Western Hemisphere

Map of the Western Hemisphere

The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the 180th meridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. In the United States, the term "Western Hemisphere" is often used as a metonym for the Americas, even though geographically, the hemisphere also includes parts of other continents.

Geography

The Western Hemisphere in a photo taken from Deep Space Climate Observatory in June 2022

The Western Hemisphere comprises the Americas, except some of the Aleutian Islands to the southwest of the Alaskan mainland; the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa, both mainland and islands; the extreme eastern tip of the Russian mainland and islands (North Asia); many territories in Oceania; and a large part of Antarctica.

The center of the Western Hemisphere on the surface of the Earth is in the Pacific Ocean, at the intersection of the 90th meridian west and the Equator, among the Galápagos Islands. The nearest land is Genovesa Island at 0°19′N 89°57′W / 0.317°N 89.950°W / 0.317; -89.950.

Countries in the Western Hemisphere, west of the prime meridian (shown in yellow).
A map of the Earth with the Pacific Ocean in the centre, with a vertical red line running the full height just west of the Bering Strait and east of New Zealand.
The 180th meridian on a Pacific-centered map of Earth.

The largest country entirely in the Western Hemisphere is Canada at 9,984,670 km2. Fifteen independent countries entirely in the Western Hemisphere have no land borders to other countries: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cape Verde, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Iceland, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Tonga and Trinidad and Tobago. Various other island entities in the Western Hemisphere are semi-independent territories of countries, while the Dominican Republic, Ireland and Haiti are considered divided island countries, due to having land borders. Ten of Africa's 54 independent countries are entirely in the Western Hemisphere: the largest is Mauritania at 1,030,000 km2. Five African countries are partially in the Western Hemisphere. Three of Europe's 44 independent countries are entirely in the Western Hemisphere, while seven are partially in it. Portugal is the only mainland European country entirely in the Western Hemisphere, and Spain has the most mainland European land in the Western Hemisphere. However, a moderate proportion of Spain's population still live in the Eastern Hemisphere, since the major city of Barcelona is part of the small part of Spain east of the prime meridian. While the Polynesian countries of Samoa and Tonga are part of the Western Hemisphere, no countries from the neighboring regions of Melanesia and Micronesia are entirely in the Western Hemisphere.

11 countries in the Western Hemisphere are fully or partially in the Southern Hemisphere; Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Samoa, Tonga and Uruguay. Fiji and New Zealand are in the Southern Hemisphere and also have some land in the Western Hemisphere, but the majority of their total land area and population is concentrated in the Eastern Hemisphere, with only small offshore islands of New Zealand crossing over into the Western Hemisphere. The Micronesian country Kiribati has land in all four hemispheres, and the country's population is concentrated in the Eastern Hemisphere and Northern Hemisphere. Countries in both the Southern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere are rarer than countries in both the Southern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. If countries with overseas territories like France are excluded, than there are only 14 countries in both the Southern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere, compared to 37 countries in both the Southern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. However, these two different combinations are still less common than countries in both the Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere, or Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere.

The highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere is Aconcagua, in the Andes of Argentina, at 6,960.8 metres (22,837 feet).

The tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere is the CN Tower, in Toronto, at 553.3 metres (1,815 ft). The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere is One World Trade Center, in New York City, at 1,776 feet (541.3 m).

Other definitions

The inclusion of parts of non-American areas such as Western Europe is controversial among some, since it conflicts with constructs of the Western Hemisphere which correlate it with the New World or the Americas. Under the accepted geographical definition, historical events such as The Great Fire of London (51°31′N 0°05′W / 51.51°N 0.09°W / 51.51; -0.09) are considered to have occurred in the Western Hemisphere, despite not being events associated with the history of the Americas and the New World. Similarly, facts such as Brazil being the last country to abolish slavery in the Western Hemisphere are not technically valid under the geographical definition of the Western Hemisphere, as slavery continued in the Western Hemisphere in non-American areas, with Mauritiana being the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1981. In an attempt to match the Western Hemisphere more closely with the Americas, some sources use the 20th meridian west and the diametrically opposed 160th meridian east to define the hemisphere. This definition excludes all of the European and African mainlands, but still includes some islands associated with these continents, more of eastern Russia and Oceania, and part of Antarctica. It includes all islands of Alaska, but excludes a small portion of northeast Greenland. There is no hemisphere that includes all of the Americas that also excludes all land outside the Americas, regardless of the meridians or points chosen to define it.

Temperature records

The majority of Antarctica's lowest recorded temperatures have been recorded in the larger Eastern Hemisphere portion. Outside of Antarctica, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere was a −69.6 °C (−93.3 °F) reading at the Klinck Automatic Weather Station in Greenland on December 22, 1991. This is also the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere. Byrd Automatic Weather Station is situated in the Western Hemisphere portion of Antarctica and recorded a −64.4 °C (−83.9 °F) reading on July 18, 1985. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere was a −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) reading at Antarctica's Vostok Station on July 21, 1983. This is also the lowest temperature ever recorded on earth.

The 56.7 °C (134 °F) temperature recorded in Death Valley, California on July 10, 1913 is the highest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere. It is also the highest temperature ever recorded on earth. A 55.0 °C (131 °F) temperature recorded in Kebili, Tunisia, on July 7, 1931 is the second highest temperature ever recorded on earth, and the highest in the Eastern Hemisphere. However, some weather historians question its accuracy. A 1922 reading of 58 °C (136.4 °F) in El Azizia, Libya, was long cited as the world record before the World Meteorological Organization decertified it in 2012 due to measurement errors. The Southern Hemisphere's highest recorded temperature is tied at 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) between Oodnadatta, South Australia on January 2, 1960 and Onslow, Western Australia on January 13, 2022.

Rivadavia, Argentina recorded South America's highest ever temperature of 48.9 °C (120 °F) on December 11, 1905. Seymour Island is situated off the coast of Antarctica's Western Hemisphere portion, and recorded a temperature of 20.75 °C (69.35 °F) on February 9, 2020, the highest associated with the Antarctica region.

Human history

Morocco has some of the earliest evidence of habitation by modern forms of humans, dating back to 315,000 years ago. Some areas in West Africa like Ivory Coast and Senegal are believed to have had settlements from modern forms of humans dating to 150,000 years ago. Modern humans reached Portugal, Spain and Great Britain roughly 43,000 years ago, with Ireland being reached 10,000 years ago. The Americas were settled by humans roughly 15,000 years ago. Iceland and the Faroe Islands were settled over 1,000 years ago. Samoa and Tonga were settled 3,000 years ago, although other areas in Polynesia like Easter Island and Hawaii were settled under 1,000 years ago. Some areas in the Western Hemisphere were uninhabited by humans before the Age of Discovery, including Ascension Island, Baker Island, Cape Verde, the Cayman Islands, Clipperton Island, Cocos Island, the Desventuradas Islands, the Falkland Islands, Fernando de Noronha, the Galápagos Islands, Guadalupe Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, the Juan Fernández Islands, Kingman Reef, Malpelo Island, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, the Revillagigedo Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Trindade and Martim Vaz and Tristan da Cunha. The part of Antarctica in the Western Hemisphere was also uninhabited before the Age of Discovery.

Environment

Fauna

In the fauna of the Americas, there are distinct evolutionary lineages that evolved in geographic isolation, particularly during the Cenozoic Era. Among the most distinct native mammals are the xenarthrans, an ancient group that includes anteaters, armadillos and sloths. These animals originated in South America and remain exclusive to the Americas today. Similarly, New World monkeys—such as capuchins, spider monkeys, and howler monkeys, form a distinct primate family that evolved separately from Old World monkeys in Afro-Eurasia. The entire hummingbird family, comprising over 300 species, exists naturally only in the Americas, ranging from Alaska to the southern tip of Chile. New World vultures, including turkey vultures and the Andean and California condors, are evolutionarily distinct from Old World vultures.

Bald eagles, the national symbol of the United States, can on rare occasion be found in the Eastern Hemisphere towards the end of Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain, which stretches across the North Pacific Ocean. While penguins are nearly exclusive to Antarctic-influenced regions of the Southern Hemisphere, they are widely found in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere. Similarly, polar bears, which are exclusive to Arctic-influenced regions of the Northern Hemisphere, can be found in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere.

Western chimpanzees only occur in African countries west of the prime meridian, including Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone, which are entirely west of the prime meridian, and Ghana and Mali, which are mostly west of it. Western chimpanzees have gone extinct in Benin, which is entirely east of the prime meridian, and Togo, which is mostly east of it. However, other chimpanzee species occur throughout the Eastern Hemisphere portion of Africa. Various African animals such as giraffes, gorillas and zebras only occur in its Eastern Hemisphere portion.

Geology

The land of the Western Hemisphere encompasses several major tectonic plates, and a number of smaller plates and plate-boundary systems. Bermuda, Canada, Greenland and most of Mexico and the United States are situated on the North American Plate. Some parts of Southern California like Los Angeles and San Diego are situated on the Pacific Plate, along with Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. Several U.S. possessions in the central Pacific are east of the 180th meridian and also on the Pacific Plate, including Baker Island, Hawaii, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll and Palmyra Atoll. Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands, including Socorro, San Benedicto and Clarion, are situated on the Pacific Plate and form a volcanic archipelago in the eastern Pacific. Further north is Mexico's volcanic Guadalupe Island, which is also situated on the Pacific Plate. Clipperton Island, an uninhabited French territory, is situated 1,080 kilometers off Mexico and lies near the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Cocos Plate. Its volcanic origin is associated with the broader tectonic and volcanic processes of the region. The Eastern and Western Hemisphere portions of the Aleutian Islands both form the arc boundary where the North American Plate overrides the subducting Pacific Plate. Most of Central America and the Caribbean occupy the Caribbean Plate or lie along its boundaries with the North American, Cocos and South American plates. Cuba and the Cayman Islands are notable exceptions within the Greater Antilles, as they lie on the North American Plate, whereas Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the Virgin Islands lie on the Caribbean Plate. The Lesser Antilles form a volcanic arc associated with the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Plate, where Atlantic oceanic lithosphere is subducted beneath the Caribbean region. The Central American country Guatemala lies across the boundary of the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate. Most of South America is situated on the South American Plate. Along South America's western margin, the Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the South American Plate, producing the Peru–Chile Trench, the Andes and one of the world's most active earthquake and volcanic zones. Aside from South America itself, the South American Plate is also associated with the South Atlantic islands of Ascension Island, the Falkland Islands, Fernando de Noronha and Trindade and Martim Vaz, with the Falkland Islands being situated in the Falkland Plateau tectonic boundary region.

Several islands in the Western Hemisphere are located on plates different to those of the countries which administer them. Costa Rica's Cocos Island is the only subaerial landmass of the Cocos Plate, with the remainder of the plate consisting almost entirely of oceanic crust beneath the eastern Pacific. Colombia's Malpelo Island was formerly classified as part of the Nazca Plate, but is now considered to be situated on its own plate known as the Malpelo Plate. The Galápagos Islands, politically part of Ecuador, are situated on the Nazca Plate near the complex triple junction region involving the Nazca, Cocos and Pacific plates; their volcanism is associated with a hotspot and the surrounding plate-boundary system. Isabela Island is the largest landmass on the Nazca Plate, and part of the Galápagos Islands; it straddles the equator, but is almost entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere, along with nearly all other islands in the archipelago. Easter Island, although politically part of Chile, is also situated on the Nazca Plate, along with Chile's uninhabited Desventuradas Islands and Salas y Gómez Island. Easter Island is close to the East Pacific Rise and the small Easter microplate, while the Galápagos Islands are close to the Galápagos microplate. The Juan Fernández Islands, likewise belonging to Chile, are volcanic islands on the Nazca Plate and form part of a volcanic chain produced as the plate has moved over a hotspot. By contrast, the Hawaiian Islands are situated in the interior of the Pacific Plate and form the youngest exposed part of the Hawaiian volcanic chain, produced as the Pacific Plate moves over the Hawaiian hotspot. French Polynesia, including the Society Islands, is likewise situated principally on the Pacific Plate and contains numerous volcanic island chains and atolls formed through hotspot and intraplate volcanic processes. Samoa and Tonga are both associated with the Pacific Plate, although Tonga also lies on the boundary with the Tonga Plate.

Ireland and the United Kingdom lie on the Eurasian Plate, while Spain and Portugal are associated with the smaller Iberian Plate. Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and consequently lies across the North American–Eurasian plate boundary. The Azores islands, which are Portuguese, are situated in the complex region where the North American, Eurasian and African Plates interact and where an Azores microplate or diffuse plate-boundary zone occurs. Madeira, another Portuguese island territory, lies on the African Plate, while the Canary Islands of Spain are also situated on the African Plate. Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa, is similarly associated with the African Plate. The West African countries which fall wholly within the Western Hemisphere are situated on the African Plate. The United Kingdom's overseas territories Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha are associated with the African Plate, despite being thousands of kilometers from Africa in the South Atlantic. The South Sandwich Islands, another British overseas territory in the South Atlantic, are associated with the South Sandwich Plate, which itself is adjacent to the larger Scotia Plate. The neighboring South Georgia lies within the complex Scotia–South American tectonic boundary region. The small part of Russia in the Western Hemisphere is associated with the North American Plate and adjacent small plates and tectonic blocks.

Oceanography

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic waters of the Western Hemisphere encompass a broad range of oceanographic environments, extending from the Celtic and Irish seas and the western coasts of the Iberian Peninsula to the northwest African coast, the Gulf of Guinea and the coasts of the Americas. Around Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal, a mix of tides, winds, and underwater slopes creates complex coastal currents. In the summer, strong winds push surface water away from the coasts of Spain and Portugal, pulling cold, nutrient-rich water up from the deep ocean. During colder months, these coastal currents reverse direction. Along Morocco, Mauritania, and Senegal, seasonal trade winds also push surface water away from the coast, allowing colder, nutrient-rich water from deeper in the ocean to rise toward the surface. This helps support abundant plankton and, in turn, large populations of fish, making Northwestern Africa a highly productive fishing region. Fishing is particularly vital to Mauritania's economy as most of the country is barren desert.

Across the ocean, the Atlantic coastlines of North and South America connect to opposite polar oceans. North America is strongly influenced by the Arctic, as the cold Labrador Current flows south from Greenland to meet warmer currents heading north. Heavy, freezing water formed in the far north sinks and flows south along the deep ocean floor. South America, by contrast, connects to the Antarctic. The icy Malvinas Current travels north along Argentina until it collides with the warm, southward-flowing Brazil Current. Extremely cold water from Antarctica also sinks and spreads northward beneath the surface.

The Caribbean Sea forms a semi-enclosed tropical extension of the western Atlantic, and is estimated to have more than 7,000 islands. Outside of the Caribbean, the Western Hemisphere portion of the Atlantic Ocean contains numerous other islands of varying sizes and origins. In the northwest Atlantic, Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island form major islands of the Canadian Atlantic coast, bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the open North Atlantic. Further south, Manhattan is one of the world's most heavily urbanized islands, situated within New York Harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River, while nearby islands such as Governors Island, Liberty Island, and Ellis Island form part of the harbor landscape. Canada's Montreal is another highly urbanized island connected to the broader Atlantic basin.

When compared to the Pacific Ocean, isolated volcanic islands are less common in the Western Hemisphere portion of the Atlantic Ocean. Bermuda, about 1,030 kilometers east of North Carolina, is the exposed summit of a large volcanic seamount and is unusual among Atlantic islands for its extensive limestone and coral landscapes. Although well north of the Caribbean, its warm waters support extensive coral reefs, seagrass meadows and other subtropical habitats. Off the coast of Brazil, the volcanic Fernando de Noronha archipelago lies about 340 kilometers offshore and forms part of a submarine ridge; its protected waters support coral reefs, sea turtles, dolphins and abundant reef fish. The more remote Trindade and Martim Vaz lie near roughly 1,100 kilometers from the Brazilian mainland, and are among the most isolated islands in the South Atlantic. 33 kilometers from Brazil's Atlantic coast lies Ilha da Queimada Grande, an island commonly known as "Snake Island" due to its unusually large population of venomous snakes.

In the southwestern Atlantic, the Falkland Islands form a large archipelago about 480 kilometers from the South American mainland. The islands consist principally of East and West Falkland together with hundreds of smaller islands and islets, and their cool, windswept environment supports large populations of penguins, albatrosses, seals and other seabirds and marine mammals. The islands were the site of the 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and the islands' administrators the United Kingdom, with this war causing over 900 fatalities. The Falklands War is one of the most notable examples of warfare in harsh, colder environments, along with the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands in World War II. Further into the South Atlantic are the volcanic islands of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and Tristan da Cunha. Collectively, these islands are characterized by their geographical isolation from major landmasses, with Tristan da Cunha being considered the most remote inhabited island on earth. The South Atlantic Norwegian territory Bouvet Island is often labelled as the most remote island on earth. It is just east of the prime meridian, with its geographical coordinates being 54°S 3°E. The United Nations geoscheme officially categorizes the island as part of South America, although it is closer to Antarctica and Africa.

Pacific Ocean

The Tropical Eastern Pacific bioregion is entirely in the Western Hemisphere. It ranges from the coasts of southern Mexico to northern Peru, and includes the waters of surrounding islands as far as Clipperton Island. The Tropical Eastern Pacific differs from the Indo-Pacific bioregion, which covers most of the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean. The biological differences between the tropical zones of the eastern and western Pacific are often attributed to the Eastern Pacific Barrier (EPB), a term used to describe the thousands of kilometers of empty, island-less ocean between Polynesia and the coast of Latin America. The lack of stepping stone islands in this distance prevents many shallow-water Indo-Pacific marine species from entering the eastern Pacific, with it typically being easier for long distance species such as dolphins, sea turtles, sharks and whales to cross the barrier. The more remote islands of the Tropical Eastern Pacific, like Clipperton Island and the Galápagos Islands, tend to share stronger biogeographical affinities with the Indo-Pacific, particularly French Polynesia and Kiribati. The concept of the Eastern Pacific Barrier is not applicable to Chile and its coastal islands, or the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada, as these countries sit outside of the tropical zone. The Pacific coasts of the contiguous United States, Alaska, Canada and northern Mexico are part of the same bioregion as other non-tropical regions on the opposite side of the North Pacific. This bioregion is known as the Temperate Northern Pacific, and aside from the Pacific coast of North America, also covers Eastern Hemisphere areas like the Japanese archipelago, northern China and Russia's Pacific coast (including the Commander Islands, Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island). Hawaii and other central Pacific possessions of the United States fall within the Indo-Pacific bioregion, rather than the Temperate Northern Pacific.

The Bering Sea is the northernmost marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is mostly in the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered by Alaska and far eastern Russia. The Bering Sea contains several continental and volcanic subarctic Alaskan islands, including Little Diomede Island, the volcanic Pribilof Islands, Nunivak, St. Matthew Island and St. Lawrence Island. The Bering Sea eventually leads to the narrow Bering Strait, where Pacific waters from the Bering Sea meet Arctic waters (via the Chukchi Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic). Little Diomede Island and Russia's Big Diomede Island are both situated on the Bering Strait, and represent the northernmost islands within the Pacific Basin. St. Lawrence Island is the northernmost major island entirely within the Bering Sea, and it is the only island in the Pacific Basin which occasionally receives polar bears, along with the Diomedes. The Aleutian Islands are a volcanic arc which border the Bering Sea to the north, and the open North Pacific Ocean to the south. Unimak Island is one of the first islands of the chain and is more continental in character than the later islands. It is the only island in the chain to feature land mammals from mainland Alaksa, like brown bears and grey wolves. The Unimak Pass between Unimak Island and the Krenitzin Islands prevents these land mammals from naturally reaching the other islands of the Aleutian chain. While nearly all of the Aleutian islands do not naturally have any land mammals, arctic foxes were introduced by humans on certain islands. Some Aleutian islands extend nearly 2,000 kilometers from mainland Alaska, and are in the Eastern Hemisphere, with the Bering Sea surrounding these islands also being situated in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Other Alaskan islands in the Pacific and its marginal seas include the Kodiak Archipelago, which is adjacent to the Aleutian Islands, and the over 1,100 islands of the Alexander Archipelago in southeast Alaska. The Alaskan city of Sitka is located in the Alexander Archipelago, on Baranof Island, while the city of Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island (not to be confused with Mexico's volcanic Revillagigedo Islands). The Pacific coast of Canada includes Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii, formerly known by the colonial name of the Queen Charlotte Islands. The Pacific coast of the contiguous United States contains very few islands in the open ocean, with San Francisco's Farallon Islands and Southern California's Channel Islands being among the only ones. Contiguous U.S. Pacific islands outside of the open ocean include the San Juan Islands in Washington and Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands are part of the Tropical Eastern Pacific bioregion, along with the continental Tres Marías Islands. Mexico's more northern islands do not fall within the Tropical Eastern Pacific region, including the volcanic Guadalupe Island and the Gulf of California islands. The Gulf of California includes Tiburón Island, the largest island of Mexico. Tiburón has a landscape influenced by the adjacent Sonoran Desert, and was a traditional home of the Seri people. It was also the site of the Tiburón Island Tragedy, where a group of U.S. gold expeditioners went missing, with some presumed cannibalized by the natives. Aside from the volcanic Desventuradas Islands, Easter Island, Juan Fernández Islands and Salas y Gómez Island, Chile's Pacific coast also includes many closer continental islands, with one of the most notable being Chiloé Island. Peru's Pacific coast contains no volcanic islands and few continental islands. The Chincha Islands, which were historically mined for guano, are among the most notable. Colombia's Pacific coast includes Gorgona Island and Malpelo Island, a volcanic island which is part of a protected marine sanctuary area. The Pacific coast of Central America includes the large Panamanian island Coiba Island, but this area is largely devoid of continental islands, and also has no volcanic islands other than Costa Rica's Cocos Island.

Arctic Ocean

The largest and most notable Arctic landmasses in the Western Hemisphere include Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and Canada's Axel Heiberg Island, Baffin Island, Banks Island, Devon Island, Ellesmere Island, Prince of Wales Island, Southampton Island and Victoria Island. Greenland and the independent nation of Iceland are connected to both the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Grímsey is Iceland's northernmost inhabited island, and the only inhabited part of the country which is technically north of the Arctic Circle.

The Eastern Hemisphere portion of the Arctic Ocean primarily consists of islands under Russian sovereignty, with the Svalbard archipelago also being under Norwegian sovereignty. One of Russia's Arctic islands, Wrangel Island, straddles the 180th meridian and therefore has land on both sides of the Eastern–Western Hemisphere boundary. The Norwegian Arctic island of Jan Mayen is entirely in the Western Hemisphere, although mainland Norway and all other Norwegian islands are in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The Indian Ocean is the only major ocean which is entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere, with no Western Hemisphere nations directly bordering it via their mainlands.

Demographics and economy

82% of humans live in the Eastern Hemisphere, and 18% in the Western Hemisphere. The difference in population is less lopsided than that of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, with 90% of humans living in the Northern Hemisphere, and only 10% in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2026, the states with the highest population density in the Western Hemisphere were Sint Maarten and Bermuda, which had respectively 1,291 people and 1,164 people per square kilometer. In 2026, the least densely populated states in the Western Hemisphere were Western Sahara (a disputed territory claimed by Morocco) and Greenland, which had 2 people and 0.3 people per square kilometer. Greenland was the least densely populated country or territory in the world in 2026. In 2025, the French overseas territory French Polynesia had the highest life expectancy for both males and females in the Western Hemisphere (81.9 years for males and 86.6 years for females). The combined median life expectancy for males and females in French Polynesia was 84.3 years in 2025. For independent countries mostly in the Western Hemisphere, Spain had the highest median life expectancy (84.0 years), while Ireland had the highest median life expectancy for countries entirely in the Western Hemisphere (83.1 years). In 2025, the African country Republic of Guinea had the lowest life expectancy for females in the Western Hemisphere (62.1 years). Guinea's life expectancy of 59.7 for males was also the lowest for countries which are entirely in the Western Hemisphere.The African country Burkina Faso, which is mostly in the Western Hemisphere, had a life expectancy of 59.1 for males, which was the lowest for any country with land in the Western Hemisphere.

In 2016, the top 25 most visited cities entirely in the Western Hemisphere were New York City, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Dublin, Toronto, Lima, San Francisco, Vancouver, Lisbon, Mexico City, Punta Cana, São Paulo, Montreal, Washington D.C., Chicago, Buenos Aires, Boston, Edinburgh, San Jose, Houston, Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, Casablanca and Atlanta. In 2025, the United States had the highest GDP for countries mostly in the Western Hemisphere, and also had the overall highest in the world that year. Its GDP of $30 trillion was significantly more than China, which had a GDP of $19 trillion (the second highest in the world and highest among countries entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere). Germany and Japan, which are also entirely in the Eastern Hemisphere, had the third and fourth highest GDPs that year, while the United Kingdom had the fifth highest, and second highest for countries mostly in the Western Hemisphere. Canada had the tenth highest GDP in the world in 2025, and the highest for countries entirely in the Western Hemisphere, at $2.32 trillion. The Western Hemisphere state with the lowest GDP in 2025 was the British overseas territory of Montserrat. Tonga had the lowest GDP for independent countries entirely in the Western Hemisphere that year, while Kiribati had the lowest GDP for independent countries with land in the Western Hemisphere. Kiribati's GDP of $349 million was the fourth lowest in the world in 2025.

Currency

The currencies of the countries and territories in the Western Hemisphere are diverse, although several share currencies or use those issued elsewhere. In the Americas, the United States dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States, Ecuador (including the Galápagos Islands) and El Salvador, and it circulates alongside the Panamanian balboa in Panama. Among other American countries, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Guyana, Haiti, the Bahamas, Barbados, Suriname and Belize use their respective national currencies, including the Brazilian real, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, Argentine peso, Colombian peso, Chilean peso, Peruvian sol, Dominican peso, Guatemalan quetzal, Cuban peso, Costa Rican colón, Venezuelan bolívar, Uruguayan peso, Bolivian boliviano, Paraguayan guaraní, Honduran lempira, Trinidad and Tobago dollar, Jamaican dollar, Nicaraguan córdoba, Guyanese dollar, Haitian gourde, Bahamian dollar, Barbadian dollar, Surinamese dollar and Belize dollar. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines share the Eastern Caribbean dollar. Among the European and African countries fully or partially in the Western Hemisphere, Spain, Portugal and Ireland use the euro, as does the small part of mainland France in the Western Hemisphere. Portuguese islands such as the Azores and Madeira also use the euro, while the United Kingdom uses the pound sterling (with the Falkland Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and Tristan da Cunha using variations of it). Iceland uses the Icelandic króna, Greenland the Danish krone, Morocco the Moroccan dirham and Algeria the Algerian dinar. Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau and Togo use the West African CFA franc, while Ghana, Guinea, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cape Verde and The Gambia use the Ghanaian cedi, Guinean franc, Mauritanian ouguiya, Sierra Leonean leone, Liberian dollar, Cape Verdean escudo and Gambian dalasi, respectively. The Russian ruble is used in Russia's Western Hemisphere portion, including Wrangel Island, while Norway's Jan Mayen uses the Norwegian krone.

In the Pacific, Kiribati uses the Australian dollar, Fiji the Fijian dollar, Samoa the Samoan tālā and Tonga the Tongan paʻanga. New Zealand's Chatham Islands and Kermadec Islands use the New Zealand dollar. These are the only parts of New Zealand proper in the Western Hemisphere. The semi-autonomous Polynesian states of Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau are in the Western Hemisphere and politically part of New Zealand, also using the New Zealand dollar. The Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, but use the New Zealand dollar. French Polynesia and France's Wallis and Futuna use the CFP franc rather than the euro, and it is issued by the Institut d'émission d'outre-mer. France's uninhabited Clipperton Island is under the direct authority of the French Government, and if it had a human population, then it would theoretically use a French currency. From 1936 to 2007, it was administratively attached to French Oceania (later renamed French Polynesia), before the French government placed Clipperton under direct administration.

Culture and language

Religion

The Western Hemisphere is a less religiously diverse region than the Eastern Hemisphere, and the vast majority of areas in the Western Hemisphere are majority Christian (including the whole of the Americas, Polynesian islands and the few European countries west of the prime meridian). The handful of West African nations lying entirely west of the prime meridian are mostly Muslim-majority countries. Liberia, a country founded by freed African American slaves, is the only one with a Christian-majority population. In 2024, the United States had the largest Jewish population in the Western Hemisphere, with over 6,300,000 (roughly 1.85% of the country's population). The country's Jewish population is the second largest in the world, behind only Israel, which had 7,153,000 Jews in 2024. Other Western Hemisphere countries ranked in the top 15 for Jewish populations are Canada (400,000), Argentina (170,000), Brazil (90,300) and Mexico (41,000). The United Kingdom has 313,000 Jews, and the majority of them reside in the Western Hemisphere parts of the country.

Spanish language

Spanish is the most common language in the Western Hemisphere, and is widely spoken across the Americas and the Caribbean, as well as in Spain itself. In the eastern Pacific, it is also spoken on Easter Island, which was originally inhabited by Polynesians but later annexed by Chile, in addition to being spoken by the populations living on the Galápagos Islands and the Juan Fernández Islands.

English language

English is the most common language in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Ascension Island, Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, Liberia, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha and many parts of the Caribbean, such as Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and the Virgin Islands. In Sierra Leone, English is the official administrative language, while Krio is the most spoken. English is a primary language in Ghana and the United Kingdom, which are mostly in the Western Hemisphere. It is also widely understood in Samoa and Tonga, which have their own distinct Polynesian languages.

French language

French is widely spoken in the Canadian province of Quebec and certain parts of the Caribbean, as well as French Guiana, Ivory Coast, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. It is also spoken in mainland France (which is mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere). Wolof is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, although French is the official language.

Portuguese language

Portuguese is the main language in Brazil and Portugal. The official administrative language of Cape Verde is Portuguese, used in government, schools, and media. However, the true national spoken language is Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu). Likewise, in Guinea-Bissau, Portuguese is the official language, but Guinea-Bissau Creole (Kriol) is the principal language. Unlike in the Western Hemisphere, Portuguese is the most common language in the Southern Hemisphere, partially due to Brazil's large population in comparison to the rest of the Southern Hemisphere, and the presence of other Portuguese colonies in that hemisphere, like Angola, Mozambique and Timor-Leste.

Other languages

The primary language of Iceland is Icelandic, while Mauritania, Morocco and Western Sahara are Arabic-speaking states.

Sovereign states in both hemispheres

Below is a list of the sovereign states in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres on the IERS Reference Meridian:

Mostly in the Western Hemisphere (with some land east of prime meridian)

Mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere (with some land west of prime meridian)

Below is a list of additional sovereign states which are in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres along the 180th meridian. France and the United Kingdom are not listed below due to their inclusion above, though both have Western Hemisphere territories east of the 180th meridian, including France's Clipperton Island, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna, and the United Kingdom's Pitcairn Islands. France also has the Eastern Hemisphere territory of New Caledonia, to the west of the 180th meridian. With the exception of the United States (due to Wake Island, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands), the places below are located on just one side of the International Date Line, which curves around them.

Mostly in the Western Hemisphere (with some land west of 180th meridian)

Mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere (with some land east of 180th meridian)

Countries, dependencies and other territories in the Western Hemisphere

The following countries and territories lie entirely, mostly, or partially within the Western Hemisphere:

Western Hemisphere organizations

Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization

Andean Community

Association of Caribbean States (ACS)

British-Irish Council (BIC)

Central American Integration System

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)

Forum for the Progress and Development of South America

Mano River Union

Mercosur

North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC)

Organization of American States (OAS)

Pacific Alliance

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECO)

Senegal River Basin Development Authority

Union of South American Nations (USAN)

United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA)

Western Hemisphere statistics

GDP of countries in the Western Hemisphere

GDP of countries (Nominal, 2025)
RankCountryGDP (Nominal, USD)
1 United States$30.86 trillion
2 United Kingdom$4.01 trillion
3 France[note1]$3.38 trillion
4 Russia[note1]$2.57 trillion
5 Canada$2.32 trillion
6 Brazil$2.28 trillion
7 Spain$1.91 trillion
8 Mexico$1.84 trillion
9 Netherlands[note1]$1.32 trillion
10 Argentina$683.59 billion
11 Ireland$680.36 billion
12 Norway[note1]$530.15 billion
13 Denmark[note1]$470.95 billion
14 Colombia$457.10 billion
15 Chile$357.40 billion
16 Portugal$346.43 billion
17 Peru$341.96 billion
18 Algeria[note1]$284.46 billion
19 New Zealand[note1]$259.51 billion
20 Cuba$201.99 billion
21 Morocco$183.97 billion
22 Ecuador$130.32 billion
23 Dominican Republic$127.89 billion
24 Guatemala$123.32 billion
25 Ghana$114.71 billion
26 Costa Rica$102.90 billion
27 Venezuela$101.49 billion
28 Ivory Coast$99.9 billion
29 Panama$90.46 billion
30 Uruguay$82.58 billion
31 Bolivia$65.24 billion
32 Paraguay$49.28 billion
33 Guinea$42.27 billion
34 Honduras$39.60 billion
35 Iceland$38.47 billion
36 Senegal$37.08 billion
37 El Salvador$36.71 billion
38 Haiti$32.10 billion
39 Mali$31.23 billion
40 Burkina Faso$27.68 billion
41 Guyana$26.77 billion
42 Trinidad and Tobago$25.93 billion
43 Jamaica$22.59 billion
44 Nicaragua$22.24 billion
45 The Bahamas$17.22 billion
46 Mauritania$12.60 billion
47 Togo[note1]$11.91 billion
48 Barbados$7.94 billion
49 Sierra Leone$7.71 billion
50 Fiji[note1]$6.23 billion
51 Liberia$5.22 billion
52 Suriname$4.74 billion
53 Belize$3.32 billion
54 Cape Verde$3.06 billion
55 The Gambia$2.78 billion
56 Guinea-Bissau$2.66 billion
57 Saint Lucia$2.66 billion
58 Antigua and Barbuda$2.27 billion
59 Grenada$1.47 billion
60 Samoa$1.29 billion
61 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines$1.21 billion
62 Saint Kitts and Nevis$1.08 billion
63 Dominica$744 million
64 Tonga$692 million
65 Kiribati[note1]$349 million

Life expectancy of countries in the Western Hemisphere

Life expectancy by country (2025)
RankCountryCombined life expectancyLife expectancy, malesLife expectancy, females
1 Spain84.0 years81.4 years86.5 years
2 Norway[note1]83.2 years81.6 years84.8 years
3 France[note1]83.1 years80.2 years85.9 years
4 Ireland83.1 years81.4 years84.7 years
5 Iceland82.9 years81.2 years84.5 years
6 Portugal82.5 years79.7 years85.2 years
7 Denmark[note1]82.3 years80.4 years84.2 years
8 Canada82.2 years80.0 years84.3 years
9 New Zealand[note1]82.1 years80.4 years83.7 years
10 Netherlands[note1]82.0 years80.6 years83.4 years
11 United Kingdom81.4 years79.5 years83.3 years
12 Chile81.4 years79.5 years83.2 years
13 Costa Rica81.0 years78.4 years83.6 years
14 Panama79.8 years76.9 years82.7 years
15 United States79.0 years76.5 years81.4 years
16 Cuba78.3 years75.9 years80.7 years
17 Uruguay78.2 years74.4 years82.0 years
18 Peru78.0 years75.6 years80.3 years
19 Colombia77.9 years75.2 years80.6 years
20 Ecuador77.6 years74.9 years80.3 years
21 Antigua and Barbuda77.6 years74.7 years80.4 years
22 Argentina77.5 years75.0 years80.0 years
23 Algeria[note1]76.5 years75.1 years77.9 years
24 Barbados76.3 years73.8 years78.8 years
25 Cape Verde76.3 years73.1 years79.4 years
26 Brazil76.1 years73.0 years79.1 years
27 Morocco75.6 years73.3 years77.8 years
28 Grenada75.5 years72.5 years78.5 years
29 Mexico75.2 years72.4 years78.0 years
30 Nicaragua75.1 years72.5 years77.6 years
31 The Bahamas74.7 years71.1 years78.3 years
32 Paraguay74.1 years71.0 years77.1 years
33 Dominican Republic73.9 years70.7 years77.1 years
34 Belize73.9 years71.1 years76.7 years
35 Suriname73.8 years70.6 years77.0 years
36 Trinidad and Tobago73.7 years70.5 years76.8 years
37 Russia[note1]73.6 years68.3 years78.9 years
38 Honduras73.1 years70.5 years75.7 years
39 Tonga73.0 years69.5 years76.5 years
40 Saint Lucia73.0 years69.5 years76.5 years
41 Venezuela72.8 years68.9 years76.7 years
42 Guatemala72.7 years70.4 years75.0 years
43 Saint Kitts and Nevis72.5 years68.7 years76.2 years
44 El Salvador72.2 years67.8 years76.5 years
45 Samoa71.9 years70.0 years73.8 years
46 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines71.7 years68.8 years74.5 years
47 Jamaica71.6 years69.1 years74.1 years
48 Dominica71.6 years68.4 years74.7 years
49 Guyana70.4 years66.6 years74.1 years
50 Senegal69.0 years67.0 years71.0 years
51 Bolivia68.8 years66.3 years71.3 years
52 Mauritania68.7 years66.7 years70.7 years
53 Fiji[note1]67.5 years65.5 years69.5 years
54 Kiribati[note1]66.5 years64.7 years68.3 years
55 The Gambia66.1 years64.4 years67.8 years
56 Ghana65.8 years63.3 years68.2 years
57 Haiti65.2 years61.9 years68.5 years
58 Guinea-Bissau64.2 years61.8 years66.5 years
59 Togo[note1]63.0 years62.7 years63.2 years
60 Liberia62.3 years61.0 years63.6 years
61 Ivory Coast62.3 years60.2 years64.3 years
62 Sierra Leone62.0 years60.2 years63.7 years
63 Burkina Faso61.3 years59.1 years63.4 years
64 Guinea60.9 years59.7 years62.1 years
65 Mali60.8 years59.3 years62.2 years

Gender ratio difference of countries in the Western Hemisphere

Alcohol consumption of countries in the Western Hemisphere

See also

Notes

1. ^ Mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere.

References

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