Economy of South America centuries. This can be explained by South America´s high concentration on primary commodities as well as the state of the educational system and institutional structure, some of which are still related to its colonial past, others to recent political developments. It was only from the 1990s when countries in South America switched over to the system of Free-Market economy. This eventually pulled countries in South America out of the debt crisis. Now, major economic activities include agriculture, industry, forestry, and mining. In 2016, four countries, which include Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and República Bolivariana de Venezuela experienced decline in output. Other
Administrative divisions of South America Administrative divisions of South America The table below indicates the types and, where known, numbers of administrative divisions used by countries having territories in South America and their major dependent territories. It is ordered alphabetically by country name in English. France's territory in South America is French Guiana. The Netherlands' territories in South America are Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. The United Kingdom's territories in South America are the Falklands Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Administrative divisions with ISO 3166-1 are cited for statistics matters even when they do not have a special status (for example, the