In 2025, South America ranks fourth in terms of nominal GDP by continent, behind Europe and after Africa and Oceania.

Brazil is the largest economy in South America in terms of Nominal GDP, it has a vast and diverse economic landscape encompassing agriculture, manufacturing, services, and natural resources.

Argentina which is South America's second largest economy, boasts a rich history of industrialization and a well-developed agricultural sector.

Renowned for its stable political environment, strong social welfare system, and diversified economy, Uruguay has consistently ranked among the top nations in terms of human development and standard of living.

This can be explained by South America's high concentration on primary commodities as well as the state of the educational system and institutional structure, some of which are still related to its colonial past, others to recent political developments.

[9] Brazil saw this decline in output due to increasing unemployment levels, worsening financial conditions, and political issues, which, in turn, led to a decrease in private domestic consumption and investment.

[9] Argentina also experienced a recession in private consumption and investment; however, it was because of the removal of public service subsidies due to a short-term rise in inflation.

In contrast, Peru differed from other countries in the region, demonstrating an increase in growth rates thanks to copper production.

Higher public investments and private consumption have resulted in the growth of the economy of Argentina compared to its recession in 2016.

[10] In 2018, South America's economy showed mixed results due to political instability, fluctuating commodity prices, and structural challenges.

In contrast, Chile, Peru, and Colombia maintained stable growth, driven by mining exports and infrastructure investment.

It has a wide variety of agricultural products, mineral wealth, plentiful freshwater and rich fisheries.

[23] Other exports from the tropical regions, such as the Amazon rainforest (contained within Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia French Guiana and Suriname), include cashews and Brazil nuts, globally regarded as delicacies,[24] as well as sugar (sugarcane), avocados, bananas, pineapples, oranges, grapefruits, and mangoes.

[23] Additionally in cold climatic regions such as the Andes, there is a high production of crops such as quinoa, increasingly valued internationally, as well as the grazing of llamas, vicuñas and alpacas.

[31] In 2018, Argentina was the 4th largest producer of beef in the world, with a production of 3 million tons (behind only USA, Brazil and China).

Accounting for 28.5 percent of GDP, Brazil's industries range from automobiles, steel, and petrochemicals to computers, aircraft (Embraer), food, pharmaceutical, footwear, metallurgy and consumer durables.

[102] In the production of natural gas, in 2018, Argentina produced 1524 bcf (billion cubic feet), Venezuela 946, Brazil 877, Bolivia 617, Peru 451, Colombia 379.

Brazil has 44 international airports, such as those in Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Florianópolis, Cuiabá, Salvador, Recife, Fortaleza, Belém and Manaus, among others.

Argentina has important international airports such as Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Bariloche, Mendoza, Salta, Puerto Iguazú, Neuquén and Usuhaia, among others.

Chile has important international airports such as Santiago, Antofagasta, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas and Iquique, among others.

Other important airports are those in the capitals of Uruguay (Montevideo), Paraguay (Asunción), Peru (Lima), Bolivia (La Paz) and Ecuador (Quito).

Chile has important ports in Valparaíso, Caldera, Mejillones, Antofagasta, Iquique, Arica and Puerto Montt.

[118] The Argentine rail network, with 47,000 km of tracks, was one of the largest in the world and continues to be the most extensive in Latin America.

It came to have about 100,000 km of rails, but the lifting of tracks and the emphasis placed on motor transport gradually reduced it.

In Brazil, this transport is still underutilized: the most important waterway stretches, from an economic point of view, are found in the Southeast and South of the country.

Its full use still depends on the construction of locks, major dredging works and, mainly, of ports that allow intermodal integration.

In Argentina, the waterway network is made up of the La Plata, Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers.

[120] In the total generation of electricity, in 2019 Brazil reached 170,000 megawatts of installed capacity, more than 75% from renewable sources (the majority, hydroelectric).

Brazil's hydroelectric potential has not yet been fully exploited, so the country still has the capacity to build several renewable energy plants in its territory.

Argentina was, in 2017, the 18th largest producer in the world, and the largest producer in Latin America, of natural gas, in addition to being the 28th largest oil producer; although the country has the Vaca Muerta field, which holds close to 16 billion barrels of technically recoverable shale oil, and is the second largest shale natural gas deposit in the world, the country lacks the capacity to exploit the deposit: it is necessary capital, technology and knowledge that can only come from offshore energy companies, who view Argentina and its erratic economic policies with considerable suspicion, not wanting to invest in the country.