Economy of South America.html



The economy of South America comprises around 371 million people living in twelve nations and three territories.

Economic development

São Paulo, Brazil. One of the financial centers of South America, and also the fifth biggest city in the world. See List of metropolitan areas by population.

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

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

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.

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.

Annual economic growth

Unemployment rate (lowest to highest)

Poverty line (lowest to highest)

Annual inflation

Public debt (lowest to highest)

• Refers to what is owed by the combined public sector to both domestic and foreign creditors.

Regional variation

Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Colombia, in this order, have the largest economies in South America, while Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay have the best Human Development Index of South America. Venezuela, in turn, has large oil reserves that have turned the nation into an important player in world trade.

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

See also

• South America

v • d • e  Union of South American Nations Members Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Uruguay · Venezuela Topics Bank of the South · South American Parliament · Mercosur · Andean Community · Cuzco Declaration · 2004 South American Summit · South American Energy Summit · Initiative for Infrastructure Integration of South America

v • d • e Economy of South America Sovereign states Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama1 · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago1 · Uruguay · Venezuela Dependencies Aruba1 / Netherlands Antilles1 (Netherlands) · Falkland Islands / South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) 2 / French Guiana (France) 1 Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (North America and/or Central America).  2 Territories also in or commonly reckoned to be in Antarctica.