Since the American continent was discovered, many countries have been established.

Now, according to the website One World Nations Online, more than 40 countries are part of the largest continent, which covers a total area of 22,600,000 mi2 including North America, Central America and South America. However, even though all of these countries belong to a same continent, they have many differences like their exact geography, demographic statistics, climate, culture etc. Examples of this case are the differences between the United States, which is the largest country in North America, and Ecuador, a small country in South America. One of the most notable differences between those two countries is their geography. On one hand, according to the website About Geography, the United States is located in North America. This country is surrounded by oceans on its both sides: the North Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean; and its bordered by two countries: Canada on the north and Mexico on the south. On the other hand, according to the website Mongabay, Ecuador is located in South America on the west coast. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Colombia and on the east and south by Peru. However, while the United States covers an area of 9,630 million km2, Ecuador is much less covering an area of 283,561 km2. This is what makes Ecuador a small city in comparison with the U.S. A second difference is their demographic statistics. According to the website World Vision, the population in the United States is 313.9 million while in Ecuador the population is 14.2 million. In addition, their life expectancy is also different as well as their infant mortality. In fact, while in Ecuador the life expectancy (75 years) is two years less than the U.S. (78 years); its infant mortality (20/1000 births) is higher than in the United States (7/1000 births). Another difference is the climate. According to the website PHPclasses, the weather in the United States is mostly temperate, but tropical in Florida and Hawaii, artic in Alaska, semiarid in the Great Plains west of the Mississippi River. However, in the Ecuador the weather is varied. For example, in the mountains and valleys the weather is cold but tropical, hot and humid in the coast and in the jungle lowlands. In addition, the United States and Ecuador are countries with a high number of different ethnic groups, languages and religions. For example, even though most of the population in the U.S. is White (77%), there are some other ethnic groups like Black (13%), Asian (4%) and Amerindian (2%). Another fact is that although its main language is English; Spanish, Asian and Indo-European speakers can also be founded. With regard to their religion, even though, most Americans are Protestant (56%) there are some religions like Roman Catholic or Jewish. Something different is the situation in Ecuador. In this country, most of the population is Mestizo (65%) while a few are Indigenous (25%), Caucasian (7%)

and African (3%). Regarding to the language, most Ecuadorians speak Spanish, and a few of them Quichua, which is the Ecuadorian dialect of Quechua. As these characteristics are enough to see the differences between a small country as Ecuador and a largest one as the United States, they are also helpful to emphasized the differences and the diversity of cultures that the American continent has to offer.