I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but I would like to make one point about South America because I've travelled extensively in the region.
You really can't refer to South America as a single region. Argentina, Chile, and much of Brazil are very developed by anyone's standards - and are beautiful countries. The cities of Peru and Uruguay and Venezuela and Colombia are as advanced as many European cities whereas the rural areas are very poor. Paraguay and Bolivia, being landlocked, are quite poor (although even here some of the cities are surprisingly developed). I found Guyana to be very much a third world country, with local UN staff providing very basic health training and personal safety being a bit of an issue (there was a murder in the hotel in which I was staying). Surinam, while similar is many ways, is quite different from its neighbour.
The point is that referring to South America is rather like referring to Europe. Can you group Moldova and Switzerland together, or Albania and Spain? It makes no sense.
Incidentally, French Guiana is officially part of France. Heavily pregnant women in Surinam row across the river that separates the countries in order to give birth there - because their babies become European citizens and later in life can settle in any EU country.