Americas: countries, population and rankings 2026

01Its sub-regions

The 4 sub-regions of Americas

Each card gives the sub-region’s median position and a bar from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country; the photographs are the three most populous members with a banner. Every country follows below.

- United States
- Canada
- Bermuda
Northern America
Countries: Bermuda, Canada, Greenland, United States.
17th
median of 178 · 2 of 4 placed
Canada 17th → United States 37th
- Mexico
- Guatemala
- Honduras
Central America
Countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama.
81st
median of 178 · 8 of 8 placed
Costa Rica 40th → Nicaragua 134th
- Haiti
- Dominican Republic
- Cuba
Caribbean
+14Countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands.
78th
median of 178 · 10 of 24 placed
Barbados 63rd → Haiti 169th
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Argentina
South America
+2Countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.
74th
median of 178 · 12 of 12 placed
Uruguay 34th → Venezuela 137th

Every country in Americas

Northern Americamedian 17th

Central Americamedian 81st

Caribbeanmedian 78th

South Americamedian 74th

02The region

About Americas

Both American continents and the Caribbean — from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego.

The Americas are two continents joined by the isthmus of Central America, reaching from the Arctic islands of Canada and Greenland to Tierra del Fuego, with the islands of the Caribbean between them. Mountain chains — the Rockies in the north, the Andes in the south — run almost the whole length of the western side, and the Amazon, the Mississippi and the Orinoco drain vast basins to the east.

Indigenous peoples built the civilisations of the Maya, the Aztecs and the Inca long before European contact in 1492. Spain, Portugal, Britain and France colonised most of the two continents, and the slave trade brought millions of Africans across the Atlantic. Most states became independent between the late eighteenth and the twentieth century, and English, Spanish, Portuguese and French are spoken alongside many Indigenous languages.

03Where

Americas on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st178thMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Americas’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 178, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026

Americas’s 32 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In region	Country	Sub-region	In the world
1	Canada	Northern America	17 / 178between 14th and 19th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
2	Uruguay	South America	34 / 178between 32nd and 35th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
3	United States	Northern America	37 / 178between 35th and 40th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
4	Costa Rica	Central America	40 / 178between 37th and 43rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
5	Chile	South America	42 / 178between 39th and 42nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
6	Brazil	South America	47 / 178between 44th and 52nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
7	Argentina	South America	58 / 178between 54th and 63rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
8	Panama	Central America	60 / 178between 52nd and 67th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
9	Barbados	Caribbean	63 / 178between 53rd and 71st if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
10	Saint Lucia	Caribbean	66 / 178between 56th and 75th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
11	Peru	South America	69 / 178between 61st and 79th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
12	Dominican Republic	Caribbean	72 / 178between 67th and 74th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
13	Jamaica	Caribbean	74 / 178between 71st and 82nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
13	Mexico	Central America	74 / 178between 72nd and 87th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
13	Paraguay	South America	74 / 178between 67th and 92nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
16	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Caribbean	78 / 178between 69th and 86th if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 16 topics
17	Antigua and Barbuda	Caribbean	80 / 178between 70th and 86th if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 16 topics
18	Belize	Central America	81 / 178between 72nd and 96th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
19	Colombia	South America	83 / 178between 74th and 94th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
20	Ecuador	South America	88 / 178between 79th and 99th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
21	Guyana	South America	90 / 178between 76th and 100th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
22	Trinidad and Tobago	Caribbean	92 / 178between 82nd and 97th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
23	Suriname	South America	97 / 178between 85th and 102nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
24	Grenada	Caribbean	98 / 178between 86th and 104th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
25	El Salvador	Central America	108 / 178between 104th and 114th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
26	Bolivia	South America	111 / 178between 104th and 115th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
27	Guatemala	Central America	113 / 178between 108th and 116th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
28	Honduras	Central America	118 / 178between 113th and 123rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
29	Cuba	Caribbean	120 / 178between 114th and 127th if any one key were dropped · standings on 13 of 16 topics
30	Nicaragua	Central America	134 / 178between 129th and 143rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
31	Venezuela	South America	137 / 178between 135th and 144th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
32	Haiti	Caribbean	169 / 178between 167th and 174th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 16 of its countries and territories are not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Greenland, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands.

Americas among the 5 continents with a median

3rd of 5. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

1Europe25th39 of 49Placed countries run from Switzerland 1st to Russia 68th.
2Oceania70th8 of 21Placed countries run from New Zealand 17th to Papua New Guinea 138th.
3Americas78th32 of 48Placed countries run from Canada 17th to Haiti 169th.
4Asia91st46 of 52Placed countries run from South Korea 14th to Yemen 176th.
5Africa143rd53 of 55Placed countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 177th.
The world’s midpoint88th

1st178thmedianplaced

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Each sub-region’s median position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field. Strongest for Americas: Economy & Innovation, 2nd of 5 continents. Weakest: Risk & Resilience, 4th of 5.

All topics

Americas: each sub-region’s median position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among continents.
	Economy & Innovation	Energy	Food & Agriculture	Gender & Equality	Governance & Institutions	Democracy & Civil Liberties	Development & Human Capital	Environment & Sustainability	Health & Wellbeing	Peace & Security	Work & Labour	Digital & Technology	Education & Knowledge	Mobility & Trade	Poverty & Inequality	Risk & Resilience	Money & Public Finance	People & Population
Northern America	18 of 176	22 of 193	25 of 175	20 of 183	8 of 194	20 of 198	27 of 196	151 of 181	32 of 200	34 of 177	14 of 182	8 of 198	No standing	30 of 147	40 of 159	72 of 192	No standing	No standing
Central America	76 of 176	47 of 193	99 of 175	72 of 183	101 of 194	114 of 198	120 of 196	49 of 181	87 of 200	85 of 177	78 of 182	99 of 198	115 of 171	92 of 147	118 of 159	128 of 192	No standing	No standing
Caribbean	80 of 176	169 of 193	60 of 175	73 of 183	82 of 194	53 of 198	92 of 196	97 of 181	105 of 200	24 of 177	83 of 182	164 of 198	95 of 171	80 of 147	82 of 159	61 of 192	No standing	No standing
South America	77 of 176	41 of 193	73 of 175	61 of 183	94 of 194	91 of 198	94 of 196	64 of 181	86 of 200	79 of 177	87 of 182	74 of 198	59 of 171	96 of 147	111 of 159	112 of 192	No standing	No standing
Americas median	77th of 176	87th of 193	70th of 175	65th of 183	91st of 194	71st of 198	94th of 196	81st of 181	92nd of 200	79th of 177	78th of 182	130th of 198	93rd of 171	93rd of 147	112th of 159	100th of 192	—	—
Among continents	2nd of 5	2nd of 5	2nd of 5	2nd of 5	2nd of 5	3rd of 5	3rd of 5	3rd of 5	3rd of 5	3rd of 5	3rd of 5	4th of 5	4th of 5	4th of 5	4th of 5	4th of 5	—	—

Columns run from the topic where Americas places best among continents to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Americas in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Americas’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

Population
people · log scale
UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end
Land area
km²
FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end
No reading: Nicaragua
GDP per person
international $, PPP · log scale
World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better
No reading: Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Greenland, Montserrat, Saint Martin, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Venezuela
Life expectancy
years at birth
UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better
Human development
HDI, 0–1
UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better
No reading: Anguilla, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Greenland, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands
Unemployment
% of the labour force
ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better
No reading: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Greenland, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands

Every value for Americas’s countries

Country	Population 2023	Land area 2024	GDP per person 2025	Life expectancy 2023	Human development 2023	Unemployment 2025
Anguilla	14,410rank 216	90.65rank 211	—	79.31rank 56	—	—
Antigua and Barbuda	93,316rank 194	440.3rank 193	30,620rank 62	77.6rank 76	0.851rank 53	—
Argentina	45,538,401rank 34	2,736,690rank 8	27,847rank 67	77.39rank 78	0.865rank 47	7.145rank 55
Aruba	107,939rank 191	180rank 207	—	76.35rank 92	—	—
Bahamas	399,440rank 176	10,010rank 163	—	74.55rank 113	0.82rank 66	9.207rank 39
Barbados	282,336rank 180	431rank 194	22,127rank 78	76.18rank 96	0.811rank 69	6.524rank 64
Belize	411,106rank 175	22,810rank 148	12,789rank 112	73.57rank 122	0.721rank 115	8.856rank 43
Bermuda	64,698rank 200	54rank 213	—	82.31rank 28	—	—
Bolivia	12,244,159rank 79	1,087,959rank 27	11,001rank 118	68.58rank 167	0.733rank 108	2.967rank 145
Brazil	211,140,729rank 7	8,358,140rank 5	20,025rank 82	75.85rank 100	0.786rank 84	5.97rank 74
British Virgin Islands	38,985rank 209	151rank 209	—	77.28rank 81	—	—
Canada	39,299,105rank 38	8,788,700rank 4	57,990rank 24	82.63rank 23	0.939rank 16	6.907rank 58
Cayman Islands	73,038rank 198	240rank 202	—	80.36rank 49	—	—
Chile	19,658,835rank 65	742,032rank 38	30,863rank 60	81.17rank 43	0.878rank 45	8.974rank 42
Colombia	52,321,152rank 28	1,109,500rank 26	18,779rank 89	77.72rank 74	0.788rank 83	8.29rank 51
Costa Rica	5,105,525rank 125	50,560rank 126	28,443rank 66	80.8rank 46	0.833rank 62	6.843rank 59
Cuba	11,019,931rank 86	103,800rank 103	—	78.09rank 66	0.762rank 97	1.746rank 168
Curaçao	185,427rank 184	444rank 192	—	76.8rank 86	—	—
Dominica	66,510rank 199	751rank 181	19,409rank 85	71.13rank 150	0.761rank 98	—
Dominican Republic	11,331,265rank 85	48,198rank 127	24,543rank 72	73.72rank 119	0.776rank 89	5.092rank 91
Ecuador	17,980,083rank 72	248,360rank 77	14,319rank 105	77.39rank 80	0.777rank 88	3.308rank 131
El Salvador	6,309,624rank 112	20,720rank 150	12,050rank 115	72.1rank 138	0.678rank 132	3.303rank 132
Greenland	55,922rank 201	410,449rank 58	—	70.06rank 156	—	—
Grenada	117,081rank 189	344rank 197	18,241rank 90	75.21rank 107	0.791rank 80	—
Guatemala	18,124,838rank 69	107,160rank 102	12,987rank 111	72.6rank 132	0.662rank 137	2.604rank 157
Guyana	826,353rank 164	211,140rank 83	83,659rank 8	70.18rank 154	0.776rank 89	11.96rank 24
Haiti	11,637,398rank 82	27,560rank 142	2,678rank 172	64.94rank 195	0.554rank 166	14.94rank 16
Honduras	10,644,851rank 88	111,890rank 100	6,726rank 139	72.88rank 128	0.645rank 139	4.92rank 99
Jamaica	2,839,786rank 142	10,830rank 160	11,358rank 117	71.48rank 145	0.72rank 117	3.286rank 133
Mexico	129,739,759rank 10	1,943,950rank 13	21,912rank 79	75.07rank 108	0.789rank 81	2.673rank 155
Montserrat	4,420rank 220	102rank 210	—	76.19rank 95	—	—
Nicaragua	6,823,613rank 109	—	7,933rank 131	74.95rank 109	0.706rank 123	5.04rank 95
Panama	4,458,759rank 129	74,180rank 115	37,516rank 52	79.59rank 55	0.839rank 59	8.36rank 47
Paraguay	6,844,146rank 108	396,012rank 60	17,246rank 94	73.84rank 118	0.756rank 99	4.803rank 101
Peru	33,845,617rank 45	1,280,000rank 19	16,079rank 100	77.74rank 73	0.794rank 79	5.117rank 90
Puerto Rico	3,242,023rank 135	8,870rank 165	44,603rank 41	81.69rank 37	—	5.991rank 72
Saint Kitts and Nevis	46,758rank 204	261rank 200	31,428rank 59	72.14rank 136	0.84rank 58	—
Saint Lucia	179,285rank 185	610rank 185	24,503rank 73	72.7rank 131	0.748rank 103	9.452rank 37
Saint Martin	27,515rank 214	53rank 214	—	80.22rank 50	—	—
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	101,323rank 193	389rank 195	19,483rank 84	71.23rank 147	0.798rank 76	18rank 10
Sint Maarten	42,749rank 207	34rank 215	48,273rank 36	76.37rank 91	—	—
Suriname	628,886rank 170	160,508rank 91	19,357rank 86	73.63rank 121	0.722rank 114	7.834rank 52
Trinidad and Tobago	1,502,932rank 155	5,128rank 168	31,722rank 58	73.49rank 123	0.807rank 72	3.329rank 129
Turks and Caicos Islands	46,198rank 205	948.23rank 178	—	78.01rank 68	—	—
United States	343,477,335rank 3	9,147,420rank 3	76,931rank 10	79.3rank 57	0.938rank 17	4.198rank 113
United States Virgin Islands	85,701rank 195	348rank 196	—	75.47rank 103	—	11.44rank 28
Uruguay	3,388,081rank 134	175,016rank 90	32,742rank 57	78.14rank 65	0.862rank 48	7.516rank 54
Venezuela	28,300,854rank 53	882,050rank 32	—	72.51rank 133	0.709rank 121	5.307rank 86

09In context

Across the border

The countries outside Americas that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the continents they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.

Europe

France19

The neighbouring continents

Europe25thmedian of 178 · 1st of 5

10Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The other continents

11Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Americas?

Americas holds 48 countries and territories on this site, in 4 UN sub-regions: Northern America, Central America, Caribbean and South America. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.

Which country in Americas is placed highest?

Canada, placed joint 17th of 178 in the Country Index 2026. Haiti is placed lowest, 169th. 32 of the region’s 48 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Americas compare with other regions?

Half of its 32 placed countries sit at or above 78th of 178, which places it 3rd of 5 continents. The middle of the whole field is 88th. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Americas?

1,040,718,197 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 48 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Americas?

By land area, United States: 9,147,420 square kilometres (2024). By population, United States: 343,477,335 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made

Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

United States — Stefano Brivio, CC BY 2.0
Canada — User:Florian Fuchs, CC BY 3.0
Bermuda — Curtis & Renee derivative work: ויקיג'אנקי, CC BY-SA 2.0
Mexico — Jujutacular derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Guatemala — Arjuno3, CC BY 2.0
Honduras — Talk2winik, CC0
Haiti — Santiagockn, CC0
Dominican Republic — Tamas Iklodi w:en:User:It419, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cuba — Rastapopulous, CC BY-SA 3.0
Brazil — Luis Rizo derivative work: Jjtkk, Public domain
Colombia — Julien H, CC BY-SA 2.0
Argentina — Marina Balasini & Juan Montiel from Argentina, Argentina, CC BY 2.0

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Americas: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/americas

Americas