Can you place all twelve South American countries on a map? This free South America map quiz drops you onto a clean, mobile-friendly map and asks you to find each country — from giant Brazil and the long ribbon of Chile down to the three small nations of the Guianas coast. No sign-up, no clutter, just tap and learn.

Play it five ways: Locate the named country by clicking the map, Name It when a country is highlighted, race the clock in Speed Run, risk it all in sudden-death Minefield, or take the Daily Challenge — the same ten-country puzzle for everyone in the world each day, with a shareable result grid and a running streak.

With only twelve countries, South America is one of the most learnable continents on the map — most people can master it in a week of daily plays. Works great on phones, tablets and desktops.

How to play the South America map quiz

Daily Challenge — one ten-country locate puzzle per day, identical for every player worldwide. Finish to get a 🟩🟥 emoji-grid result you can share, and build a day-by-day streak.
Locate — you are given a country name; click it on the map of South America. Green means correct, red means try again.
Name It — a country lights up on the map and you name it: multiple choice (Easy), a first-letter hint (Medium), or type the answer (Hard).
Speed Run — locate as many countries as you can in 90 seconds. Streaks boost your score.
Minefield — place every South American country in a single run; one wrong tap ends it. With twelve countries it is a tight, winnable challenge.

How many countries are in South America?

There are 12 sovereign countries in South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. This quiz includes all twelve.

You will sometimes see a count of 13 or 14 that adds French Guiana — but French Guiana is an overseas region of France, not an independent country, so it is not part of the twelve. The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory and are likewise not counted.

Tips for learning the map of South America

The Andean west: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile run top-to-bottom down the Pacific side. Chile is the thin coastal strip; Bolivia is landlocked just inland.
The Atlantic east: Brazil dominates the centre and east — learn its shape first and everything else fits around it. Uruguay is the small country tucked below Brazil on the coast.
The Guianas: Guyana, Suriname and (non-country) French Guiana are the three small strips on the north-east coast, in that order from west to east.
The Southern Cone: Argentina fills the south, with Paraguay landlocked above it and Chile down its western edge.
The two landlocked ones: only Bolivia and Paraguay have no coastline — a common quiz question.

How the daily challenge works

Each day the quiz picks the same ten countries for everyone, chosen deterministically from the date — there is no server and nothing to log in to. When you finish, you get a shareable emoji grid (🟩 for a first-try hit, 🟥 for a miss) and your streak ticks up if you played the day before. Come back tomorrow for a fresh set.

Data & method

Country facts (names, capitals, regions, flags, areas) come from the open mledoze/countries dataset (ODbL). The map geometry is Natural Earth data via world-atlas (public domain). Everything is bundled into the quiz at build time, so it runs entirely in your browser with no tracking and no external calls while you play.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries are in South America?

Twelve sovereign countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Which South American countries are hardest to place?

Most people mix up the two landlocked neighbours, Bolivia and Paraguay, and the three small Guianas — Guyana and Suriname — on the north coast. Uruguay is also easy to miss because it is small and hugs the Brazilian border.

Is French Guiana a country?

No. French Guiana is an overseas region of France, so it is part of France rather than an independent South American country. That is why the standard South America count is twelve, not thirteen.

What are the smallest countries in South America?

By area the three smallest are Suriname, Uruguay and Guyana. They sit close together in the north-east (Guyana and Suriname) and south-east (Uruguay), which is what makes them tricky to pinpoint.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. The quiz is built mobile-first — pinch to zoom, drag to pan, and every tap target is finger-sized. It works in any modern phone, tablet or desktop browser.

Where does the map data come from?

Country data is from mledoze/countries (ODbL) and the map outlines are Natural Earth public-domain data via world-atlas. Both are bundled into the app at build time.