North Americais the northerncontinentof theAmericas, situated in theEarth'snorthern hemisphereand in thewestern hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by theArctic Ocean, on the east by theNorth Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by theCaribbean Sea, and on the west by theNorth Pacific Ocean;South Americalies to the southeast. It is thethird-largestcontinent in area, followingAsiaandAfrica, and the fourth in population afterAsia,Africa, and Europe. North America produces most of the world's corn, meat, cotton, soybeans, tobacco, and wheat, along with a variety of other food and industrial raw material crops. Mineral resources are also abundant; the large variety includes coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, natural gas, petroleum, mercury, nickel, potash, and silver. The manufacturing that provided a high standard of living for the people of Canada and the United States has significantly declined, and formerly abundant factory jobs are increasingly replaced by those in the service sector. Much of this manufacturing has moved to Mexico (especially in the border zone adjoining the United States), which offers a large and inexpensive labor force.
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