Your partner for a bigger tomorrow
Quick Facts
Official Name:
Latin America, South America
Population: (2008)
385,742,554
Largest Countries: (by population)
Brazil: 193,891,867
Colombia: 45,656,990
Argentina: 40,085,130
Peru: 29,368,000
Venezuela: 29,132,000
Chile: 17,295,000
Ecuador: 14,228,000
Bolivia: 9,182,000
Paraguay: 6,158,000
Uruguay: 3,463,000
Guyana: 751,000
Suriname: 499,000
Largest cities:
São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Bogotá, Santiago
Belo Horizonte, Caracas, Porto Alegre
Major Languages:
Portuguese, Spanish, English, Dutch, French, Italian, Arabic, and dozens of indigenous languages
GDP (2009):
$4.061 trillion
Countries, such as Brazil and Argentina, have taken large strides in opening up their markets to a more liberalized trade policy.
Overview
With a large and increasingly connected population, and markets that are ever more linked to those in the north, particularly those in the United States, business leaders both in the region and around the world are anxious to see the development of Central and South American business.
Countries like Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay and Ecuador have grown increasingly attractive to international investors. However, much of the region is beset by political instability, which in turn can lead to fluctuating currencies and precarious economies.
Only the growth of business-to-business e-commerce is assured in the short term, while the consumer market faces more serious challenges.
E-commerce
The legal framework for e-commerce in South and Central America was fairly underdeveloped in the very early 2000s, thus inhibiting the possibilities for growth. Today, a few countries have negotiated tax treaties with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela.
As technologies become cheaper and infrastructure grows more sophisticated and widespread, entrepreneurs remain hopeful that the consumer Internet market in Central and South America will ripen.
Did you know?
- An important trade partner, United States trade with Latin America is approximately $134.5 billion in exports (20% of total exports).
- Jupiter Communications expects Latin America to be the fastest growing Internet population in the world.
- With a population of almost 380 million, and covering 12 percent of Earth's surface area, South America is the fourth largest continent.