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Union of South American Nations

Union of South American
Flag of Union of South American Nations  Unión de Naciones Suramericanas  (Spanish)    União de Nações Sul-Americanas  (Portuguese)    Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties  (Dutch)
Flag
UNASUR members (dark green)
UNASUR members (dark green)
Administrative centers
Largest city São Paulo, Brazil
Official languages
Demonym South American
Type Continental union
Membership
Leaders
• President
Uruguay Tabare Vazquez
Colombia Ernesto Samper
Legislature  - South American Parliament
Establishment Formation
8 December 2004
23 May 2008
• Treaty in force
11 March 2011
Area
• Total
17,715,335 km2 (6,839,929 sq mi)
• Water (%)
8.91
Population
• 2015 estimate
418,175,687
• Density
23.6/km2 (61.1/sq mi) (194th)
GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate
• Total
$6.564 trillion (4th)
• Per capita
$15,855 (76th)
GDP (nominal) 2014 estimate
• Total
$4.173 trillion (4th)
• Per capita
$10,080 (69th)
Currency
Time zone (UTC-2 to -6)
Calling code see list
Internet TLD

The Union of South American Nations (USAN; Spanish: Unión de Naciones Suramericanas, UNASUR; Portuguese: União de Nações Sul-Americanas, UNASUL; Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties, UZAN) is an intergovernmental regional organization comprising 12 South American countries.

The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty was signed on 23 May 2008, at the Third Summit of Heads of State, held in Brasília, Brazil. According to the Constitutive Treaty, the Union's headquarters will be located in Quito, Ecuador. On 1 December 2010, Uruguay became the ninth state to ratify the UNASUR treaty, thus giving the union full legality. As the Constitutive Treaty entered into force on 11 March 2011, UNASUR became a legal entity during a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador, where they had laid the foundation stone for the Secretariat Headquarters. The South American Parliament will be located in Cochabamba, Bolivia, while the headquarters of its bank, the Bank of the South are located in Caracas, Venezuela.

On 4 May 2010, at a heads of state summit held in Campana, 75 km (47 mi) north of Buenos Aires, former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner was unanimously elected the first Secretary General of UNASUR for a two-year term.

At the Third South American Summit on 8 December 2004, presidents or representatives from 12 South American nations signed the Cusco Declaration, a two-page statement of intent announcing the foundation of the South American Community. Panama and Mexico attended the signing ceremony as observers.


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