Geography · south of the equator

Countries in the Southern Hemisphere

34 countries lie entirely south of the equator, and 14 more — including Brazil, Indonesia and Kenya — straddle it. Only about one in ten people lives in the southern hemisphere: the countries wholly in it have about 515.1 million inhabitants.

Entirely in the southern hemisphere

Crossed by the equator

Australia

Largest country entirely in the south

515.1 million

People in countries wholly in the south

Most populous countries in the southern hemisphere

285.7 million

212.8 million

112.8 million

70.5 million

64.7 million

57.5 million

53.4 million

51.4 million

45.9 million

39.0 million

Entirely south
Partly (on the equator)

Southern-hemisphere countries, by population

Rank	Country	Population	Area	Hemisphere	Continent
1	Indonesia	285.7 million	1,904,569 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Asia
2	Brazil	212.8 million	8,515,770 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Americas
3	DR Congo	112.8 million	2,344,858 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
4	Tanzania	70.5 million	947,300 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
5	South Africa	64.7 million	1,219,090 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
6	Kenya	57.5 million	580,367 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
7	Colombia	53.4 million	1,138,910 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Americas
8	Uganda	51.4 million	241,038 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
9	Argentina	45.9 million	2,780,400 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Americas
10	Angola	39.0 million	1,246,700 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
11	Mozambique	35.6 million	799,380 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
12	Peru	34.6 million	1,285,216 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Americas
13	Madagascar	32.7 million	587,041 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
14	Australia	27.6 million	7,741,220 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
15	Malawi	22.2 million	118,484 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
16	Zambia	21.9 million	752,618 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
17	Chile	19.9 million	756,102 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Americas
18	Somalia	19.7 million	637,657 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
19	Ecuador	18.3 million	283,561 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Americas
20	Zimbabwe	17.0 million	390,757 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
21	Rwanda	14.6 million	26,338 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
22	Burundi	14.4 million	27,830 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
23	Bolivia	12.6 million	1,098,581 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Americas
24	Papua New Guinea	10.8 million	462,840 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
25	Paraguay	7.0 million	406,752 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Americas
26	Republic of the Congo	6.5 million	342,000 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
27	New Zealand	5.3 million	268,838 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
28	Uruguay	3.4 million	176,215 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Americas
29	Namibia	3.1 million	824,292 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
30	Gabon	2.6 million	267,667 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
31	Botswana	2.6 million	581,730 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
32	Lesotho	2.4 million	30,355 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
33	Equatorial Guinea	1.9 million	28,051 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
34	Timor-Leste	1.4 million	14,874 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Asia
35	Eswatini	1.3 million	17,364 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
36	Mauritius	1.2 million	2,040 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
37	Fiji	933,154	18,274 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
38	Comoros	882,847	2,235 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
39	Solomon Islands	838,645	28,896 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
40	Maldives	529,676	298 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Asia
41	Vanuatu	335,169	12,189 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
42	Sao Tome and Principe	240,254	964 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Africa
43	Samoa	219,306	2,831 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
44	Kiribati	136,488	811 km²	Partly (crossed by the equator)	Oceania
45	Seychelles	122,730	455 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Africa
46	Tonga	103,742	747 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
47	Nauru	12,025	21 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania
48	Tuvalu	9,492	26 km²	Entirely in the southern hemisphere	Oceania

Data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) city coordinates; population: World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0); area: CIA World Factbook (public domain).

Which countries are in the southern hemisphere?

By continent: Africa (17), Oceania (10), Americas (6) and Asia (1) countries lie wholly south of the equator. All of Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica, most of South America and the southern third of Africa are in the southern hemisphere.

Countries crossed by the equator

Indonesia, Brazil, DR Congo, Kenya, Colombia, Uganda, Somalia, Ecuador, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Maldives, Sao Tome and Principe and Kiribati are partly in both hemispheres. See countries on the equator.

Seasons are reversed

South of the equator summer runs from December to February and winter from June to August — Christmas falls in midsummer in Australia, Argentina and South Africa. That makes the southern hemisphere a popular escape from the northern winter; see where to go in January.

Related rankings

Frequently asked questions

How many countries are in the southern hemisphere?

34 countries lie entirely in the southern hemisphere, and 14 more are partly in it because the equator crosses them.

What is the largest country in the southern hemisphere?

Australia is the largest country entirely in the southern hemisphere; Brazil is larger but straddles the equator.

What is the most populous country in the southern hemisphere?

Tanzania among countries wholly south of the equator. Indonesia and Brazil have more people, but both straddle the equator.

Is Australia in the southern hemisphere?

Yes — Australia lies entirely in the southern and eastern hemispheres.