South America Population Pyramid 1996
Year
1996South America in 1996
As of 1996, South America counted 327,454,342 inhabitants. A decade earlier, in 1986, the population was 273,653,656; it has grown by 19.7% since.
With a median age of 23.8 years, South America had a youth dependency ratio of 53.2 and an old-age dependency ratio of 8.5 per 100 people of working age. This is an expansive pyramid — each cohort of children is larger than the one above it, the signature of high birth rates and rapid growth.
Data source: United Nations World Population Prospects, 2024 revision (medium variant) — last updated July 2024.
The World Bank does not publish this indicator for regions or continents.
The World Bank does not publish this indicator for regions or continents.
12,230,850 immigrants live in South America.
| Venezuela | 6,268,352 |
| Colombia | 1,317,258 |
| Paraguay | 587,559 |
| Bolivia | 561,026 |
| Peru | 516,754 |
21,233,109 people born in South America live in other countries.
| United States of America | 4,112,869 |
| Spain | 3,246,905 |
| Colombia | 2,951,953 |
| Peru | 1,719,519 |
| Argentina | 1,550,287 |





