Wanderlust World Wanderlust World South America spans approximately 17.84 million square kilometers (6.89 million square miles), making it nearly 1.8 times larger than the United States, which covers about 9.83 million square kilometers (3.79 million square miles).
Beyond sheer area, the two regions differ significantly in other metrics:
| Characteristic | United States | South America |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 9.83M km² (3.79M mi²) | 17.84M km² (6.89M mi²) |
| Population (2020 est.) | 331 million | 422 million |
| GDP Nominal (2020 est.) | $21.4 trillion | $5.9 trillion |
| GDP PPP (2020 est.) | $25.3 trillion | $10.4 trillion |
| HDI (2019) | 0.926 (Very High) | 0.745 (High) |
While South America is geographically larger and more populous, the U.S. economy dwarfs the continent's combined output, reflecting vast differences in industrialization, infrastructure, and economic structure.