What are the 10 richest countries in Latin America?

Guyana, the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Barbados, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

Where do Mexico, Brazil and Argentina rank?

Argentina is 7th (67.9 out of 100), Mexico 11th (63.5) and Brazil 17th (56.7). Brazil's GDP per head is in the regional middle, but it has one of the widest income gaps in the world.

What is the richest country in South America?

Guyana (82.9), then Uruguay (73.1), Chile (71.1) and Argentina (67.9). Without Guyana's recent oil revenue, Uruguay would lead South America.

How does Latin America compare with other regions?

The 28 countries average 59.6 out of 100, against 84.5 for Europe, 63.9 for Asia, 54.0 for Oceania and 34.9 for Africa. The United States (86.7) and Canada are on the world page.

HelloSafe Prosperity Index2026 edition · 28 countries · 5 indicators

The richest countries in Latin America in 2026

Latin American and Caribbean countries scored out of 100 on the world Prosperity Index scale, from public data: GDP, national income, human development, equality and poverty.

Latin America top 3 · 2026score /100

70–10060–7050–60under 50

Last updated: October 16, 2026100 % public, traceable data

Key facts to remember

The index in 30 seconds

28Latin American and Caribbean countries scored

59.6the region's average score /100

82.9Guyana, the richest country in Latin America

3regions: Mexico & Central America, the Caribbean, South America

Key takeaways · 20-second read

Guyana (82.9), the Bahamas (79.9) and Trinidad and Tobago (75.4) are the three richest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Caribbean has the highest regional average (62.5), just ahead of South America (61.0); Mexico and Central America average 54.5.
Uruguay (4th), Chile (6th) and Argentina (7th) lead the large South American countries; Mexico is 11th and Brazil 17th.
Income inequality is the region's weak point: 42.0 on average, with Brazil (13.1) and Panama (15.2) at the bottom.
Same scores as the world ranking: Guyana is 39th of the 178 countries of the world index.

How is the index built? See the methodology ↓

01 · Latin America ranking

2026 Latin America ranking

Latin American and Caribbean countries ranked on the same 0–100 score as the world ranking of the richest countries, with their place among the 178 countries of the world index. Click a country for its five indicator scores.

Search a country…

#1 in Latin America · #1 in South America · #39 worldwide

Guyana

82.9/10070–100

Guyana scores 82.9/100, #1 in Latin America, #1 in South America and #39 worldwide. Its strongest pillar is GDP per capita (PPP) (96.6), its weakest Human development (65.6). Before you go, make sure your policy covers medical expenses and repatriation.

Pillar breakdown

GDP per capita (PPP) 30 %96.6

National income per capita 20 %77.5

Human development 20 %65.6

Income equality 15 %76.5

Low poverty 15 %92.1

Pillar scores on 100, weighted into the overall 82.9.

Insurance for Guyana →

02 · Where the wealth is

The geography of prosperity in Latin America

Every country shown in its tier colour. Click a tier to show or hide it, click a country for its rank and score.

Showing 27 of 27 published countries · click a country for its info

Why are some countries grey? 28 countries are scored and 27 are shown on this page; the other score stays in our dataset and is available on request. Cuba is not scored (no recent GDP data); the United States and Canada are on the world page. What this study does not show ↓

03 · Regional rankings

Richest countries by region of Latin America

Three regions, each ranked on its own: every country with its rank in its region, in Latin America and worldwide. The Caribbean leads on average (62.5), ahead of South America (61.0) and Mexico and Central America (54.5).

Mexico & Central America · average 54.5 · 8 countries scored, 8 published

Richest countries in Mexico & Central America

1Costa Rica66.2#8
2Panama65.9#9
3Mexico63.5#11
4Belize56.1#18
5El Salvador52.5#22
6Guatemala48.9#24
7Nicaragua43.5#26
8Honduras39.7#27

Reader service: private hospitals in Latin America often ask for payment or a guarantee before treating a foreign patient, and an evacuation from the Amazon, Patagonia or a Caribbean island is costly. Compare policies by medical limit with our travel insurance comparison.

Reading the results

What separates Latin America's richest countries

Guyana's oil boom puts it first: since its offshore fields came on stream in 2019, its GDP per head has reached about $95,500 in purchasing power parity, the highest in the Americas, above the United States'.

Small Caribbean economies rank high: the Bahamas (2nd), Trinidad and Tobago (3rd) and Barbados (5th) combine high incomes with high human development.

Uruguay, Chile and Argentina lead South America's large countries: Chile has the region's best human development score (84.8), Argentina the second (82.3).

Inequality holds the region back: Brazil (Gini index 50.3) and Panama (49.7) have the lowest income equality scores. Panama has the second-highest GDP per head in the region, about $46,400, but ranks 9th; Brazil ranks 17th.

Mexico is 11th (63.5), behind Costa Rica (8th) and Panama (9th) in its region.

04 · How we score

Methodology

Built by HelloSafe's travel insurance team, independently of our comparison. The scores are those of the world Prosperity Index: a country carries the same score, on the same scale, on both pages. Every figure comes from a public international dataset, so the ranking can be reproduced from the sources.

Score /100= weighted sum30 %GDP per capita (PPP)20 %National income per capita20 %Human development15 %Income equality15 %Low poverty

SourcesIMF World Economic Outlook (GDP per capita in PPP, 2026 estimates), World Bank WDI (GNI per capita, Atlas method), UNDP Human Development Report 2025 (HDI), World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (Gini index, share below the societal poverty line). Regions: UN geoscheme (M49), Mexico grouped with Central America.

ProcessingIncomes on a log scale, as the UNDP does for the HDI. Min-max 0–100 over the 178 countries of the world index, Gini and poverty inverted, outliers winsorised, a missing inequality or poverty figure filled with the median of the country's World Bank income group.

RobustnessRank correlation of 0.99 with equal weights across the 28 countries; Guyana stays first.

Formula Prosperity Index = 0.30 × GDP + 0.20 × National income + 0.20 × Human development + 0.15 × Income equality + 0.15 × Low poverty

What this study does not show

27 of the 28 scored countries are shown; the other score stays in the dataset.
Colour bands are this page's own (70–100, 60–70, 50–60, under 50): on the world page's bands (90, 80, 70), 21 of the 27 countries shown would share the lowest one.
Guyana, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago have no recent inequality survey, so the median of their income group is used.
Guyana's GDP per head reflects oil revenue that is recent and concentrated; its national income (77.5) is lower than its GDP score (96.6).
Cuba and micro-states under 100,000 inhabitants are not scored.
Relative, not absolute: a score compares countries with each other. Prices, cost of living and wealth within a country are not measured.
Data window: latest release of each source at publication (October 2026).

New in 2026First Latin America edition28 countries scored, 3 regionsSame scale as the world indexGuyana #1

Questions on the method? Contact us →

05 · For journalists

Visuals you can publish

This is exactly what your readers will see: the live block, with its credit link. Free to reproduce; a PNG version is included for CMSs that strip iframes.

HelloSafe Prosperity Index 2026

The richest countries in Latin America70–10060–7050–60under 50Source: HelloSafe, The richest countries in Latin America in 2026

Map of Latin America · live embed, PNG version includedDownload PNG

“Guyana is the richest country in Latin America and the Caribbean with 82.9 out of 100 on the HelloSafe Prosperity Index, ahead of the Bahamas (79.9) and Trinidad and Tobago (75.4).”

“Income inequality is Latin America's weakest indicator in the HelloSafe Prosperity Index: Brazil and Panama have the lowest equality scores of the region.”

“Uruguay, Chile and Argentina are the richest large countries of South America in the HelloSafe Prosperity Index; Mexico is 11th and Brazil 17th in the region.”

Quotes by Antoine Fruchard, travel insurance expert and author of the index · Contact us

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Guyana tops the 2026 HelloSafe Prosperity Index for Latin America and the Caribbean with 82.9 out of 100, ahead of the Bahamas (79.9) and Trinidad and Tobago (75.4). Its oil boom has given it the highest GDP per head in the Americas, about $95,500 in purchasing power parity.

Index updatesThe 2027 ranking is on its way. Be the first to see it.New scores, new countries, the dataset and the press kit, in your inbox on publication day.

Once a year, plus corrections. Privacy policy

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