In 2024, only two Latin American or Caribbean country registered deflation in their average consumer prices. St Lucia and Costa Rica had the lowest change compared to the previous year with -0.45 and -0.41 percent, respectively. In contrast, the average inflation rate in Argentina amounted to about 219.89 percent.

Latin America among the highest inflation rates in the world In 2023, the average inflation rate of the region was around 14.41 percent. Which is significantly higher than the global average of 6.78 percent. Some of that is explained by countries such as Venezuela, Argentina, and Suriname ranking in the top then of countries with the highest inflation rate in the world.

Chronic inflation in Latin America Chronic inflation is often defined as persistent high inflation throughout a long time. Some of the common examples of this problem are Venezuela and Argentina, both countries had episodes of hyperinflation, with price increases considerably over 50 percent per month in both cases. The last few years, the global crisis and economic sanctions, attenuated the situation with Argentina reaching once again three-digit inflation and Venezuela exceeding 63,000 percent inflation in 2019.

This statistic shows the average inflation rate in Latin America and the Caribbean from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the average inflation rate in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to about 16.56 percent compared to the previous year.

Graph and download economic data for Inflation, consumer prices for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean (FPCPITOTLZGLAC) from 1960 to 2024 about Caribbean Economies, Latin America, consumer prices, consumer, and inflation.

This dataset provides values for INFLATION RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Food price inflation in Latin America and the Caribbean reached 77.62 percent in December 2024 compared to the same month the previous year. The surge in food prices has significant implications for household budgets and food security throughout Latin America. Regional variations and contributing factors While the overall trend shows a sharp increase in food prices, there are notable differences among countries in the region. Venezuela and Argentina consistently rank among the nations with the highest food price inflation, while Panama and Ecuador have experienced relatively lower rates. The consumer price index for food in Latin America and the Caribbean jumped from 425.38 points in June 2023 to 1,223.53 points in June 2024, representing an increase of over 158 percent. This rapid escalation in food costs has put considerable strain on consumers across the region. Global context and consumer impact The food price inflation crisis in Latin America is part of a broader global trend. Zimbabwe, for instance, recorded the highest level of real food inflation worldwide between December 2023 and April 2024, with a 46 percent increase compared to the previous year. Argentina followed with a 20 percent increase. The impact on consumers is significant, with many finding it increasingly difficult to afford healthy and sustainable food options. In Argentina, 62 percent of respondents reported difficulty in purchasing such foods due to a lack of affordability, an increase of 7 percentage points from 2021. Similar challenges were observed in other Latin American countries, including Peru, where the share of respondents reporting difficulties rose from 19 percent to 25 percent between 2021 and 2023.

In December 2024, the country with the highest food price inflation compared to the same month of the previous year in Latin America and the Caribbean was Argentina, with an inflation rate of ***** percent. Ranking second was Haiti, with ***** percent. In contrast, Suriname was the only country in the region where the inflation rate decreased by **** percent.

In December 2024, the average consumer price index (CPI) for food in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to ******** points. In contrast, a year earlier, this value was of ******. This represents an increase of over ** percent. That month, the countries with the highest food CPI included Venezuela and Argentina. The countries with some of the lowest food price inflation included Panama and Ecuador.

In December 2024, the consumer price index (CPI) in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to ***** points. In contrast, a year earlier, this value stood at ***. This represents an increase of about ** percent.

La moyenne pour 2024 était de 4.7 pour cent. La valeur la plus élevée était au Haïti: 26.9 pour cent et la valeur la plus basse était au Costa Rica: -0.4 pour cent. Vous trouverez ci-dessous un graphique pour tous les pays où les données sont disponibles.

The Consumer Price Index gauges the price changes in a basket of goods and services in a defined time period. In Argentina, the CPI in April 2024 was 289 percent higher than the one registered the same month of the previous year, with this figure being the largest monthly inflation rate since, at least, the beginning of 2018. The Argentinian inflation rate has been experiencing a steep increase from December 2020 onwards, when the decreasing trend witnessed since December 2019 came to an end. Long history of inflation in Latin America High inflation rates are nothing new in Latin America. In 2023, the region's inflation rate was 14.41 percent, while the global average was much lower at 6.78 percent. Nonetheless, the main drivers of this are Venezuela and Argentina, both being in the upper table of countries with the highest inflation rates in the world. During the last few years, Venezuela entered a period with five-digits inflation rates, having to issue a new currency and implementing new policies to control price increases.

A history of hyperinflation During the last couple of years, inflation has been a constant among the main problems the Argentine society faces. The country returned to a three-digit inflation rate with former president Alberto Fernández, and the constant price increases took a toll on households across the board. Nevertheless, the problem is far from a recent one or the worst it's ever been, in 1989 and 1990, the inflation rate was over 2,000 percent, reaching for the status of hyperinflation. Commonly, hyperinflation is defined as price increases with over 50 percent per month.

Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, leads Latin American cities with the highest apartment sale prices in 2025, averaging ***** U.S. dollars per square meter. This figure surpasses other major metropolitan areas like Mexico City and Buenos Aires, highlighting significant disparities in real estate markets across the region. The data underscores the varying economic conditions and housing demand in different Latin American urban centers. Regional housing market trends While Montevideo tops the list for apartment prices, other countries in Latin America have experienced notable changes in their housing markets. Chile, for instance, saw the most substantial increase in house prices since 2010, with its nominal house price index surpassing *** points in early 2025. However, when adjusted for inflation, Mexico showed the highest inflation-adjusted percentage increase in house prices, growing by nearly *** percent in the first quarter of 2025, contrasting with a global decline of one percent. Home financing in Mexico The methods of home financing vary across Latin America. A breakdown of homeownership by financing method in Mexico reveals that about two-thirds of owner-occupied housing units were financed through personal resources in 2022. Nevertheless, government-backed loans such as Infonavit (Mexico’s National Housing Fund Institute), Fovissste (Housing Fund of the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers), and Fonhapo (National Fund for Popular Housing), play an important role for homebuyers, with just over ** percent of home purchases relying on such finance. Bank credit, which offers mortgage loans with interest rates ranging between **** and ** percent, appeared as a less popular option.

The inflation rate for both Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean reached more than 12 percent in 2023. Among the provided continents or regions, Asia and the Pacific had the lowest inflation rate that year. Consumer prices increased around the world following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Inflation and food security Increases in food costs are one of the most prominent impacts of inflation globally. In the United Kingdom, for example, consumers have indicated that they have worried more about food costs in 2023 than in previous years. Meanwhile, in Canada, only a small fraction of survey respondents have said that inflation has had little impact on household food costs. Consumers have responded to rising food costs through various coping mechanisms. For example, Italian consumers have indicated that they purchase less unnecessary products, cut down on waste, and buy more discounted items in order to save costs. Changing consumer behvaiors Outside of food consumption, consumers have changed their purchasing behaviors with other types of goods and services. Surveying has indicated that nearly 60 percent of consumers have adjusted their shopping habits due to inflation. When holiday shopping in 2023, over 50 percent of Americans and over one third of British consumers said inflation had considerable impact on their holiday shopping. By generation, the Millenial generation has suffered the most due to rising inflation, while older generations have experienced less serious impacts.

In 2025, advertising spending in the presented 24 Latin American and Caribbean markets will collectively amount to an estimated ***** billion U.S. dollars, of which ***** billion dollars (around ** percent) will come from Brazil alone. Mexico will follow with ***** billion dollars, while Argentina rounded up the top three with almost **** billion dollars. Advertising in Brazil According to another source's projections, Brazil's ad expenditure is set to continue to expand as the 2020s unfold. That study projected that, after a double-digit boom in 2024, growth rates would decelerate in the following years. Thus, the Brazilian ad industry was expected to increase by little more than * percent in 2025. The Mexican ad market Ad revenues in Mexico were also predicted to keep their upward trajectory since the pandemic, rising by nearly ** percent between 2021 and 2024, according to another source's forecasts. Mexico ranked among the fastest-growing Latin American ad markets in 2024, only behind Argentina – whose inflation rate tends to push expenditures further – and Brazil.

Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, leads Latin American cities with the highest apartment sale prices in 2024, averaging 3,454 U.S. dollars per square meter. This figure surpasses other major metropolitan areas like Mexico City and Buenos Aires, highlighting significant disparities in real estate markets across the region. The data underscores the varying economic conditions and housing demand in different Latin American urban centers. Regional housing market trends While Montevideo tops the list for apartment prices, other countries in Latin America have experienced notable changes in their housing markets. Chile, for instance, saw the most substantial increase in house prices since 2010, with its nominal house price index surpassing 342 points in early 2024. However, when adjusted for inflation, Mexico showed the highest inflation-adjusted percentage increase in house prices, growing by nearly five percent in the first quarter of 2024, contrasting with a global decline of one percent. Home financing in Mexico The methods of home financing vary across Latin America. A breakdown of homeownership by financing method in Mexico reveals that about two-thirds of owner-occupied housing units were financed through personal resources in 2022. Nevertheless, government-backed loans such as Infonavit (Mexico’s National Housing Fund Institute), Fovissste (Housing Fund of the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers), and Fonhapo (National Fund for Popular Housing), play an important role for homebuyers, with just over 20 percent of home purchases relying on such finance. Bank credit, which offers mortgage loans with interest rates ranging between nine and 12 percent, appeared as a less popular option.

In 2023, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas were the states with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean. The average GDP generated per person in the Bahamas amounted to 34,749 U.S. dollars, whereas the average wealth created per capita in Puerto Rico was estimated at around 34,749 U.S. dollars. In that same year, this region's lowest GDP per capita was that of Haiti, at less than 1,693 U.S. dollars per person per year. The largest economies in Latin America GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year. It is an important indicator to measure the economic strength of a country and the average wealth of its population. By far, the two largest economies in the region are Brazil and Mexico, both registering GDPs three times bigger than the third place, Argentina. Nonetheless, they are the two most populated countries by a great margin.
Key economic indicators of Latin America Latin America emerges as an important region in the world economy, as of 2023, around 7.3 percent of the global GDP, a similar share to the Middle East. Nevertheless, the economic development of most of its countries has been heavily affected by other factors, such as corruption, inequality, inflation, or crime and violence. Countries such as Venezuela, Suriname, and Argentina are constantly ranking among the highest inflation rates in the world. While Jamaica, Ecuador, and Haiti rank as some of the most crime-ridden states.

The so-called Big Mac index is regarded as an indicator for the purchasing power of an economy. The average price for a Big Mac burger in Colombia was estimated at **** U.S. dollars in January 2025. Colombia price for a Big Mac is among the four highest in Latin America. Big Mac IndexThe Bic Mac index has been published annually by The Economist since 1986 and is rated as a simplified indicator of a country’s individual purchasing power. As many countries have different currencies, the standardized Big Mac prices are calculated by converting the average national Big Mac prices with the latest exchange rate to U.S. dollars.The Big Mac, as the top-selling McDonald’s burger, is used for comparison because it is available in almost every country and manufactured in a standardized size, composition and quality. McDonald’s is a worldwide operating fast food restaurant chain with headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois. In Latin America, McDonald's largest franchisee is Arcos Dorados Holdings, with headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay. Inflation in Colombia Over the past two decades, Colombia has generally seen a decline in the inflation rate, with a small upward trend as of 2023, reaching ***** percent. However, there are forecasts indicating a steady decline in the inflation rate for the next five years. In the year 2024, the annual inflation rate has been lower compared to previous years, particularly in the sector of information and communication, which recorded a negative inflation rate of *** percent, This has placed Colombia at the fifth position among Latin American countries with the highest annual inflation rate in comparison to previous years as of 2023.

In 2023, four of the five largest global advertising holdings operating in Latin America surpassed 2019 pre-pandemic results. WPP plc recorded the highest revenue in the region at over *********** U.S. dollars – almost ** percent more than four years earlier. Meanwhile, Omnicom Group's 2023 revenue stood just below *** million dollars, a decrease of **** percent compared to the 2019 figure.

Expectations for the Latin American ad industry It was projected that, in 2024, ad spending in Latin America will grow by ***** percent and reach **** billion dollars. The annual figure was predicted to continue to rise in the following years, surpassing ** billion dollars by 2026. Argentina's ad expenditure alone was expected to increase by nearly ** percent in 2024, albeit mostly due to inflation. Uruguay, Mexico, and Brazil were also among the forecast fastest-growing Latin American ad markets that year.

Worldwide, French ad corporations break records Two holdings based in France and operating in Latin America reached new heights in 2023. Publicis Groupe's global net revenue reached a record-high ** billion euros. Meanwhile, Vivendi SE's Havas Group saw its annual worldwide results amount to an unprecedented **** billion euros.