South America vs South American country

South America and South American country both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
South America	Yes	No	No	No
South American country	Yes	No	No	No

South America (noun)	South American country (noun)
the nations of the South American continent collectively	any one of the countries occupying the South American continent
a continent in the western hemisphere connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama