Economy of South America
Population: | 364.24 million |
GDP (PPP): | $8,3 trillion |
GDP (Currency): | $1.97 trillion |
GDP/capita (PPP): | $10,264 |
GDP/capita (Currency): | $8,663 |
Annual growth of per capita GDP: |
9.00% (2006) |
Income of top 1%: | 44.37% |
Millionaires: | 3 million (0.08%) |
Unemployment | 9% (2002) |
Most numbers are from nationmaster.com from 2002, some numbers exclude certain countries for lack of information. | |
Template:World economy infobox footer |
The economy of South America comprises around 371 million people living in twelve nations and three territories.
Economic development
As of early 2007, South America is experiencing great economic development, with Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and Peru growing their economies by over 8% per annum. Chile is also experiencing continued growth of 6% for the last few years on the back of copper prices. Brazil's economy, on the other hand, is expected to grow by a more sluggish pace during the year.
South America relies heavily on the exporting of goods. On an exchange rate basis Brazil (the seventh largest economy in the world and the second largest in America) leads the way in total amount of exports at $137.8 billion dollars followed by Chile at 58.12 billion and Argentina with 46.46 billion.[1]
GDP ranks as of 2008
GDP (PPP) 2008
Note: French Guiana, unlisted here, had a total GDP of US$3.52 billion in 2006 (at real exchange rates, not at PPP).[2]
Rank in world | Country | GDP |
---|---|---|
10 | Brazil | $2,131,608 million |
25 | Argentina | $741,713 million |
32 | Colombia | $426,063 million |
36 | Venezuela | $335,000 million |
46 | Chile | $245,617 million |
54 | Peru | $244,971 million |
60 | Ecuador | $98,280 million |
66 | Bolivia | $39,780 million |
96 | Uruguay | $37,280 million |
98 | Paraguay | $35,310 million |
168 | Guyana | $4,129 million |
173 | Suriname | $3,690 million |
Source: CIA World Factbook[3] |
GDP per capita (PPP) 2006
Note: French Guiana, unlisted here, had a GDP per capita of US$17,336 in 2006 (at real exchange rates, not at PPP).[2]
Rank in world | Country | GDP per capita |
---|---|---|
50 | Chile | $15,983 |
56 | Argentina | $14,109 |
65 | Uruguay | $10,028 |
68 | Brazil | $9,108 |
96 | Venezuela | $8,986 |
97 | Peru | $8,480 |
99 | Colombia | $6,565 |
101 | Ecuador | $5,816 |
103 | Suriname | $5,683 |
105 | Guyana | $4,612 |
107 | Paraguay | $4,555 |
125 | Bolivia | $2,817 |
Source: List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita |
GNI per capita
- Gross national income (GNI) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad. GNI per capita is gross national income divided by mid-year population. GNI per capita in US dollars is converted using the World Bank Atlas Method.
Country | GNI per capita | |
---|---|---|
Chile | $6,980 | |
Venezuela | $6,070 | |
Uruguay | $5,310 | |
Argentina | $5,150 | |
Brazil | $4,730 | |
Suriname | $3,200 | |
Peru | $2,920 | |
Ecuador | $2,840 | |
Colombia | $2,740 | |
Paraguay | $1,400 | |
Guyana | $1,130 | |
Bolivia | $1,100 | |
Source: World Bank[4] |
External Debt
- External debt (or foreign debt) is that part of the total debt in a country that is owed to creditors outside the country. The debtors can be the government, corporations or private households. The debt includes money owed to private commercial banks, other governments, or international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.
Rank in world | Country | External Debt |
---|---|---|
26 | Brazil | $230.3 billion |
33 | Argentina | $118.0 billion |
47 | Chile | $49.18 billion |
48 | Venezuela | $45.44 billion |
49 | Colombia | $43.30 billion |
63 | Peru | $27.81 billion |
72 | Ecuador | $17.56 billion |
78 | Uruguay | $12.0 billion |
108 | Bolivia | $3.80 billion |
111 | Paraguay | $3.632 billion |
151 | Guyana | $1.2 billion (2002 est.) |
164 | Suriname | $504.3 million (2005 est.) |
Source: CIA World Factbook[5] |
Annual economic growth
Country | Annual economic growth (%) | |
---|---|---|
Peru | 9.8% | |
Argentina | 8.7% | |
Venezuela | 8.4% | |
Colombia | 7.0% | |
Uruguay | 7.0% | |
Paraguay | 6.4% | |
Ecuador | 6.3% | |
Suriname | 5.5% | |
Brazil | 5.4% | |
Guyana | 5.4% | |
Chile | 5.0% | |
Bolivia | 4.2% | |
Source: List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate[6] |
Unemployment rate (lowest to highest)
Rank in world | Country | Unemployment rate (%) |
---|---|---|
69 | Paraguay | 5.60 |
85 | Peru | 6.90 |
86 | Chile | 7.00 |
94 | Bolivia | 7.50 |
109 | Venezuela | 8.50 |
113 | Uruguay | 9.20 |
114 | Brazil | 9.30 |
116 | Ecuador | 9.30 |
118 | Suriname | 9.50 |
129 | Colombia | 11.20 |
146 | Argentina | 14.10 |
N/A | Guyana | - |
Source: CIA World Factbook[7] |
Poverty line (lowest to highest)
Year of estimate |
Country | Population below poverty line (%) |
---|---|---|
2005 | Chile | 18.2 |
2007 | Argentina | 23.4 |
2006 | Uruguay | 27.4 |
2005 | Brazil | 31 |
2005 | Paraguay | 32 |
2005 | Venezuela | 37.9 |
2006 | Ecuador | 38.3 |
2008 | Peru | 39.8 |
2005 | Colombia | 49.2 |
2006 | Bolivia | 60 |
2002 | Suriname | 70 |
N/A | Guyana | - |
Source: CIA World Factbook[8] |
Annual inflation
Country | Annual inflation(%) | |
---|---|---|
Peru | 1.80% | |
Ecuador | 2.20% | |
Brazil | 3.60% | |
Chile | 4.40% | |
Colombia | 5.50% | |
Suriname | 6.40% | |
Paraguay | 8.10% | |
Uruguay | 8.10% | |
Bolivia | 8.70% | |
Argentina | 8.80% | |
Guyana | 12.20% | |
Venezuela | 18.70% | |
Source: CIA World Factbook[9] |
Public debt (lowest to highest)
- Refers to what is owed by the combined public sector to both domestic and foreign creditors.
Country | Public debt (% of GDP) | |
---|---|---|
Chile | 3.60 | |
Venezuela | 88.61 | |
Paraguay | 27.10 | |
Peru | 29.30 | |
Ecuador | 30.40 | |
Brazil | 43.90 | |
Colombia | 53.90 | |
Bolivia | 46.20 | |
Uruguay | 53.1 | |
Argentina | 59.00 | |
Guyana | N/A | |
Suriname | N/A | |
Source: CIA World Factbook[10] |
Trade blocs
The biggest Trade Bloc in South America is Mercosur (or Mercosul in Portuguese), comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Associate states include Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The second-biggest trade bloc is the Andean Community of Nations comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and as of 2006 Chile. The Union of South American Nations is expected to merge both trade blocs.
Currency
Below is a list of the currencies of South America, with exchange rates between each currency and both the euro and US dollars.
Table correct as of January 16 2008; click price to obtain a current quote
References
- xe.com Universal Currency Converter provides latest figures.
Economic sectors
Agriculture
Main products include: Coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus, beef
Manufacturing
Industries are also important to South America’s economy. Most South American factories produce food items, consumer goods, or building materials. Larger countries also produce cars, trucks, and airplanes. Some of these companies import all the parts and raw materials needed for manufacturing which limits the amount of profits they can receive for the item. An important factor that is crucial to the success of industries is importing and exporting. An organization called Mercosur helps to expand trade, improve transportation, and reduce tariffs among member countries.
Transport
At the beginning of August 2008, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and his colleagues from Argentina and Brazil spoke about Latin American integration and Chavez threw an ambitious idea out: a train that would connect Venezuela's capital (Caracas) with Argentina's (Buenos Aires), and cities in between [11].
Economy by country
Economy of:
References
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - Exports
- ^ a b Template:Fr icon INSEE-CEROM. "Les comptes économiques de la Guyane en 2006 : premiers résultats" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-01-14.
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - GDP (purchasing power parity)
- ^ http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GNIPC.pdf
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - Debt - external
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - GDP - real growth rate
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - Unemployment rate
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Field Listing - Population below poverty line
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2092rank.html
- ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Rank Order - Public debt
- ^ http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/train-to-cross-south-america-southern-train-venezuela-argentina.php