In 2024, Brazil and Mexico were expected to be the countries with the largest gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin America and the Caribbean. In that year, Brazil's GDP could reach an estimated value of 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars, whereas Mexico's amounted to almost two trillion U.S. dollars. GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year. It measures the economic strength of a country and a positive change indicates economic growth.

Guyana was the South American country 20360the highest gross national income per capita, with 20,360 U.S. dollars per person in 2023. Uruguay ranked second, registering a GNI of 19,530 U.S. dollars per person, based on current prices. Gross national income (GNI) is the aggregated sum of the value added by residents in an economy, plus net taxes (minus subsidies) and net receipts of primary income from abroad. Which are the largest Latin American economies? Based on annual gross domestic product, which is the total amount of goods and services produced in a country per year, Brazil leads the regional ranking, followed by Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Many Caribbean countries and territories hold the highest GDP per capita in this region, measurement that reflects how GDP would be divided if it was perfectly equally distributed among the population. GNI per capita is, however, a more exact calculation of wealth than GDP per capita, as it takes into consideration taxes paid and income receipts from abroad. How much inequality is there in Latin America? In many Latin American countries, more than half the total wealth created in their economies is held by the richest 20 percent of the population. When a small share of the population concentrates most of the wealth, millions of people don't have enough to make ends meet. For instance, in Brazil, about 5.32 percent of the population lives on less than 3.2 U.S. dollars per day.

In 2023, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas were the states with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean. The average GDP generated per person in the Bahamas amounted to 34,749 U.S. dollars, whereas the average wealth created per capita in Puerto Rico was estimated at around 34,749 U.S. dollars. In that same year, this region's lowest GDP per capita was that of Haiti, at less than 1,693 U.S. dollars per person per year. The largest economies in Latin America GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year. It is an important indicator to measure the economic strength of a country and the average wealth of its population. By far, the two largest economies in the region are Brazil and Mexico, both registering GDPs three times bigger than the third place, Argentina. Nonetheless, they are the two most populated countries by a great margin.
Key economic indicators of Latin America Latin America emerges as an important region in the world economy, as of 2023, around 7.3 percent of the global GDP, a similar share to the Middle East. Nevertheless, the economic development of most of its countries has been heavily affected by other factors, such as corruption, inequality, inflation, or crime and violence. Countries such as Venezuela, Suriname, and Argentina are constantly ranking among the highest inflation rates in the world. While Jamaica, Ecuador, and Haiti rank as some of the most crime-ridden states.

The average for 2023 based on 11 countries was 10329.52 U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Guyana: 23325.12 U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Bolivia: 3168.73 U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Haiti is expected to experience the worst economic recession in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024. Haiti's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 is forecast to be 3 percent lower than the value registered in 2023, based on constant prices. Aside from Argentina, Haiti, and Puerto Rico, most economies in the region were likely to experience economic growth in 2024, most notably, Guyana.

The average for 2023 based on 19 countries was 9351.03 U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Puerto Rico: 30122.84 U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Haiti: 1210.03 U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of April 2021, Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP) was forecasted to increase by five percent during 2021. Mexico was one of the Latin American countries that faced the worst recession after the COVID-19 pandemic, as its GDP fell over eight percent in 2020. Among the biggest economies in the region, Brazil was expected to experience one of the lowest GDP growth in 2021, at around 3.7 percent.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

According to recent estimates, the most affected sectors by the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America would be wholesale and retail trade as well as services in general, such as tourism, foodservice, transport, and communications. In 2020, this group of most affected sectors was forecasted to represent more than 16 percent of Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP). Among the countries shown in this graph, Brazil is the nation where sectors moderately affected by the pandemic could represent the highest contribution to GDP (75.8 percent).

Which Latin American economies were most vulnerable to the pandemic? In 2020, the economic sectors most affected by the coronavirus pandemic - wholesale and retail, hotels and restaurants, transport and services in general - were forecasted to account for 35.5 percent of Panama’s GDP. In addition, the moderately and most affected economic segments were estimated to contribute the most to Panama’s GDP (a combined 97.6 percent) than any other country in this region. A similar scenario was projected in Mexico, where the sectors that would least suffer the pandemic's negative effects would account for only 3.4 percent of GDP.

Did the pandemic put a stop to economic growth in Latin America? Economic growth changed dramatically after the COVID-19 outbreak. Most of the largest economies in Latin America fell under recession in 2020. Estimates predict a more optimistic scenario for 2021, with countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina growing their GDP at least five percent.

In 2017, Brazil’s gross domestic product reached 2.05 billion U.S. dollars, 63 percent of which came from the services sector. The service sector consists of the provision of services both to other businesses and to final consumers, and the service sector often encompasses transportation, distribution, and sale of goods.

Brazil’s position in the global economy

Nations with economies built on the service sector are considered more advanced than industrial or agricultural economies, and indeed, Brazil is considered an advanced emerging economy with the largest share of wealth in Latin America. Brazil has the eighth largest GDP in the world and is one of the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) — certain countries with strong economic development and rising influence on regional affairs.

Brazil’s economic strengths and challenges

Brazil is also known for its agriculture and food production, with its main products including soybeans, beef, and coffee. As of 2018, Brazil is the leading producer of coffee, at over 61 thousand 60 kilogram bags. The country has an estimated 21.8 trillion U.S. dollars of natural resource commodities, including, gold, iron, oil, and timber. However,retrieving them often happens at the expense of the environment, including ongoing deforestation in the Amazon Basin, which contains the largest rainforest in the world.

The average for 2022 based on 11 countries was 1026.03 million U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Brazil: 7651.75 million U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Guyana: 0.11 million U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 2007 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2024, Brazil held approximately 29 percent of the e-commerce market in Latin America and the Caribbean, closely followed by Mexico with over 26 percent. Throughout the year, various economies in the region were poised to increase their market share, with Brazil and Mexico exhibiting the most substantial growth in online sales. The largest market has a foreign leader In 2023, Latin America saw its largest e-commerce economy thrive. That year, online shopping in Brazil generated nearly 186 billion Brazilian reals in revenue. Competition among online retailers for Brazilian shoppers is fierce, but Mercado Libre (Mercado Livre in Brazil), founded in Argentina, remains at the forefront. In February 2024 alone, this marketplace attracted close to 321 million shoppers to its platform, surpassing its closest rival, Amazon Brasil, by 11 percent. Mobile commerce: a game-changer Mobile devices have played a pivotal role in democratizing internet access and online purchasing in Latin America. By the end of 2024, mobile retail e-commerce sales in the region reached approximately 97 billion U.S. dollars, tripling the 2019 figures before the COVID-19 pandemic. Brazil emerged as the regional leader in m-commerce revenue, with sales amounting to about 30 billion in 2022, and showed the highest mobile participation over total online retail sales.

The average for 2021 based on 7 countries was 959 metric tons. The highest value was in Peru: 3310 metric tons and the lowest value was in Ecuador: 2 metric tons. The indicator is available from 2002 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2024 based on 12 countries was 20.91 percent. The highest value was in Argentina: 139.71 percent and the lowest value was in Peru: 2.44 percent. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2028. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, Mercado Libre's digital retail media advertising revenue in Latin America amounted to an estimated 625 million U.S. dollars, making it the region's leading online retail media network. Amazon's operations in the two largest Latin American economies – Brazil and Mexico – collectively generated an estimated 237 million dollars in retail media ad revenue.

This statistic shows the share of economic sectors in gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin America & Caribbean from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, the share of agriculture in Latin America & Caribbean's gross domestic product was 6.51 percent, industry contributed approximately 31.04 percent and the services sector contributed approximately 65.43 percent.

In 2024, approximately 22.81 million people lived in the São Paulo metropolitan area, making it the biggest in Latin America and the Caribbean and the fifth most populated in the world. The homonymous state of São Paulo was also the most populous federal entity in the country. The second place for the region was Mexico City with 22.51 million inhabitants.

Brazil's cities

Brazil is home to two large metropolises, only counting the population within the city limits, São Paulo had approximately 12.4 million inhabitants, and Rio de Janeiro around 6.8 million inhabitants. It also contains a number of smaller, but well known cities such as Brasília, Salvador, Belo Horizonte and many others, which report between 2 and 3 million inhabitants each. As a result, the country's population is primarily urban, with nearly 85 percent of inhabitants living in cities.

Mexico City

Mexico City's metropolitan area ranks fifth in the ranking of most populated cities in the world. Founded over the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1521 after the Spanish conquest as the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the city still stands as one of the most important in Latin America. Nevertheless, the preeminent economic, political, and cultural position of Mexico City has not prevented the metropolis from suffering the problems affecting the rest of the country, namely, inequality and violence. Only in 2021, the city registered a crime incidence of 45,336 reported cases for every 100,000 inhabitants and around 32 percent of the population lived under the poverty line.

IntroductionWe aimed to examine utilitarian bicycle use among adults from 18 large Latin American cities and its association with socio-economic position (education and income) between 2008 and 2018.MethodsData came from yearly cross-sectional surveys collected by the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). A total of 77,765 survey respondents with complete data were used to estimate multilevel logistic regression models with city as random intercept and year as random slope.ResultsIndividuals with high education and high-income levels had lower odds of using a bicycle compared with participants with lower education and income levels. These associations, however, changed over time with the odds of bicycle use increasing for all groups, especially among individuals with the highest education and income levels.DiscussionOur results confirm the broadening appeal of bicycling across socio-economic positions in several Latin American cities and reinforce the importance of considering policies aimed at supporting and enhancing bicycle travel for all users.

The average for 2020 based on 5 countries was 0.13 percent. The highest value was in Colombia: 0.23 percent and the lowest value was in Guyana: 0.01 percent. The indicator is available from 1995 to 2020. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2017 based on 8 countries was 399 robberies per 100,000 people. The highest value was in Argentina: 920 robberies per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Paraguay: 29 robberies per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 2003 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In 2023, four Caribbean nations were the countries with the highest gross national income per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean. On average, the national gross income amounted to around 31,990 U.S. dollars per person in the Bahamas, an island country which also had one of the highest gross domestic product per capita in this region. Outside the Caribbean Excluding the Caribbean, the economies with the highest national income per capita are generally located in South America, with the exceptions of Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico. Guyana leads among continental states with a national income of around 20.360 U.S. dollars per person. Gross national income (GNI) is the aggregated sum of the value added by residents in an economy, plus net taxes (minus subsidies) and net receipts of primary income from abroad. The biggest economies Brazil and Mexico are still miles ahead in the race for the biggest economy of Latin America. As of 2023, both nations exceeded the two trillion U.S. dollars mark in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While Argentina's GDP, third place, slightly surpassed the 600 billion U.S. dollars. Nonetheless, both nations also ranked as the most populated by far in the region.