Countries Located In The Southern Hemisphere
- Earth is a round, solid figure called a sphere. To determine which countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, one must know which countries lie on the equator.
- The list of Oceanian countries that completely fall within the Southern Hemisphere is extensive.
- One-third of Africa is located in the Southern Hemisphere.
Like all the other planets in our solar system, Earth is a round, solid figure called a sphere. It is then divided up into four different hemispheres: Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern. The word “hemisphere” actually means “half sphere,” so it describes the halves perfectly. Every location in the world exists in two hemispheres at once: Eastern or Western, plus Northern and Southern.
To see how hemispheres are divided, it helps to first look at how latitude and longitude work. They are a system of lines that pinpoint any location on Earth. Latitude lines run east-west, and longitutde lines run north-south. They are imaginary lines, but appear on globes and maps
How Hemispheres Are Determined
To determine the Eastern and Western hemispheres, the Prime Meridian (also referred to as 0∘ longitude) divides the sphere into its vertical hemispheres. The Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich in London, England. The equator (0∘ degrees latitude) and the International Date Line, 180∘ degrees longitude divides Earth into its horizontal, Northern and Southern hemispheres. The Equator runs halfway between the North and South Poles.
The Southern Hemisphere
To determine which countries are in the Southern Hemisphere, one must know which countries lie on the equator. These are, in alphabetical order:
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Gabon
- Indonesia
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Maldives
- Republic of the Congo
- São Tomé and Principe
- Somalia
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Uganda
Keeping in mind that there is overlap, The Southern Hemisphere contains all or part of five continents.These include Antarctica, a small part of Asia (some islands off the mainland), all of Australia/Oceania, one-third of Africa, and most of South America (90 percent).
Countries In The Southern Hemisphere
All of Australia and Antarctica are in the Southern Hemisphere, but the largest portion of Asia is in the Northern Hemisphere. Within Asia, the entire island of East Timor is in the Southern, along with most of Indonesia and part of the Maldives.
Oceania
The list of Oceania countries that completely fall within the Southern Hemisphere is extensive.
- American Samoa
- Antarctic and Subantarctic Islands
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands
- Bouvet Island (Norway)
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- Christmas Island
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Cook Islands
- Coral Sea Islands
- Easter Island
- Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas
- Fiji
- French Polynesia (including Tahiti)
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands
- Jarvis Island
- Nauru
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Niue
- Norfolk Island
- Papua New Guinea
- Peter I Island
- Pitcairn Islands
- Prince Edward Islands
- Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
- Salas y Gómez Island
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- South Orkney Islands
- South Shetland Islands
- South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Wallis and Futuna
Most of Kiribati (a small island in the Pacific Ocean) is also in the Southern Hemisphere.
Africa
One-third of Africa is located in the Southern Hemisphere, and the list includes these countries:
- Angola
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Comoros
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eswatini
- Gabon
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Reunion
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Seychelles
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Tanzania
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
- South America
Most of South America is also in the Southern Hemisphere:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador (including Galapagos Islands)
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
The Northern Hemisphere
Most of the world’s population lives in the northern half of the globe. Here lies approximately 10 percent of South America, most of Asia, all of the continent of North America, and all of Europe.
