Can you name all 12 countries of South America from their outlines?
Each round shows the outline of one of the 12 countries of South America, with north up. Ecuador’s outline includes the Galápagos Islands, far out to the west. Every one of the 12 shares a land border with at least one other country. One wrong answer ends the run, there is no timer, and naming all 12 completes it.
How to play
- A country’s outline fills the board. North is up, but every outline is resized to fit, so sizes are not comparable. Type the country’s name in the box below. Capital letters, accents and punctuation do not matter, and common alternative names are accepted.
- A correct answer is accepted by itself after a short pause and the next round begins. Pressing Enter submits whatever you typed.
- One wrong answer ends the run, so check before you press Enter. There is no timer.
- Press Finish to end a run early; your score is saved.
- The 12 outlines of South America come in shuffled order, each once. Your score counts up to 12 at the top of the board, and naming the last one completes the run. The answer review below the board lists every round.
- Your result is saved in this browser. Once enough people have played a game, the results also show how your score ranks, and you can copy or share an image of your result, or replay.
Tips for playing
Decide first whether the shape is a compact block, a long strip, a peninsula or a scatter of islands, then look for one distinctive corner. As drawn in the quiz, Chile’s outline is the tallest for its width (5.7 times as tall as it is wide) and Ecuador’s the widest (2.5 times as wide as it is tall).
All 12 countries of South America
Show all 12 answers
| Outline | Country | Land neighbours |
|---|---|---|
 | Argentina | Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay |
 | Bolivia | Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru |
 | Brazil | Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela |
 | Chile | Argentina, Bolivia, Peru |
 | Colombia | Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Venezuela |
 | Ecuador | Colombia, Peru |
 | Guyana | Brazil, Suriname, Venezuela |
 | Paraguay | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil |
 | Peru | Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador |
 | Suriname | Brazil, Guyana |
 | Uruguay | Argentina, Brazil |
 | Venezuela | Brazil, Colombia, Guyana |
Land neighbours among the 197 countries of the site’s list, from the mledoze/countries border data (ODbL 1.0). Common alternative country names are accepted too.
Frequently asked questions
How many outlines are in the South America Country Shapes quiz?
12, one for each country of South America in the site’s 197-country list. French Guiana and the Falkland Islands are not separate answers.
Which countries of South America are islands or have no land border?
Every one of the 12 shares a land border with at least one other country. Brazil has the most neighbours in the quiz’s list, 9.
What happens if I get one wrong?
The run ends and the correct country is shown. Your score is the number of outlines you named before the mistake, out of 12; name all 12 to complete the run.
Why are some islands missing?
Outlines show a country’s main land area and nearby islands; distant territories and very small islands may be left out. Ecuador’s outline includes the Galápagos Islands, far out to the west.
Are the outlines drawn to scale?
No. Every outline is resized to fill the same frame, so Brazil, the largest country of South America by total area (World Bank, 2023), looks no bigger than Suriname, one of the smallest. North is always up, and the land-neighbours column of the answer list below helps place each shape.
South America outlines worth a second look
- Ecuador’s outline includes the Galápagos Islands, far out to the west.
- Chile is the long, thin strip on the Pacific side.
- Argentina tapers south to its part of Tierra del Fuego.
- Bolivia and Paraguay are the two compact inland outlines with no coastline.
- As drawn in the quiz, Chile’s outline is the tallest for its width (5.7 times as tall as it is wide) and Ecuador’s the widest (2.5 times as wide as it is tall).
Which countries count?
The quiz uses the 12 countries of South America from the site’s 197-country list, the same list as the Countries of South America map quiz. French Guiana and the Falkland Islands are not separate answers. Outlines come from Natural Earth’s public-domain map data; land borders come from the mledoze/countries dataset (Open Database License 1.0).
Sources
Source: Natural Earth / world-atlas · Natural Earth 4.1.0 via world-atlas 2.0.2
Public domain map geometry, simplified for display. Country outlines also use higher-precision Natural Earth overrides for small islands and microstates. The 197-answer list and continent groups are editorial choices, not a live geopolitical feed. No original collection date is recorded for these bundled map files.
Found an incorrect answer or a source that needs updating? Send a correction with the game name and a reference.