Sub-region · UN WPP 2024

South America population

South America population now

441,054,813

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 433,024,175

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 440.484 million
Median age: 34.5
Aged 65+: 11.4%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024 peak 2049

male female projection · one cell = 50,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

AGG · 1950–2100 · in brief

South America in numbers

433,024,175 people lived in South America in mid-2023: 5.4% of the world's people. That is 3.8 times its 1950 population of 113 million. It covers 14 countries and areas; the largest are Brazil (48.8%), Colombia (12.1%), Argentina (10.5%), Peru (7.8%) and Venezuela (6.5%).

The UN's medium projection has it peaking in 2049 at 469 million, then falling to 379 million by 2100.

Births stay ahead of deaths until 2050; in the medium projection, deaths are ahead every year after it.

The median age was 19.7 in 1950 and 33.3 in 2023; the projection has 51.0 in 2100. 10.3% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 32.8% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2037 at 310 million.

Population, mid-2023: 433,024,175
Share of the world, 2023: 5.4%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +0.59% · +2,531,397 people
Births, 2023: 5,689,364
Deaths, 2023: 2,917,249
Net migration, 2023: −154,060
Children per woman, 2023: 1.71
Median age, 2023: 33.3 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 76.2 years
Population, mid-1950: 112,973,120
Projected, mid-2050: 468,674,488
Projected, mid-2100: 379,097,350

AGG · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

peak 2049estimates | projections0100 m200 m300 m400 m500 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection (medium). Each column is the population on 1 January of one year; the paper rules cut it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: South America, 1950–2100

South America: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	111,473,914	4,773,115	1,821,031	5.60	50.3
1951	estimate	114,472,327	4,905,495	1,822,515	5.60	50.8
1952	estimate	117,591,685	5,037,047	1,825,627	5.61	51.3
1953	estimate	120,822,491	5,169,253	1,839,724	5.61	51.8
1954	estimate	124,148,201	5,298,321	1,849,152	5.62	52.2
1955	estimate	127,582,820	5,430,168	1,869,887	5.63	52.6
1956	estimate	131,119,771	5,563,613	1,872,823	5.65	53.1
1957	estimate	134,778,427	5,692,830	1,884,704	5.65	53.6
1958	estimate	138,543,228	5,815,264	1,884,210	5.66	54.2
1959	estimate	142,412,900	5,939,470	1,894,853	5.66	54.6
1960	estimate	146,403,494	6,050,243	1,902,221	5.64	55.1
1961	estimate	150,478,582	6,153,804	1,909,671	5.62	55.6
1962	estimate	154,647,997	6,256,529	1,923,875	5.60	55.9
1963	estimate	158,900,153	6,344,199	1,928,082	5.55	56.4
1964	estimate	163,230,885	6,396,115	1,938,721	5.48	56.8
1965	estimate	167,595,003	6,420,271	1,940,905	5.37	57.2
1966	estimate	171,979,572	6,435,288	1,939,644	5.25	57.7
1967	estimate	176,370,217	6,449,126	1,943,527	5.13	58.0
1968	estimate	180,770,747	6,469,504	1,949,096	5.00	58.4
1969	estimate	185,183,689	6,522,854	1,960,170	4.90	58.7
1970	estimate	189,637,363	6,592,914	2,024,015	4.80	58.5
1971	estimate	194,072,762	6,668,687	1,966,642	4.71	59.5
1972	estimate	198,611,906	6,750,112	1,970,607	4.62	60.0
1973	estimate	203,221,605	6,842,362	1,981,280	4.53	60.4
1974	estimate	207,915,425	6,915,901	1,985,664	4.43	60.8
1975	estimate	212,663,092	7,030,814	1,984,315	4.36	61.3
1976	estimate	217,482,513	7,153,865	1,991,464	4.29	61.7
1977	estimate	222,403,476	7,273,529	1,992,525	4.22	62.2
1978	estimate	227,478,725	7,373,382	1,996,971	4.14	62.6
1979	estimate	232,649,117	7,471,765	2,004,389	4.07	63.1
1980	estimate	237,911,216	7,560,169	2,013,472	3.99	63.4
1981	estimate	243,287,946	7,637,255	2,012,632	3.90	63.9
1982	estimate	248,720,302	7,690,477	2,019,566	3.81	64.2
1983	estimate	254,206,079	7,719,767	2,023,469	3.72	64.6
1984	estimate	259,781,238	7,722,707	2,030,143	3.62	65.0
1985	estimate	265,354,363	7,719,950	2,055,601	3.52	65.1
1986	estimate	270,900,152	7,726,977	2,019,826	3.43	65.8
1987	estimate	276,407,159	7,703,733	2,022,376	3.34	66.2
1988	estimate	281,911,925	7,688,525	2,024,138	3.25	66.5
1989	estimate	287,414,936	7,675,010	2,025,653	3.18	66.9
1990	estimate	292,900,155	7,649,175	2,036,108	3.10	67.2
1991	estimate	298,378,912	7,632,116	2,041,705	3.03	67.6
1992	estimate	303,692,532	7,585,209	2,056,092	2.96	67.9
1993	estimate	309,079,544	7,598,881	2,064,247	2.91	68.2
1994	estimate	314,345,245	7,583,094	2,062,905	2.85	68.7
1995	estimate	319,621,952	7,574,974	2,071,443	2.79	69.0
1996	estimate	324,857,460	7,531,317	2,078,432	2.73	69.4
1997	estimate	330,051,223	7,516,148	2,083,710	2.68	69.8
1998	estimate	335,233,972	7,500,894	2,112,325	2.63	70.1
1999	estimate	340,502,294	7,425,741	2,135,400	2.55	70.4
2000	estimate	345,576,554	7,325,106	2,153,440	2.48	70.7
2001	estimate	350,460,789	7,219,311	2,176,970	2.41	71.0
2002	estimate	355,162,790	7,119,987	2,175,194	2.34	71.4
2003	estimate	359,754,072	7,022,039	2,195,346	2.28	71.7
2004	estimate	364,187,466	6,987,349	2,195,497	2.25	72.2
2005	estimate	368,556,701	6,958,826	2,200,848	2.21	72.6
2006	estimate	372,835,907	6,890,545	2,224,168	2.17	72.9
2007	estimate	377,014,716	6,821,761	2,260,757	2.13	73.2
2008	estimate	381,056,458	6,782,660	2,282,087	2.10	73.5
2009	estimate	384,993,475	6,740,231	2,311,696	2.08	73.8
2010	estimate	388,815,118	6,693,804	2,342,697	2.05	74.0
2011	estimate	392,587,001	6,671,852	2,369,764	2.03	74.3
2012	estimate	396,368,703	6,608,844	2,409,281	2.01	74.5
2013	estimate	400,141,814	6,582,492	2,442,126	1.99	74.8
2014	estimate	403,903,240	6,598,099	2,475,026	1.99	75.0
2015	estimate	407,721,514	6,557,895	2,507,454	1.97	75.3
2016	estimate	411,518,306	6,397,939	2,607,087	1.91	75.2
2017	estimate	415,271,676	6,371,369	2,636,929	1.90	75.4
2018	estimate	418,818,931	6,322,330	2,665,664	1.88	75.7
2019	estimate	422,061,778	6,140,366	2,724,778	1.83	75.9
2020	estimate	425,034,708	5,899,983	3,217,041	1.76	74.3
2021	estimate	427,392,324	5,815,711	3,657,944	1.74	72.7
2022	estimate	429,270,422	5,744,003	3,138,267	1.72	75.1
2023	estimate	431,715,134	5,689,364	2,917,249	1.71	76.2
2024	estimate	434,333,216	5,658,246	2,949,004	1.70	76.4
2025	projection	436,889,387	5,604,510	3,009,247	1.69	76.6
2026	projection	439,321,362	5,559,984	3,071,104	1.68	76.7
2027	projection	441,647,501	5,522,385	3,133,639	1.67	76.9
2028	projection	443,898,761	5,487,695	3,197,152	1.67	77.1
2029	projection	446,043,505	5,457,694	3,261,118	1.66	77.2
2030	projection	448,111,338	5,427,252	3,326,519	1.66	77.4
2031	projection	450,093,485	5,396,818	3,391,302	1.66	77.6
2032	projection	451,987,354	5,363,703	3,458,382	1.65	77.7
2033	projection	453,786,205	5,334,481	3,526,023	1.65	77.9
2034	projection	455,493,194	5,303,057	3,594,073	1.65	78.1
2035	projection	457,122,584	5,268,387	3,661,566	1.65	78.3
2036	projection	458,647,438	5,233,612	3,731,356	1.65	78.4
2037	projection	460,072,522	5,198,516	3,802,540	1.64	78.6
2038	projection	461,390,290	5,164,386	3,872,924	1.64	78.7
2039	projection	462,616,092	5,121,513	3,942,717	1.64	78.9
2040	projection	463,737,081	5,081,876	4,011,932	1.64	79.1
2041	projection	464,753,252	5,036,956	4,080,297	1.64	79.2
2042	projection	465,643,900	4,989,221	4,148,634	1.64	79.4
2043	projection	466,424,012	4,944,657	4,217,385	1.64	79.5
2044	projection	467,083,873	4,899,400	4,284,313	1.64	79.7
2045	projection	467,629,758	4,852,065	4,349,652	1.64	79.8
2046	projection	468,058,678	4,808,227	4,414,068	1.64	80.0
2047	projection	468,384,108	4,761,851	4,475,016	1.63	80.2
2048	projection	468,610,204	4,717,606	4,535,952	1.63	80.3
2049	projection	468,720,532	4,672,778	4,596,168	1.63	80.5
2050	projection	468,719,176	4,628,498	4,653,714	1.63	80.6
2051	projection	468,629,800	4,587,520	4,710,555	1.63	80.8
2052	projection	468,433,571	4,544,632	4,765,136	1.63	80.9
2053	projection	468,144,881	4,501,029	4,819,702	1.63	81.1
2054	projection	467,748,750	4,458,774	4,874,506	1.63	81.2
2055	projection	467,259,624	4,417,809	4,926,059	1.63	81.4
2056	projection	466,679,677	4,375,399	4,974,796	1.63	81.5
2057	projection	466,005,809	4,333,043	5,024,964	1.63	81.7
2058	projection	465,229,755	4,291,960	5,072,464	1.63	81.8
2059	projection	464,372,513	4,254,361	5,121,826	1.63	82.0
2060	projection	463,418,324	4,220,557	5,170,950	1.63	82.1
2061	projection	462,384,286	4,186,271	5,221,211	1.63	82.2
2062	projection	461,270,078	4,151,547	5,267,114	1.63	82.4
2063	projection	460,071,339	4,123,304	5,311,504	1.63	82.5
2064	projection	458,793,621	4,094,431	5,358,467	1.63	82.6
2065	projection	457,446,247	4,064,271	5,402,631	1.63	82.8
2066	projection	456,016,960	4,034,144	5,447,631	1.62	82.9
2067	projection	454,510,628	4,005,247	5,487,692	1.62	83.0
2068	projection	452,937,107	3,974,752	5,529,794	1.62	83.2
2069	projection	451,296,344	3,947,347	5,568,457	1.62	83.3
2070	projection	449,591,023	3,918,002	5,604,257	1.62	83.4
2071	projection	447,823,148	3,887,902	5,639,163	1.62	83.6
2072	projection	445,991,677	3,860,841	5,670,784	1.62	83.7
2073	projection	444,106,515	3,830,160	5,697,089	1.62	83.8
2074	projection	442,164,658	3,802,339	5,722,855	1.62	84.0
2075	projection	440,177,394	3,774,073	5,743,766	1.63	84.1
2076	projection	438,134,589	3,744,580	5,764,021	1.63	84.2
2077	projection	436,045,406	3,712,039	5,780,956	1.63	84.3
2078	projection	433,903,559	3,679,273	5,794,513	1.63	84.5
2079	projection	431,713,005	3,648,009	5,804,537	1.63	84.6
2080	projection	429,483,408	3,613,655	5,812,607	1.62	84.7
2081	projection	427,214,196	3,581,963	5,820,232	1.62	84.8
2082	projection	424,909,675	3,552,096	5,823,381	1.63	84.9
2083	projection	422,574,493	3,521,704	5,822,109	1.63	85.0
2084	projection	420,215,324	3,491,794	5,817,837	1.63	85.2
2085	projection	417,830,195	3,461,393	5,815,414	1.63	85.3
2086	projection	415,415,143	3,429,585	5,810,298	1.62	85.4
2087	projection	412,970,259	3,398,710	5,800,759	1.62	85.5
2088	projection	410,506,231	3,371,095	5,788,735	1.62	85.6
2089	projection	408,025,619	3,345,315	5,775,019	1.63	85.7
2090	projection	405,530,370	3,316,827	5,760,526	1.63	85.8
2091	projection	403,020,241	3,289,513	5,742,579	1.63	86.0
2092	projection	400,507,105	3,263,395	5,724,584	1.63	86.1
2093	projection	397,988,214	3,237,704	5,702,408	1.63	86.2
2094	projection	395,459,706	3,211,978	5,679,698	1.62	86.3
2095	projection	392,932,203	3,186,324	5,653,921	1.62	86.4
2096	projection	390,402,611	3,161,897	5,624,538	1.62	86.5
2097	projection	387,873,470	3,136,888	5,596,815	1.62	86.6
2098	projection	385,353,434	3,112,333	5,565,149	1.62	86.7
2099	projection	382,839,264	3,089,735	5,531,739	1.62	86.8
2100	projection	380,342,619	3,065,801	5,499,551	1.62	86.9

AGG · members

Countries and areas in South America

South America: member countries and areas, population mid-2023, share of the group and projected mid-2100
#	Country or area	Mid-2023	Share	Mid-2100, projected
1	Brazil	211,140,729	48.8%	163,364,064
2	Colombia	52,321,152	12.1%	47,080,764
3	Argentina	45,538,401	10.5%	38,255,989
4	Peru	33,845,617	7.8%	38,163,318
5	Venezuela	28,300,854	6.5%	28,280,552
6	Chile	19,658,835	4.5%	13,430,616
7	Ecuador	17,980,083	4.2%	19,092,159
8	Bolivia	12,244,160	2.8%	17,760,564
9	Paraguay	6,844,146	1.6%	9,047,989
10	Uruguay	3,388,080	0.78%	2,245,886
11	Guyana	826,353	0.19%	888,952
12	Suriname	628,886	0.15%	709,006
13	French Guiana	303,402	0.07%	775,238
14	Falkland Islands	3,476	less than 0.01%	2,252

Show the numbers: South America, mid-2026, by single year of age

South America: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	2,819,680	2,702,140
1	2,836,290	2,718,520
2	2,853,240	2,735,280
3	2,870,770	2,752,780
4	2,898,580	2,779,670
5	2,934,060	2,813,840
6	3,012,030	2,888,490
7	3,114,450	2,986,440
8	3,169,860	3,039,410
9	3,188,090	3,056,330
10	3,234,470	3,099,890
11	3,282,880	3,145,520
12	3,285,290	3,147,970
13	3,283,120	3,146,490
14	3,300,290	3,163,160
15	3,314,420	3,177,950
16	3,321,660	3,187,570
17	3,331,630	3,200,820
18	3,336,960	3,209,980
19	3,346,460	3,223,490
20	3,361,060	3,243,380
21	3,364,310	3,253,260
22	3,358,310	3,254,070
23	3,367,040	3,269,620
24	3,389,870	3,299,600
25	3,413,690	3,331,520
26	3,437,080	3,364,030
27	3,452,930	3,389,740
28	3,447,640	3,395,160
29	3,427,570	3,385,760
30	3,414,840	3,383,030
31	3,401,680	3,378,680
32	3,383,490	3,366,940
33	3,361,130	3,350,210
34	3,346,030	3,340,310
35	3,338,120	3,337,790
36	3,324,920	3,331,510
37	3,310,780	3,324,560
38	3,294,570	3,314,900
39	3,280,020	3,306,880
40	3,259,720	3,293,650
41	3,234,060	3,275,490
42	3,208,240	3,257,930
43	3,174,170	3,233,230
44	3,128,030	3,196,540
45	3,072,520	3,148,490
46	3,010,780	3,092,600
47	2,945,060	3,031,450
48	2,877,700	2,968,370
49	2,805,820	2,901,520
50	2,729,310	2,829,990
51	2,654,010	2,760,580
52	2,587,630	2,701,100
53	2,524,720	2,644,960
54	2,459,880	2,586,870
55	2,396,050	2,529,660
56	2,334,050	2,474,600
57	2,277,500	2,425,670
58	2,228,810	2,385,030
59	2,185,550	2,350,580
60	2,142,080	2,316,500
61	2,095,430	2,279,800
62	2,040,900	2,235,020
63	1,974,280	2,177,050
64	1,897,850	2,108,840
65	1,818,160	2,037,180
66	1,736,780	1,963,460
67	1,651,410	1,885,300
68	1,564,150	1,804,420
69	1,477,170	1,723,040
70	1,389,790	1,640,470
71	1,303,160	1,557,800
72	1,218,100	1,476,210
73	1,133,750	1,394,860
74	1,049,630	1,313,060
75	966,534	1,231,020
76	888,350	1,150,440
77	803,656	1,059,760
78	716,666	965,777
79	638,440	879,498
80	569,240	795,344
81	507,752	718,949
82	447,790	648,815
83	390,682	581,270
84	337,493	516,860
85	287,804	454,682
86	242,561	396,216
87	201,740	341,473
88	165,132	290,198
89	133,315	243,888
90	105,884	202,376
91	82,914	165,795
92	64,092	133,942
93	48,580	106,156
94	36,029	82,312
95	26,164	62,344
96	18,628	46,169
97	13,006	33,425
98	8,838	23,520
99	5,807	16,022
100+	8,876	28,627

AGG · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

South America, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

AGG · ages 15–64

Who does the work in South America

On the UN's projection, South America will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2037: 309,779,000 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 295,175,000.

100 aged 15–64

32 children

15 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: the orange squares are 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023, and the rows below are how many children (teal) and how many people aged 65 or older (violet) lived alongside them.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 29 years: 2011–2039.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

AGG · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in South America, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 South America loses 198,433 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 38,218 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 5,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: left to right is age, from babies to 100. Blue squares above the line are ages at which more people arrive than leave; orange squares below it, ages at which more leave than arrive. These are the UN's projection for 2020–2025. There is no record of migration by age before 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 46,287 (1950); its biggest loss, 606,877 (2009).

This is a group of countries, so its figure counts only moves across its own outer edge: someone moving from one country inside it to another does not appear.

How migration works everywhere

AGG · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in South America

Of every 100 babies born in South America in 2023, 14 had a mother under 20, 69 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 17 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 12 under 20 and 16 aged 35 or older.

1950
12 · 72 · 16

2023
14 · 69 · 17

2050 · projected
7 · 68 · 25

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: each block is 100 babies born in that year, one square each, coloured by how old the mother was. The numbers under a block are the three groups, youngest mothers first.

Babies born, 2023: 5,689,364
Average age when women have a baby: 27.8 years; 29.1 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 46; 95 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in South America by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	19,362	36,793	60,904	30,036	8,947	715
15–19	550,879	991,645	1,446,229	748,855	338,454	71,950
20–24	1,355,998	2,108,933	2,170,549	1,391,851	866,349	367,789
25–29	1,256,147	1,793,707	1,700,412	1,411,389	1,115,063	843,242
30–34	833,255	1,129,164	1,136,671	1,153,787	1,154,008	1,004,956
35–39	530,706	659,887	607,249	720,703	853,943	607,733
40–44	194,184	263,445	181,644	218,443	277,052	158,286
45–49	31,337	45,407	20,991	14,267	14,668	11,117
50–54	1,247	1,833	457	33	14	13
All babies	4,773,115	7,030,814	7,325,106	5,689,364	4,628,498	3,065,801

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual tables for regions and groups (estimates to 2023, then the medium projection), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UN WUP 2025 · Maddison Project 2020 · flag-icons. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The 14 countries listed were summed and checked against the UN's total for every year. The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.