North America

Fun Facts

North America is the third largest continent, but it actually the fourth most populated continent. Here are some fun facts about North America:

Regions: North America is generally geographically divided into five regions: the mountainous west, the Great Plains, the Canadian Shield, the varied eastern region, and the Caribbean. Some just divide the regions mainly by Canada, Mexico, United States, Central America and the Caribbean, as well. To read more about those regions, head to my All About Regions In North America blog. (Also, The Caribbean and Central America have their own sections of my blog.)

Countries: As always, countries can be a bit subjective, but most people agree that as of 2022 North America has 23 countries. Most of them are in the Caribbean and Central America, so this section of my blog will focus mostly on  Canada, Mexico, and United States, as well as Greenland.

Population: More than 373 million people (2022) live on the continent of North America which means approximately 5% of the world’s population calls North America home. United States is the most populated country in North America.

Language: In North America, the most widely spoken languages are English and Spanish, but due to a high percentage of immigration, North America is home to many language families and language isolates. From information gathered by European colonizers, there were a least 600 distinct languages spoken throughout North America but maybe a little more than half of them are still spoken today.

Religion: About 85% of the North American population is in three countries: Canada, United States, and Mexico. The dominant religion practiced in these countries is Christianity. 

Geography: Canada is the largest country in North America, while Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest (if we’re including Central America and the Caribbean). Greenland is the biggest island in North America. Badwater Basin is the lowest point in North America while Denali is the tallest mountain. Lake Superior is the biggest lake (as well as the largest freshwater lake in the world). Death Valley is the hottest place in North America and maybe even on Earth.