640,000.
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Guyana and Uruguay follow as South America’s next-smallest countries by land area, though Uruguay stands out with a much larger population of around 3.4 million.
Smallest Countries in South America by Land Area
By land area, the smallest sovereign countries in South America are Suriname, Uruguay, and Guyana. Suriname is the smallest, covering about 163,800 km² (63,250 sq mi), followed by Uruguay at 181,000 km² (69,900 sq mi) and Guyana at 215,000 km² (83,000 sq mi). Unlike other regions, South America has no microstates—its smallest countries are still geographically large by global standards. Smaller places do exist in the region, such as the Falkland Islands and French Guiana, but those are not independent countries.
Smallest Countries in South America by Population
By population, the smallest sovereign countries in South America are Suriname, Guyana, and Uruguay—the same three that rank as the smallest by land area. Suriname has the smallest population, with about 640,000 residents, followed by Guyana at roughly 836,000, while Uruguay, though one of the continent’s smallest areas by land, has a much larger population, close to 3.4 million.
