In 2023, it was estimated that approximately 664 million people lived in Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil is the most populated country in the region, with an estimated 216.4 million inhabitants in that year, followed by Mexico with more than 128.5 million.

The population of Latin America and the Caribbean increased from 175 million in 1950 to 515 million in 2000. Where did this growth occur? What is the magnitude of change in different places? How can we visualize the geographic dimensions of population change in Latin America and the Caribbean? We compiled census and other public domain information to analyze both temporal and geographic changes in population in the region. Our database includes population totals for over 18,300 administrative districts within Latin America and the Caribbean. Tabular census data was linked to an administrative division map of the region and handled in a geographic information system. We transformed vector population maps to raster surfaces to make the digital maps comparable with other commonly available geographic information. Validation and error-checking analyses were carried out to compare the database with other sources of population information. The digital population maps created in this project have been put in the public domain and can be downloaded from our website. The Latin America and Caribbean map is part of a larger multi-institutional effort to map population in developing countries. This is the third version of the Latin American and Caribbean population database and it contains new data from the 2000 round of censuses and new and improved accessibility surfaces for creating the raster maps.

This map features the World Population Density Estimate 2016 layer for the Caribbean region. The advantage population density affords over raw counts is the ability to compare levels of persons per square kilometer anywhere in the world. Esri calculated density by converting the the World Population Estimate 2016 layer to polygons, then added an attribute for geodesic area, which allowed density to be derived, and that was converted back to raster. A population density raster is better to use for mapping and visualization than a raster of raw population counts because raster cells are square and do not account for area. For instance, compare a cell with 185 people in northern Quito, Ecuador, on the equator to a cell with 185 people in Edmonton, Canada at 53.5 degrees north latitude. This is difficult because the area of the cell in Edmonton is only 35.5% of the area of a cell in Quito. The cell in Edmonton represents a density of 9,810 persons per square kilometer, while the cell in Quito only represents a density of 3,485 persons per square kilometer. Dataset SummaryEach cell in this layer has an integer value with the estimated number of people per square kilometer likely to live in the geographic region represented by that cell. Esri additionally produced several additional layers: World Population Estimate 2016: this layer contains estimates of the count of people living within the the area represented by the cell. World Population Estimate Confidence 2016: the confidence level (1-5) per cell for the probability of people being located and estimated correctly. World Settlement Score 2016: the dasymetric likelihood surface used to create this layer by apportioning population from census polygons to the settlement score raster.To use this layer in analysis, there are several properties or geoprocessing environment settings that should be used:Coordinate system: WGS_1984. This service and its underlying data are WGS_1984. We do this because projecting population count data actually will change the populations due to resampling and either collapsing or splitting cells to fit into another coordinate system. Cell Size: 0.0013474728 degrees (approximately 150-meters) at the equator. No Data: -1Bit Depth: 32-bit signedThis layer has query, identify, pixel, and export image functions enabled, and is restricted to a maximum analysis size of 30,000 x 30,000 pixels - an area about the size of Africa.Frye, C. et al., (2018). Using Classified and Unclassified Land Cover Data to Estimate the Footprint of Human Settlement. Data Science Journal. 17, p.20. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2018-020.What can you do with this layer?This layer is primarily intended for cartography and visualization, but may also be useful for analysis, particularly for estimating where people living above specified densities. There are two processing templates defined for this layer: the default, "World Population Estimated 2016 Density Classes" uses a classification, described above, to show locations of levels of rural and urban populations, and should be used for cartography and visualization; and "None," which provides access to the unclassified density values, and should be used for analysis. The breaks for the classes are at the following levels of persons per square kilometer:100 - Rural (3.2% [0.7%] of all people live at this density or lower) 400 - Settled (13.3% [4.1%] of all people live at this density or lower)1,908 - Urban (59.4% [81.1%] of all people live at this density or higher)16,978 - Heavy Urban (13.0% [24.2%] of all people live at this density or higher)26,331 - Extreme Urban (7.8% [15.4%] of all people live at this density or higher) Values over 50,000 are likely to be erroneous due to spatial inaccuracies in source boundary dataNote the above class breaks were derived from Esri's 2015 estimate, which have been maintained for the sake of comparison. The 2015 percentages are in gray brackets []. The differences are mostly due to improvements in the model and source data. While improvements in the source data will continue, it is hoped the 2017 estimate will produce percentages that shift less.For analysis, Esri recommends using the Zonal Statistics tool or the Zonal Statistics to Table tool where you provide input zones as either polygons, or raster data, and the tool will summarize the average, highest, or lowest density within those zones.

The data were produced by WorldPop at the University of Southampton. These data include gridded population estimates, at approximately 100m resolution, for 40 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Appendix A). These results were created using official population estimates at the finest-available resolution provided by National Statistic Offices (NSOs) throughout the region, and built-up area, height and volume covariates produced from World Settlement Footprint 3D (WSF3D) datasets1. We acknowledge the contribution of WorldPop’s partners, notably the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office in supporting the collection of population and administrative boundary data, and to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for preparing and providing built settlement data from the WSF3D framework. Modelling work and geospatial data processing was carried out by McKeen T., Bondarenko M., Kerr D. and Sorichetta A. Esch T., Marconcini M., Zeidler J. and Palacios-Lopez D. prepared and provided the WSF3D datasets. Juran S. and Valle C. aided with population and administrative boundary data collection. Oversight was provided by Andrew J. Tatem fourth and final part.

Population Growth for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean was 0.72190 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Growth for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean reached a record high of 2.81451 in January of 1960 and a record low of 0.64510 in January of 2022. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Growth for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Latin America & Caribbean population density for 2022 was 32.59, a 0.6% increase from 2021.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Latin America & Caribbean population density for 2021 was <strong>32.39</strong>, a <strong>0.58% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Latin America & Caribbean population density for 2020 was <strong>32.21</strong>, a <strong>0.72% increase</strong> from 2019.</li>
<li>Latin America & Caribbean population density for 2019 was <strong>31.97</strong>, a <strong>0.81% increase</strong> from 2018.</li>
</ul>Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.

A total of around 664.16 million people lived in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023. The female population slightly exceeded the male population. In that year, approximately 337.17 million women lived in this region, around 50.7 percent of the total population. In both genders, the population has been gradually increasing since 2008.

As of 2024, Barbados was the most densely populated country in Latin America and the Caribbean, with approximately 652 people per square kilometer. In that same year, Argentina's population density was estimated at approximately 16.7 people per square kilometer.

As of January 2024, the Dominican Republic had the largest number of internet users in the Caribbean, with more than 10.14 million citizens online. Even though the Bahamas ranked seventh with 390.8 thousand users, it was the Caribbean sovereign state with the highest percentage of people online. Meanwhile, Montserrat was the territory with the smallest online population in the region, since only 2.4 thousand of its inhabitants accessed the internet.

This bar chart displays population (people) by country full name using the aggregation sum in Caribbean. The data is about countries.

Population ages 65 and above for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean was 9.27717 % of Total in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population ages 65 and above for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean reached a record high of 9.27717 in January of 2023 and a record low of 3.42629 in January of 1955. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population ages 65 and above for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Population, Total for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean was 594995068.00000 Persons in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population, Total for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean reached a record high of 595242966.00000 in January of 2020 and a record low of 197123485.00000 in January of 1960. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population, Total for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

As of January 2024, the Dutch territory of Aruba had the highest internet penetration rate in the Caribbean, with over 97.2 percent of its population online. As of that point, the sovereign state in the region with the highest percentage of citizens online was the Bahamas, with a rate of 94.4 percent. Meanwhile, only around 38.9 percent of Haiti's population were using the internet. Also, during this time, Chile had the highest social media reach within Latin America and the Caribbean.

Population Ages 0 to 14 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean was 22.98159 % of Total in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Ages 0 to 14 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean reached a record high of 43.26302 in January of 1966 and a record low of 22.98159 in January of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Ages 0 to 14 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 15 to 64 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean (SPPOP1564TOZSLAC) from 1960 to 2023 about Caribbean Economies, Latin America, 15 to 64 years, and population.

Graph and download economic data for Employment to Population Ratio for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean (SLEMPTOTLSPZSLAC) from 1991 to 2024 about Caribbean Economies, Latin America, employment-population ratio, employment, and population.

This table includes figures about the population on the islands of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius broken down by gender, age and country of birth on 1 January. Since 10 October 2010, the islands of Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius have been given the status of 'special municipality' of the Netherlands. On the grounds of their new status as 'special municipality', they are officially classified as public bodies of the Netherlands.

Data available from: 2011

Status of the figures: The figures in this table are final.

Changed on 19 May 2025: Figures of 1 January 2025 have been added.

Changed on 5 December 2024: None, this is a new table. This table succeeds the table CN; population, sex, age and country of birth; 2011-2024. See section 3. The following changes have been implemented compared to the discontinued table: - Persons born in countries that have since disintegrated (e.g. the Soviet Union) have been assigned to one of the countries that emerged from these old countries based on birthplace information. See also notes on 'Country of birth'; - The origin countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey have been assigned to continent Asia (was Europe);

When will new figures be published? New figures of 1 January 2026 will be published in the second quarter of 2026.

Population Ages 15 to 64 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean was 67.74124 % of Total in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Ages 15 to 64 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean reached a record high of 67.74124 in January of 2023 and a record low of 52.97665 in January of 1966. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Ages 15 to 64 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

This horizontal bar chart displays population (people) by country using the aggregation sum in Caribbean. The data is about countries.