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Economy of South America

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Economy of South America
During 2003 unless otherwise stated
Population: 364.24 million
GDP (PPP): $2.85 trillion
GDP (Currency): $0.97 trillion
GDP/capita (PPP): $7,264
GDP/capita (Currency): $2,663
Annual growth of
per capita GDP: 		Decrease0.29% (2002)
Income of top 10%: 44.37%
Millionaires: 0.3 million (0.08%)
Unemployment 10.76% (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

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, 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 2007

GDP (PPP) 2007
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
11 Brazil $1.838 trillion
25 Argentina $523.7 billion
32 Venezuela $335 billion
36 Colombia $320.4 billion
46 Chile $234.4 billion
50 Peru $217.5 billion
66 Ecuador $98.28 billion
96 Bolivia $39.78 billion
98 Uruguay $37.05 billion
109 Paraguay $26.55 billion
168 Guyana $4.047 billion
173 Suriname $3.449 billion
Source: CIA World Factbook[3]

GDP per capita (PPP) 2005
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 Argentina 14,109
56 Chile 12,983
65 Uruguay 10,028
68 Brazil $9,108
81 Colombia 7,565
96 Venezuela 6,186
97 Peru 5,983
99 Ecuador 5,816
101 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]

Unemployment rate (lowest to highest)

Rank in world Country Unemployment rate
(%)
82 Chile 7.00
89 Peru 7.40
97 Bolivia 8.00
106 Argentina 8.90
108 Venezuela 9.10
110 Uruguay 9.20
113 Suriname 9.50
116 Brazil 9.80
117 Ecuador 9.80
123 Colombia 10.60
129 Paraguay 11.40
N/A Guyana -
Source: CIA World Factbook[6]

Poverty line (lowest to highest)

Year of
estimate		 Country Population below
poverty line (%)
2005 Chile 18.2
2007 Argentina 23.4
2006 Uruguay 27.37
2005 Brazil 31
2005 Paraguay 32
2005 Venezuela 37.9
2006 Ecuador 38.5
2006 Peru 44.5
2005 Colombia 49.2
2006 Bolivia 60
2002 Suriname 70
N/A Guyana -
Source: CIA World Factbook[7]

Public debt (lowest to highest)

  • Refers to what is owed by the combined public sector to both domestic and foreign creditors.
Country Public debt (%)
Chile 3.60
Venezuela 27.00
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[8]

Regional variation

Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru 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. It is planned to have a yet unnamed South American currency and central bank in Brasília.

Country Currency 1 Euro = 1 USD = Central bank
Argentina Argentine peso (ARS) 4.60307 3.13996 Banco Central de la República Argentina [1]
Bolivia Bolivian boliviano (BOB) 11.0985 7.57080 Banco Central de Bolivia [2]
Brazil Brazilian real (BRL) 2.58963 1.76650 Banco Central do Brasil [3]
Chile Chilean peso (CLP) 701.020 478.200 Banco Central de Chile [4]
Colombia Colombian peso (COP) 2,869.97 1,957.74 Banco de la República [5]
Ecuador U.S. dollar (USD) 1.46611 1 Federal Reserve [6]
French Guiana Euro (EUR) 1 0.682078 European Central Bank [7]
Guyana Guyanese dollar (GYD) 297.547 202.950 Bank of Guyana [8]
Paraguay Paraguayan guaraní (PYG) 6,802.74 4,640.00 Banco Central del Paraguay [9]
Peru Peruvian nuevo sol (PEN) 4.32110 2.94732 Banco Central de Reserva del Perú [10]
Suriname Surinamese dollar (SRD) 4.10543 2.80000 Centrale Bank van Suriname [11]
Uruguay Uruguayan peso (UYU) 31.1529 21.2470 Banco Central del Uruguay [12]
Venezuela Venezuelan bolívar fuerte (VEF) 3.14447 2.14460 Banco Central de Venezuela [13]

Table correct as of January 16 2008; click price to obtain a current quote

References

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.

Economy by country

Economy of:

References

  1. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2078rank.html
  2. ^ a b Template:Fr icon INSEE-CEROM. "Les comptes économiques de la Guyane en 2006 : premiers résultats" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-01-14.
  3. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html
  4. ^ http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GNIPC.pdf
  5. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2079rank.html
  6. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2129rank.html
  7. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2046.html
  8. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2186rank.html

See also

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