Countries of North America

North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely in the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South America and the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south. Since Greenland lies on the North American tectonic plate, it is geographically part of North America.

North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), accounting for approximately 16.5% of Earth's land area and about 4.8% of its total surface area. North America is the third-largest continent by area after Asia and Africa, and the fourth most populous after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 579 million people across 23 independent states, or about 7.5% of the world's population.

The first human populations reached North America during the last Ice Age via the Bering Land Bridge, roughly between 20,000 and 17,000 years ago. The so-called Paleo-Indian period lasted until about 10,000 years ago (beginning of the Archaic or Meso-Indian period). The Classic stage spans roughly from the 6th to the 13th century. The first recorded Europeans to visit North America (excluding Greenland) were the Norse around 1000 CE. The arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492 initiated the transatlantic exchange, which included migration, European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the early modern period. Modern cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, Indigenous peoples, African slaves, immigrants from Europe and Asia, and their descendants.

Due to European colonization of the Americas, most inhabitants of North America speak European languages such as English, Spanish, or French, and their cultures generally reflect Western traditions. However, in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America, Indigenous populations continue their cultural traditions and speak native languages.