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.

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.

Chart and table of South America population from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of Latin America And The Caribbean population from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

As of 2023, Brazil's population was almost the populations of all other South American countries combined. The only Portuguese-speaking country in the region had around 216 million inhabitants, more than four times the second place, Colombia, who had around 52 million inhabitants in the same year.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean (SPPOPGROWLAC) from 1961 to 2023 about Caribbean Economies, Latin America, population, and rate.

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.

The South American nation with the highest prison population rate in 2024 was Uruguay, with 449 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Brazil, with 389 prisoners. The country in South America with the lowest prison population rate was Ecuador, with 179 per 100,000 persons.

As of February 2025, more than 76 percent of the population of Uruguay was on social media. On the other hand, approximately 22 percent of Haitians used social networking platforms. Among the largest Latin American markets, Brazil had the lowest social media penetration rate at 67.8 percent, just below Colombia and Argentina. Online networking among Chilean young adults intensifies Young adults are the primary audience of social media in Chile. Nearly half of all Facebook users in the South American country were between 18 and 34 years old. The same age group accounted for almost 80 percent of Chilean users of LinkedIn. This generation has also been devoting more of its time to this type of online activity. During a 2020 survey, people aged 18 to 29 in Chile said they spent 4.1 average hours per day on social media. Obstacles for the expansion of social media in Brazil A handful of issues still set part of Brazil’s online population apart from social networks. The country ranked fifth in average internet connection speed in Latin America. Furthermore, almost one third of surveyed Brazilians said it was likely that their online accounts would get hacked in 2021. Finally, personal preferences may also play a relevant role. Around one out of four persons surveyed in Brazil stated it was likely that they would use social media less throughout 2020.

This horizontal bar chart displays male population (people) by countries yearly using the aggregation sum and is filtered where the region is South America. The data is from the countries entity.

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by country full name using the aggregation sum and is filtered where the region is South America. The data is about countries per year.

In 2023, the total population in Latin America & the Caribbean remained nearly unchanged at around 664.16 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the total population in Latin America & the Caribbean with 664.16 million inhabitants. The total population of a country refers to the de facto number of people residing in a country, regardless of citizenship or legal status.

This bar chart displays population (people) by country and is filtered where the region is South America. The data is about countries per year.

Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 0 to 14 for Developing Countries in Latin America and Caribbean (SPPOP0014TOZSLAC) from 1960 to 2023 about 0 to 14 years, Caribbean Economies, Latin America, and population.

The average for 2021 based on 10 countries was 20.55 percent. The highest value was in Brazil: 40.43 percent and the lowest value was in Paraguay: 3.24 percent. The indicator is available from 2011 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This horizontal bar chart displays female population (people) by country full name using the aggregation sum and is filtered where the region is South America. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by ISO 3 country code using the aggregation sum and is filtered where the region is South America. The data is about countries per year.

The average for 2019 based on 12 countries was 11.65 suicides per 100,000 people. The highest value was in Guyana: 40.3 suicides per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Venezuela: 2.1 suicides per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 2000 to 2019. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset is about countries in South America per year, featuring 4 columns: country, date, death rate, and rural population. The preview is ordered by date (descending).

As of the first month in 2024, around 94.4 percent of people in the Bahamas were online, making the archipelagic nation the country with the highest percentage of its population using the internet in Latin America and the Caribbean. Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of Chileans were connected to the internet, while this was true for over 83.2 percent of Mexico's population.