Disaster statistics and risk management: current situation and outlook

In recent years, environmental and climate trends have pointed to a progressive increase in the frequency, impact, intensity and unpredictability of hazardous events. These changes, combined with the consequences of scientific projections about future scenarios, show that disaster risk represents a structural challenge to sustainable development. Given this reality, disaster risk management has become a strategic priority for protecting human lives, reducing economic losses, guiding investments, strengthening resilience and supporting adaptation to climate change.…

Advancing environmental information in the Eastern Caribbean: towards the establishment of the OECS environmental information system

This document contains a summary of the progress made towards the establishment of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) environmental information system with the support of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Its purpose is to provide the background, legal framework, key considerations and proposed road map for such a system, in the context of the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement), the Saint George’s Declaration of Principles…

Use of satellite imagery to produce regional statistics disaggregated by territory

In the information age, the production of official statistics has evolved significantly from the traditional approach of classical statistical operations. The use of non-traditional information sources has gained relevance among national statistical offices in the region due to their ability to provide more accurate, timely, and detailed data.…

Provisional agenda. Ninth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development

Annotated provisional agenda. Ninth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development

Report of the Third Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Third Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Basseterre from 7 to 10 April 2025. The Forum was convened by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), as the Secretariat for the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement), in partnership with the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office…

International Comparison Program: 2021 cycle in Latin America and the Caribbean. Methodological document and main results

Comparison of economies is essential for public policymaking but considerably hindered by the fact that statistics expressed in local currencies are not directly comparable. Market exchange rates give a distorted view, as they do not reflect the differences in price levels between countries. To overcome this challenge, the International Comparison Program (ICP), coordinated by the World Bank, produces purchasing power parities (PPP). These indicators eliminate price differences, allowing for comparison of real GDP volumes and calculation of the real size of economies. Thirty-six economies of L…

Cold chain logistics: the case of Paraguay and territories along the bioceanic corridor

This report analyzes the current state of cold chain logistics in Paraguay, with a specific focus on the departments of Alto Paraguay and Boquerón, two key regions located along the Bioceanic Corridor. The study maps the structure and capacity of the cold chain infrastructure, including refrigerated transport fleets, storage facilities, airport and port infrastructure, as well as the national vaccine distribution system. It also identifies logistical bottlenecks and infrastructure gaps that affect the efficient storage and distribution of temperature-sensitive products. The findings highlight…

Economic survey of the Caribbean 2024

This survey examines the economic performance of economies of the Caribbean in 2023 and the first few months of 2024 and comprises five chapters. The first chapter gives an overview of global, regional and subregional economic performance in the Caribbean. The second provides an analysis of the subregion’s fiscal performance and debt burden. The third looks at monetary policy and their impacts. The fourth is focused on the external sector, while the fifth concludes.…

Time for care in Latin America and the Caribbean: towards social and gender co-responsibility

This bulletin, prepared jointly by ECLAC and ILO, presents an analysis of the status of maternity, paternity and parental leave in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also outlines the challenge of advancing measures such as parental leave, long-term care leave and urgent leave, as well as the shortening of the working day and more flexible arrangements in terms of both hours and places of work. These regulatory tools should be made available to both men and women, since they are essential for the exercise of co-responsibility, the guarantee of the right to care and the achievement of gender e…

Preliminary overview of the economies of the Caribbean 2023–2024

chapters. The introduction examines the world economy and its prospects as well as growth and unemployment trends of Caribbean economies. The first chapter provides a comparative analysis across Caribbean economies of the main macroeconomic variables, namely GDP growth, monetary indicators, as well as fiscal and external accounts. The second chapter concludes, while the annex includes individual country briefs that give an overview of the economic situation for the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and a subregional assessment of the countries of the Ea…

Responding to sargassum influxes through integrative and adaptive natural resource management approaches in Caribbean SIDS: an exploratory framework

Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face significant environmental, economic, and social challenges due to the impacts of the massive influxes of Sargassum seaweed (henceforth, Sargassum ). Conventional reactive interventions have demonstrated limited efficacy in addressing the recurrent proliferation of Sargassum blooms. These impacts are attributable to the immense scale and volumetric magnitude of these events, alongside their considerable spatiotemporal variabilities across the Caribbean sub-region. Furthermore, the absence of robust, harmonized management framework…

Report of the sixteenth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean

United States-Latin America and the Caribbean Trade Developments 2025

In 2024, Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 19.2% of total United States trade, similar to the level recorded in 2023. The region’s share of total United States trade in goods, 23.2%, surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The region, driven by Mexico, remained a net exporter of goods to the United States: imports by that country from Latin America and the Caribbean rose by 7.4% to US$ 661 billion, while exports increased by 2.9% to US$ 517 billion, widening the United States goods trade deficit with the region to US$ 144 billion. Latin America and the Caribbean also accounted for 11.5% of …

United States-Latin America and the Caribbean Trade Developments: trade patterns and opportunities in the Caribbean

This special issue of United States-Latin America and the Caribbean Trade Developments provides an overview of trade relations between the United States and the Caribbean for the period 2021–2024. It presents an analysis of trends in goods and services trade; key sectors and partner economies; and an assessment of the degree of trade concentration. The findings show that although overall trade volumes recovered and expanded after the pandemic, the Caribbean’s share of total United States trade remained below 1%, highlighting the region’s limited but gradually increasing engagement with that co…

Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index (ILIA) 2025. Executive Summary

This 2025 edition of the Latin American Artificial Intelligence Index (ILIA) provides quantitative and qualitative data on progress in artificial intelligence (AI) in 19 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. ILIA is fundamental for identifying achievements, gaps and opportunities for improvement in the AI ecosystems of countries across the region and an essential reference to address the main challenges of Latin America and the Caribbean in AI and digital transformation. Led by the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CENIA) of Chile and the Economic Commission for Latin Ame…

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2025. Executive summary

Latin America and the Caribbean remains caught in a trap of low capacity for growth. ECLAC forecasts regional growth of 2.3% in 2026, slightly below the 2.4% recorded in 2025, marking four consecutive years of growth rates around 2.3%. This 2025 edition of the Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean shows that this performance comes amid global uncertainty and domestic constraints which limit investment growth, productivity and the capacity to generate formal employment. The economic outlook of the region is mixed. Although inflation continues to decline, facil…

Data embassies: an innovative approach to strengthening digital resilience in the Caribbean

In view of the accelerating pace of digital transformation, data have become the backbone of state functionality, economic development and disaster response. For the small island developing States of the Caribbean, this shift presents both opportunities and risks: while digital systems enable modernization and resilience, they remain acutely vulnerable to natural disasters, cyberattacks and connectivity failures. Against this backdrop, the concept of “data embassies” has emerged as an innovative solution to ensure government continuity and digital sovereignty. Data embassies provide another la…

Implementation Of The 2024 Programme Of Work Subprogramme 12: Subregional Activities In The Caribbean

Cold chain infrastructure in Paraguay

A cold chain system refers to the sequence of production and logistics processes that enable the production, transportation, storage, and distribution of food, pharmaceuticals, immunobiological, agricultural inputs, cosmetics, and other temperature-sensitive products under controlled temperatures. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a cold chain system includes the stages of pre-cooling, storage, transportation, distribution, retail, and domestic refrigeration (FAO, 2015). When applied to food production, the goal of a cold chain system is to keep pr…