Native peoples constitute a significant portion of the
continent's Andean population, especially in Bolivia, Ecuador,
Peru, and Paraguay. Elsewhere in South America the population is
generally mestizo, although Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and S
Brazil have primarily European populations. There are sizable
populations of African descent in NE Brazil, French Guiana,
Suriname, Guyana, Venezuela, and Colombia. Immigration since
1800 has brought European, Middle Eastern, and Asian (especially
Japanese) peoples to the continent, particularly to Argentina
and Brazil. With the exception of Brazil and Ecuador, the
national capitals have the largest populations and are the
economic, cultural, and political centers of the countries.
Since World War II, the urban population has rapidly expanded.
São Paulo, Brazil, whose population is nearly 10,000,000, is the
largest city of South America and one of the fastest growing
cities of its size in the world. Squatter settlements have
multiplied around urban areas as the poor and