🍕 Central and South America: Economies
South America contains many developing countries. This means that their economies have not fully matured into modern economies.
Take a look at the Economic Indicators of South American and Central American Countries.
| GDP PER CAPITA | LIFE EXPECTANCY | LITERACY RATE | INFANT MORTALITY RATE | |
| ARGENTINA | 20,537 | 77 | 99.5 | 8 |
| BELIZE | 8,412 | 75 | 77.6 | 11 |
| BOLIVIA | 7,477 | 70 | 99.4 | 21 |
| BRAZIL | 16,154 | 77 | 99.0 | 12 |
| CHILE | 25,978 | 81 | 99.4 | 6 |
| COLOMBIA | 14,943 | 77 | 98.7 | 12 |
| COSTA RICA | 12,558 | 80 | 99.1 | 8 |
| CUBA | 12,300 | 79 | 99.9 | 4 |
| DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 17,000 | 74 | 98.8 | 24 |
| ECUADOR | 11,718 | 77 | 99.1 | 12 |
| EL SALVADOR | 7,734 | 73 | 98.0 | 11 |
| GUATEMALA | 8,200 | 74 | 94.4 | 21 |
| GUYANA | 8,519 | 66 | 96.7 | 24 |
| HAITI | 1,800 | 64 | 72.3 | 48 |
| HONDURAS | 4,593 | 75 | 96.1 | 15 |
| JAMAICA | 9,200 | 74 | 96.3 | 12 |
| NICARAGUA | 3,336 | 74 | 87.0 | 14 |
| PANAMA | 17,830 | 78 | 97.6 | 13 |
| PARAGUAY | 13,395 | 75 | 98.5 | 17 |
| PERU | 14,224 | 76 | 98.9 | 10 |
| SURINAME | 15,105 | 71 | 97.7 | 16 |
| URUGUAY | 23,274 | 79 | 98.9 | 6 |
| VENEZUELA | 12,500 | 76 | 98.8 | 21 |
Even though it has a modest GDP per capita, Brazil has the 9th largest economy in the world. Some see Brazil as having the potential to become one of the world's most powerful economies. This is because...
- Natural Resources. Brazil has vast sources of timber (trees) and minerals (precious metals, etc.) Because it is not advanced, Brazil has not exploited these resources to the extent many modern nations already have exploited their own natural resources.
- Labor. Brazil has the 6th largest population in the world. Almost 15% of Brazil's workers are unemployed.
- Openness to foreign investment.
Rio De Janeiro - a picture of economic contrasts
Watch this video about Favelas in Rio
This next video shows that some Favelas are not even found on Google Maps.
Why are Favelas not on the map? It is because they popped up as unregulated housing - housing that the city did not plan. So the city does not have official records of these homes, shops and streets.
Economic Activities in South America
Most large cities of South America are very similar to large cities in the U.S. Workers serve in many types of businesses. Government, schools and universities, restaurants and factories are common.
But there are some activities which are more common than others.
Mining [the number is the country's rank in world production]
- Gold: Peru-6; Brazil-10
- Silver: Peru-2; Chile-6; Bolivia-7; Argentina-9
- Copper: Chile-1; Peru-2; Brazil-14
Forestry
- Brazil is the 4th largest producer of timber products in the world
Mining is a huge part of Chile's economy. It is the largest Copper producer in the world.
Quiz when you have finished the videos above, and read the information above, you are ready to take the Quiz on the next page. Then come back to this page and watch the videos below if any time remains.
Check out these videos which tell the story of one of the greatest rescues in modern history. There are five videos. Total watching time is 24 minutes.