In 2025, 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 2.3 trillion U.S. dollars, whereas Mexico's amounted to almost 1.8 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.

This dataset provides values for GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

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 11 countries was 11093.98 U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Uruguay: 22797.81 U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Bolivia: 3686.28 U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Guyana had the highest real gross domestic product (GDP) in the Americas in 2023, reaching ** percent. Panama followed behind with *** percent. On the other hand, the GDP of Haiti decreased by *** percent in 2023.

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.

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The average for 2024 based on 11 countries was 5.66 percent. The highest value was in Guyana: 43.37 percent and the lowest value was in Ecuador: -2 percent. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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 2023, Puerto Rico was the territory in Latin America and the Caribbean with the highest share of value added by the manufacturing industry to the gross domestic product (GDP). Around 45 percent of the total value added to Puerto Rico's GDP was generated by this sector. If values for 2022 are also considered, Suriname ranked second, with a share that amounted to 29 percent.

The average for 2023 based on 19 countries was 0.32 percent. The highest value was in Brazil: 2.08 percent and the lowest value was in Haiti: 0.02 percent. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of 2024, three out of ten Latin American and Caribbean cities with the highest local purchasing power were located in Mexico. With an index score of 51.3, people in Querétaro had the highest domestic purchasing power in Mexico. In South America, the city with the highest domestic purchasing power for 2024 was Montevideo, scoring 53 index points.

In 2024, the military expenditure of Colombia accounted for approximately 3.36 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the highest share in Latin America and the Caribbean. Ecuador is also one of the countries in the region with the highest military budget in relation to its GDP, having spent an estimated sum comparable to 2.2 percent of its GDP on military expenditures.

In 2025, Luxembourg was the country with the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world. Of the 20 listed countries, 13 are in Europe and five are in Asia, alongside the U.S. and Australia. There are no African or Latin American countries among the top 20. Correlation with high living standards While GDP is a useful indicator for measuring the size or strength of an economy, GDP per capita is much more reflective of living standards. For example, when compared to life expectancy or indices such as the Human Development Index or the World Happiness Report, there is a strong overlap - 14 of the 20 countries on this list are also ranked among the 20 happiest countries in 2024, and all 20 have "very high" HDIs. Misleading metrics? GDP per capita figures, however, can be misleading, and to paint a fuller picture of a country's living standards then one must look at multiple metrics. GDP per capita figures can be skewed by inequalities in wealth distribution, and in countries such as those in the Middle East, a relatively large share of the population lives in poverty while a smaller number live affluent lifestyles.

Brazil, the most populated country and the economy with the highest GDP in Latin America, had the largest market research revenue in the region in 2022. Out of all the Latin American and Caribbean countries included in the study, Brazil ranked first, with a market research revenue of *** million U.S. dollars, followed by Mexico, with *** million U.S. dollars.

In 2025, Brazil was forecast to hold approximately 29 percent of the e-commerce market in Latin America and the Caribbean, closely followed by Mexico with over 26 percent of the e-commerce revenue in the region. 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 2024, Latin America saw its largest e-commerce economy thrive. That year, online shopping in Brazil generated nearly 205 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 2025 alone, this marketplace attracted close to 240 million shoppers to its platform, surpassing its closest rival, Amazon Brasil, by around 32 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 2025, mobile retail e-commerce sales in the region were forecast to reach approximately 106 billion U.S. dollars, quadrupling the 2019 figures before the COVID-19 pandemic. In Brazil, books were the most purchased product category via mobile devices in 2024.

In 1938, the year before the Second World War, the United States had, by far, the largest economy in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). The five Allied Great Powers that emerged victorious from the war, along with the three Axis Tripartite Pact countries that were ultimately defeated made up the eight largest independent economies in 1938.

When values are converted into 1990 international dollars, the U.S. GDP was over 800 billion dollars in 1938, which was more than double that of the second largest economy, the Soviet Union. Even the combined economies of the UK, its dominions, and colonies had a value of just over 680 billion 1990 dollars, showing that the United States had established itself as the world's leading economy during the interwar period (despite the Great Depression).

Interestingly, the British and Dutch colonies had larger combined GDPs than their respective metropoles, which was a key motivator for the Japanese invasion of these territories in East Asia during the war. Trade with neutral and non-belligerent countries also contributed greatly to the economic development of Allied and Axis powers throughout the war; for example, natural resources from Latin America were essential to the American war effort, while German manufacturing was often dependent on Swedish iron supplies.

The average for 2023 based on 11 countries was 7.99 percent. The highest value was in Bolivia: 13.47 percent and the lowest value was in Chile: 3.49 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

According to a survey conducted in a selection of countries in Latin America in 2024, Argentina was the nation with the highest share of respondents that believed there was readily available information on healthcare services in the country, with 48 percent of interviewees agreeing with that statement. Meanwhile, only 35 percent of respondents in Peru claimed the same about their local health care system. In 2020, Argentina was one of the Latin American countries with the highest share of GDP allocated to health care. By 2024, health expenditure in the country is expected to reach around 10.25 percent of the Argentinian gross domestic product (GDP).

This horizontal bar chart displays GDP (current US$) by demonym using the aggregation sum in South America. The data is about countries.