Today, Political Calculations is ranking the nations of the Western Hemisphere, looking at their GDP-PPP (Gross Domestic Product adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity), population and GDP-PPP per capita of the independent nations of North America, South America, Central America and the Carribbean. The information is presented in a dynamic table format, which means that you may rank the data either from least to greatest or greatest to least in the table by clicking the individual column heads:
| GDP of the Americas: 2004 Edition |
|---|
| Country | GDP-PPP (billions $USD) | Population (2004 est.) | GDP-PPP per Capita |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | 0.8 | 68320 | 10978 |
| Argentina | 483.5 | 39144753 | 12352 |
| Bahamas, The | 5.3 | 299697 | 17668 |
| Barbados | 4.6 | 278289 | 16418 |
| Belize | 1.8 | 272945 | 6514 |
| Bolivia | 22.3 | 8724156 | 2560 |
| Brazil | 1492.0 | 184101109 | 8104 |
| Canada | 1023.0 | 32507874 | 31469 |
| Chile | 169.1 | 15823957 | 10686 |
| Colombia | 281.1 | 42310775 | 6644 |
| Costa Rica | 38.0 | 3956507 | 9597 |
| Cuba | 33.9 | 11308764 | 2999 |
| Dominica | 0.4 | 69278 | 5543 |
| Dominican Republic | 55.7 | 8833634 | 6303 |
| Ecuador | 49.5 | 13212742 | 3747 |
| El Salvador | 32.4 | 6587541 | 4911 |
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | 0.1 | 2967 | 25278 |
| French Guiana | 1.6 | 191309 | 8107 |
| Greenland | 1.1 | 56384 | 19509 |
| Grenada | 0.4 | 89357 | 4924 |
| Guatemala | 59.5 | 14280596 | 4164 |
| Guyana | 2.9 | 705803 | 4107 |
| Haiti | 12.1 | 7656166 | 1574 |
| Honduras | 18.8 | 6823568 | 2754 |
| Jamaica | 11.1 | 2713130 | 4102 |
| Mexico | 1006.0 | 104959594 | 9585 |
| Netherlands Antilles | 2.5 | 218126 | 11232 |
| Nicaragua | 12.3 | 5359759 | 2302 |
| Panama | 20.6 | 3000463 | 6856 |
| Paraguay | 29.9 | 6191368 | 4834 |
| Peru | 155.3 | 27544305 | 5638 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.3 | 38836 | 8729 |
| Saint Lucia | 0.9 | 164213 | 5274 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.3 | 117193 | 2918 |
| Suriname | 1.9 | 436935 | 4314 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 11.5 | 1096585 | 10469 |
| United States | 11750.0 | 293027571 | 40099 |
| Uruguay | 49.3 | 3399237 | 14494 |
| Venezuela | 145.2 | 25017387 | 5804 |
| The Americas (All) | 16986.8 | 870598188 | 19512 |
Analyzing the Data
The Richest and Poorest Nations of the Americas
For 2004, the United States maintains a dominating spread over second-place Canada to again earn the title of being the richest nation in the Americas. When we break the field into subcategories that do not include the U.S.: South America, the Caribbean, and Central America. We find that for South America, the economic powerhouse of that continent, as measured by GDP-PPP per Capita, is Uruguay, followed closely by Argentina. Looking at the Carribbean region, The Bahamas leads Barbados. Finally, the richest nation in Central America is Costa Rica, which is closely followed by Mexico in the measure of GDP-PPP per Capita.
Haiti continues to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, falling far behind next lowest economic performer Nicaragua.
Biggest Changes Since 2002
Hands down, the biggest percentage change from 2002 to 2004 belongs to Uruguay, which increased from a GDP-PPP per Capita figure of $7,764 USD in 2002 to $14,494 USD in 2004 - an average annualized rate of change of 36.6%! The U.S. Department of State describes how Uruguay achieved this phenomenal rate of growth:
Uruguay's spectacular recovery over the past couple of years has been based on increased exports, especially to North America. The U.S. became Uruguay’s largest export market in 2004, thanks in large part to meat exports. Uruguay enjoys a positive investment climate, with a strong legal system and open financial markets. It grants equal treatment to national and foreign investors and, aside from very few sectors, there is neither de jure nor de facto discrimination toward investment by source or origin.
This growth came after a period in which Uruguay went through one of the "steepest economic and financial crisis in recent history," which followed a convergence of crises occurring with the country's major trading partners in South America, and which contributed to low GDP output in 2002.
Data Sources:
GDP-PPP Data: 2004 GDP-PPP Data for Individual Nations
Population Data: July 2004 Population Estimates
GSP and GDP per Capita: This data was calculated by simply dividing the published GDP-PPP data by each nation's population estimate for July 2004.
Previously on Political Calculations
2004 Economic and Population Data
2002 Economic and Population Data
- EU vs USA
- Cool Tools and GSP
- GDP of the Americas
- GDP in the Muslim World
- GDP in Europe
- GDP: Africa
- GDP Along the Pacific Rim
- GDP in Asia
- GDP: And the rest...
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