CARIBBEAN-ECLAC says LAC represents under 10 percent of global gross domestic product

SANTIAGO, Chile, CMC—A new report says Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) represent 7.3 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and eight percent of the world’s population.

The International Comparison Programme (ICP), in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), has undertaken the new Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) for the 2021 cycle report.

The report is based on data collected during the 2021 cycle. It shows that the world economy’s size was almost US$152.4 trillion, measured in PPP terms. More than half of global production came from low—and middle-income economies.

China was the world’s largest economy in 2021, with a GDP measured in PPP of 28.8 trillion dollars, representing 18.9 percent of global GDP. The United States occupied the second position, with almost 23.6 trillion dollars (15.5 percent of global GDP), while India’s economy ranked third, with 1US$11 trillion, representing 7.2 percent.

ICP said that based on PPP, these three economies accounted for 41 percent of the world’s population and 42 percent of global GDP.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, Brazil, with US3.7 trillion, and Mexico, with US2.7 trillion, were the two largest economies. Together, they contributed 57 percent of the region’s GDP.

The ICP is one of the most critical global statistical initiatives coordinated by the World Bank under the auspices of the United Nations Statistical Commission. The 2021 ICP cycle is the 10th comparison conducted since the initiative’s launch over 50 years ago, providing information on 176 participating economies, including 39 Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

ECLAC has coordinated the program’s implementation in the region since 2011, although its participation dates back to 2005.

According to these results, globally, the average real GDP per capita for all participating countries was approximately US$20,271 in 2021.

For the Latin America and Caribbean region, GDP per capita averaged US$18,560, below the global average of US$20,271, and there was significant heterogeneity among the countries.

The report adds that the average material well-being, calculated by the Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) per capita, was US$13,842 for the region, slightly above the global average of US$12,948.

Additionally, detailed information is presented on other expenditure components, such as investment. In per capita terms, high-income economies spent 2.6 times the global average on investment, while upper-middle-income economies were slightly above the worldwide average. Lower-middle-income economies spent around one-third, and low-income economies less than one-tenth of the worldwide average per capita investment expenditure.

ECLAC said that during the second half of 2024, it will publish a detailed analysis of this cycle’s results for the Latin America and Caribbean region, including a description of the methodologies used.