🇧🇷 Brazil · 2026 edition
Investing in São Paulo
São Paulo ranks 8 of 13 Latin American cities on the ProLatam Data Index with 44.1 of 100, and 8 of 13 on the ProLatam Score. Its strongest pillar is infrastructure (55), its weakest is tax competitiveness (26). A foreign shareholder pays 40.60% in total on repatriated profit.
ProLatam Data Index
44.1
Rank 8 of 13, balanced weighting
ProLatam Score
43.0
Rank 8 of 13, market-entry weighting
Strongest pillar
Infrastructure
55 of 100
Weakest pillar
Tax Competitiveness
26 of 100
How São Paulo scores on each pillar
Eight pillars, each normalized to 0 to 100 by a fixed published rule. A dash means the source does not cover São Paulo, which is not the same as a zero. Coverage of the weighted index for this city is 100%.
Swipe the table sideways for the reported value, the weights and the source.
What a foreign shareholder pays in Brazil
Corporate income tax plus the standard non-treaty withholding on the dividend paid out of what is left, which is the figure that actually reaches an owner abroad.
Total on repatriated profit
40.60%
Corporate income tax
34.0%
Dividend withholding
10.0%
Standard non-treaty rate
Compliance hours per year
1501
World Bank Paying Taxes, 2018 data
Brazil taxes on a worldwide basis, so worldwide income is in scope. 34% is IRPJ 15% plus a 10% surtax plus CSLL 9%. Dividends became taxable on 1 January 2026 at 10% for non-residents under Law 15,270/2025, having been exempt before. Compliance is the highest measured anywhere: 1,501 hours a year, and the CBS/IBS VAT reform is only in its pilot year.
Context, published but not scored
These shape a decision without belonging in the index. FDI inflows track the size of an economy rather than the appeal of a city, and a sovereign rating measures a government's ability to repay debt rather than a company's ability to operate.
GDP growth 2026
1.9%
IMF World Economic Outlook, national
FDI inflows
$77.7B
National, latest published year
Sovereign rating
BB (Stable)
Long-term foreign currency
English proficiency
518 (Moderate)
EF EPI city score, 1 to 800
Where Brazil has moved since 2021
The rule of law pillar is the only one of the eight with a series comparable across five editions, so it is the only place this profile shows a direction rather than a snapshot. Scores are national, 0 to 1, higher is better.
2021
0.500
2022
0.494
2023
0.490
2024
0.497
2025
0.503
Over the period Brazil held broadly steady, +0.003 points. A move under 0.005 is reported as flat rather than as a trend. Compare all 10 economies.
Sectors with a documented presence
Financial & Economic Center
São Paulo state generated 31.5% of Brazil’s GDP in 2023, the largest share of any state, and the city is the region’s leading startup ecosystem.
SourceData Centers, Cloud & AI
Microsoft is investing R$ 14.7 bn over three years in cloud and AI infrastructure across São Paulo state; Brazil draws an estimated 41% of the region’s data-center investment.
SourceWhere Brazil's inbound FDI comes from
National statistics, share of inbound foreign direct investment.
- United States28.0%
- Netherlands16.0%
- Luxembourg9.0%
- France7.0%
- Other40.0%
Banco Central do Brasil, FDI equity stock at end-2024 by immediate investor.
Citing the São Paulo figures
Published under CC BY 4.0. Reuse is welcome, including commercially, with credit and a link.
Pro Latam. (2026). ProLatam Latin American City Investment Index 2026 (Version 2026.4) [Data set]. https://invest.pro-latam.orgSource: Pro Latam Investment Hub, ProLatam Data Index 2026 (https://invest.pro-latam.org). Updated 2026-09-04.
Considering São Paulo for a market entry?
Pro Latam has been placing international companies in Latin America since 2010. The ranking is the public part of the work, and the rest is the part that depends on what you are actually trying to build.