Brazil dominates Mercosur with 72% of GDP

Brazil holds the largest share of Mercosur’s GDP at 72%. In 2022, Brazil’s nominal GDP reached US$1.92 trillion, while the combined GDP of all member nations, including Brazil, amounted to US$2.67 trillion.

Argentina ranks second in the bloc with a GDP of US$632.2 billion, followed by Uruguay at US$71.9 billion and Paraguay at US$41.3 billion.

These figures are based on data from the IMF, Mercosur, and ECLAC, as reported by Austin Rating.

The GDP growth rate for Mercosur in 2022 was 3.5%, with an average of 0.42% from 2014 to 2022.

Argentina and Uruguay experienced the highest increases at 5.2% and 4.9% respectively, while Brazil recorded 2.9% growth and Paraguay had a minimal increase of 0.1%.

Argentina faced the largest GDP drop in 2020 due to the pandemic.

In terms of population, Brazil has the largest population in Mercosur with 203 million people.

Argentina has 46.8 million inhabitants, while Paraguay and Uruguay have populations of 7.6 million and 3.6 million respectively.

Regarding inflation, Argentina has the highest rate among Mercosur countries, with an index of 114.2% for the 12 months until May 2023.

The other member countries have much lower inflation levels: Brazil at 3.9%, Paraguay at 5.1%, and Uruguay at 7.1%.

In terms of trade balance, Brazil’s exports and imports exceeded the total of all other Mercosur countries in 2022.

Brazil recorded US$312.6 billion in exports and US$253.8 billion in imports, resulting in a positive trade balance of US$58.7 billion.

Argentina and Uruguay also maintained positive balances of US$14.9 billion and US$494 million respectively, while Paraguay had a negative balance of US$5.6 billion.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil assumed leadership of Mercosur on July 4, 2023, focusing on strengthening regional integration and advancing the bloc’s agreement with the European Union.

The Mercosur Presidents’ Summit took place in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, with discussions on these matters.