Southern Hemisphere
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The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth's surface that is south of the equator.
It contains four continents (Africa, Australia, most of South America and Antarctica) and four oceans (South Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Antarctic).
Summer occurs from December to February and winter from June to August.
This region has historically been seen as less developed and poorer than the Northern Hemisphere. However, the Southern Hemisphere is also significantly less polluted than the Northern Hemisphere due to lower overall population densities, lower levels of industrialisation, and smaller land masses. The southern temperate zone in fact is nearly all water; the only countries it contains are Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, South Africa, the southern portion of Australia, and New Zealand. Only about 10% of the Earth's population lives in the Southern Hemisphere, with the most populous countries being Brazil and Indonesia (which has most of its people concentrated on the island of Java).
In the Southern Hemisphere the sun passes from East to West in the North. This generally causes sun-cast shadows to turn anticlockwise through the day.
The South Pole is oriented towards the galactic centre, and this, combined with clearer skies makes for excellent viewing of the night sky from the Southern Hemisphere.
Continents and countries
Continents in the southern hemisphere:
Countries primarily in the southern hemisphere that are in Africa:
- Angola
- Botswana
- Burundi
- Comoros
- Congo
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Gabon
- Lesotho
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Rwanda
- South Africa
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Countries primarily in the southern hemisphere that are in Asia:
Countries primarily in the southern hemisphere that are in Australasia and Oceania:
- Cook Islands
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Nauru
- New Zealand
- Niue
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Countries in the southern hemisphere that are in South America:
See also
de:Südhalbkugel et:Lõunapoolkera eo:Suda hemisfero fr:Hémisphère sud it:Emisfero australe nl:Zuidelijk halfrond ja:南半球 pl:Półkula południowa zh:南半球