This is an alphabetical list of sovereign states and dependent territories in North America. This list uses the most inclusive definition of North America, which covers the landmass north of the Panama-Colombia border, and the islands of the Caribbean. North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast.