Argentina is the second largest country in South America, after Brazil. In 2008, it had a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of USD 7 160 and a population of 39.9 million. Although the country’s development has been affected in many ways by its turbulent political and economic history, in the past 25 years Argentina has made considerable progress towards building a successful market economy.

Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the world's eighth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power parity (PPP), according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Brazil has a free market economy with abundant natural resources. The Brazilian economy has been predicted to become one of the five largest in the world in the decades to come, with growing gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. It has large and developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, as well as a large labour pool.

Chile has a dynamic market-oriented economy which is characterised by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio Aylwin – who took over from the military in 1990 – deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) averaged 8% from 1991–97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies (implemented to keep the current account deficit in check) and because of lower export earnings – the latter being a product of the Asian financial crisis. Chile's economy has since recovered and has seen growth rates of 5-7% over the past few years. In 2006, Chile became the country with the highest nominal GDP per capita in Latin America.

In spite of the difficulties presented by serious internal armed conflict, Colombia's market economy grew steadily in the latter part of the 20th century, with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing at an average rate of over 4% per year between 1970 and 1998. The country suffered a recession in 1999 (the first full year of negative growth since the Great Depression) and the recovery from that recession was long and painful. However, in recent years growth has been impressive, reaching 8.2% in 2007, one of the highest rates of growth in Latin America. Meanwhile the Colombian stock exchange climbed from 1 000 points at its creation in July 2001 to over 7 300 points by November 2008.

Located in Central America, Costa Rica had a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of USD 6 060 in 2008 and a population of 4.5 million. Traditionally open to foreign investment, during the last decade Costa Rican economic policies have been oriented towards fostering an optimal penetration of the country into international markets, mainly by expanding and diversifying its export base.

The Dominican Republic is an upper middle-income developing country. In the trimester of January–March 2007 it experienced an exceptional growth of 9.1% in its gross domestic product (GDP), which was actually below the previous year's 10.9% in the same period. Growth was led by imports, followed by exports, with finance and foreign investment the next largest factors.

The economy of Mexico is the eleventh largest in the world. After rapid economic, social and technological growth beginning in the 1990s, Mexico is now one of the world's fastest growing economies, with a stable growth rate of 7.6%. Since the 1994 crisis, administrations have improved the country's macroeconomic fundamentals. Mexico was not significantly influenced by the 2002 South American crisis and has maintained positive rates of growth after a brief period of stagnation in 2001. Moody's (in March 2000) and Fitch IBCA (in January 2002) issued investment-grade ratings for Mexico's sovereign debt. In spite of its unprecedented macroeconomic stability, which has reduced inflation and interest rates to record lows and has increased per capita income, enormous gaps remain between the urban and rural populations, central and peripheral states, and the rich and the poor. However the majority of the population has been part of the growing middle class since the late 1990s. Some of the government's challenges include the upgrade of infrastructure, the modernisation of the tax system and labour laws, and the reduction of income inequality.

Peru is a developing country with a market-oriented economy; it has a high Human Development Index score of 0.723 based on 2010 data. Historically, the country's economic performance has been tied to exports, which provide hard currency to finance imports and external debt payments. Although exports have provided substantial revenue, self-sustained growth and a more egalitarian distribution of income have proven elusive. According to 2008 data, 36.2% of Peru's total population is poor, including 12.6% that is considered extremely poor.