North America is the third largestmainland on our planet. Its area is about 24.3 million square kilometers. Next to it are many archipelagoes and islands, the largest of which is Greenland. As of today, the population of North America is about 530 million people. About him in more detail and will be discussed in this article.
According to the latest historical research,The first people on the territory of the mainland appeared several thousand years ago. Scientists believe that they came here from Asia by land bridge, which at that time existed at the current location of the Bering Strait. This may explain the fact that the indigenous people of North America (Eskimos and Indians) belong to the Mongoloid race. Vivid confirmation of the Asian origin of local tribes are numerous external signs - reddish skin tone, wide face, dark eye color, straight, hard hair and others. The overwhelming majority of the aborigines lived in the territory of modern Mexico. It was here that the first major civilizations and states with a developed culture and economy appeared.
In the fifteenth century, Christopher Columbus discoveredAmerica, after which began a period of colonization of the mainland. Here began to come the Spaniards, French, British and other Europeans. This process was accompanied by the destruction of local residents or their ousting into an area unsuitable for normal life. A little later, slaves from Africa were brought here to work on the plantations. As a result, over time, the Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucasoid mixes up on the territory of the mainland. Active colonization of the continent continued until the nineteenth century. Thus, it is now possible to say with confidence that the current population and the countries of North America were formed mainly under the influence of these factors.
As of today, on the mainlandlives about 530 million people. In other words, these are about 13% of the world's inhabitants. As already noted above, there are representatives of all three races, as well as groups of people, which over time formed as a result of their mixing (mulattos, mestizos, and others). In the United States, English is mainly used, in Canada - English and French, and in Mexico - Spanish. It should be noted that for the first two mentioned states a long time ago there has been a constant influx of immigrants from different parts of the world, resulting in the formation of new ethnic groups. They are gradually assimilated with the American and Canadian nations.
USA, Mexico and Canada are the largestcountries of North America. The population of these states is about 472 million people. According to statistics, in search of a better destiny, an average of 500 thousand people from all over the world immigrate to the territory of the continent every year.
On the North American mainland is indigenousonly every hundredth person. The overwhelming majority of Indians now reside in Mexico, and the Eskimos live mainly in southern Greenland and on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. In addition, comparatively numerical Aboriginal groups are found in Canadian and US reservations, as well as in some areas of Alaska. In total in North America, according to approximate estimates, no more than 10 million Indians and about 70 thousand Eskimos live. On the Aleutian Islands, representatives of the Aleutian tribe (5 thousand people) are preserved.
Native North American speakingmainly in the dialects of their ancestors. At the same time, in recent years, many of its representatives are gradually moving to English, French and Spanish. As for worship, most of the inhabitants of the mainland are Catholics. Other numerical local religious groups are Protestants, Orthodox, Buddhists, Jews, and others.
Average population density in North AmericaIt is almost 22 inhabitants per square kilometer. However, the inhabitants of the continent settled on the area is extremely uneven. This is due to both its history and natural conditions. The most densely populated areas are the islands of the Caribbean, as well as the central part. There are almost 200 people per square kilometer. These territories were well developed by indigenous peoples several thousand years ago. The second region in density is the land surrounding the Great Lakes. In third place in this indicator are individual regions of the Pacific coast. This is especially true of areas located in the United States. As for the least populated region, Greenland certainly is. In addition, there are few people in the desert western and northern regions of the mainland. Some of the archipelagoes are generally uninhabited.
Summing up, it is necessary to focuson the fact that the population of North America largely represents the descendants of European migrants who arrived here during the colonization and assimilated with the local Aborigines, as well as the slaves brought from Africa. Only 1% of people living on the mainland are indigenous people. Do not forget that North America is one of the most urbanized continents. It is here that the world's largest agglomerations and cities in terms of population are located. On the other hand, there are regions where practically no one lives.
