View source for Latin America

{{Short description|Region of the Americas}}
{{redirect-multi|3|Latinoamérica|América Latina|LatAm|the demonym|Latin Americans|the song|Latinoamérica (song)|the film|America Latina (film){{!}}''America Latina'' (film)|the airline|LATAM Airlines|other uses|LATAM (disambiguation)}}
{{too many charts|date=July 2025}}
{{peacock|date=February 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox continent
| title              = Latin America
| image              = Latin America (orthographic projection).svg
| image_caption      = Location in the Americas
| area               = {{convert|20111457|km2|abbr=on}}<ref name=worldbank-ruralenv>{{cite web|url=http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/3.1|title=World Development Indicators: Rural environment and land use|work=World Development Indicators, The World Bank|publisher=[[World Bank]]|access-date=September 12, 2013|archive-date=June 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617212909/http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/3.1|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population         = {{IncreaseNeutral}} {{UN_Population|Latin America and the Caribbean|Quebec}} ({{UN_Population|Year}} est.){{UN_Population|ref}}{{efn|name=d|Includes the population estimates for South American and Central American countries excluding Belize, Guyana, the United States, and Spanish, French and French Creole-speaking Caribbean countries and territories, as listed under "[[#Subregions and countries|Subregions and countries]]"}} (3rd [[List of continents and continental subregions by population|by political entity]]) (4th by continent)
| density            = {{convert|31|/km2|abbr=on}}
| ethnic_groups      = {{unbulleted list
|40% Mixed Indigenous Amerindian and European heritage ([[Mestizo]])
|29% European heritage ([[White Latin Americans]])
|19% Mixed African and European heritage ([[Mulatto]])
|6% [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]]
|5% [[Afro–Latin Americans]]
|1% [[Asian Latin Americans]]
}}
| ethnic_groups_year = 2018
| ethnic_groups_ref  = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latinobarometro.org/latContents.jsp|title=Informe Latinobarómetro 2018|publisher=latinobarometro.org|date=|access-date=June 10, 2021|via=SPSS output: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210610232522/https://ibb.co/Rb7mFqX Image 1]}}, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210610232524/https://ibb.co/DQLLB0Z Image 2]}}|archive-date=November 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114190939/https://www.latinobarometro.org/latContents.jsp/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Tree list/end}}
| demonym            = [[Latin Americans|Latin American]]
| countries          = {{Collapsible list
| titlestyle         = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
|title               = [[#Subregions and countries|20]]{{efn|name=c|Not including non-sovereign states (except Puerto Rico) and English- or Dutch-speaking countries, such as The Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago; see [[#Contemporary definitions|Contemporary definitions]] section}}
|{{flagu|Argentina}}
|{{flagu|Bolivia|state}}
|{{flagu|Brazil}}
|{{flagu|Chile}}
|{{flagu|Colombia}}
|{{flagu|Costa Rica|state}}
|{{flagu|Cuba}}
|{{flagu|Dominican Republic}}
|{{flagu|Ecuador}}
|{{flagu|El Salvador}}
|{{flagu|Guatemala}}
|{{flagu|Honduras}}
|{{flagu|Mexico}}
|{{flagu|Nicaragua}}
|{{flagu|Panama}}
|{{flagu|Paraguay}}
|{{flagu|Peru|state}}
|{{flagu|Puerto Rico}}{{efn|[[Political status of Puerto Rico|Territory]] of the {{flagu|United States}}.}}
|{{flagu|Uruguay}}
|{{flagu|Venezuela|state}}
}}
| dependencies       =
| languages          = {{tree list}}
* 96.9% Indo-European
** 95% [[Romance languages|Romance]]
*** 60% Spanish (Castilian)
*** 33% Portuguese
*** 1% French and [[Haitian Creole]]
*** 1% [[Italo-Dalmatian languages|Italo-Dalmatian]]
*** 0.05% [[Papiamento]]
** 1.5% [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
*** 1% English and creoles
*** 0.45% German
*** 0.07% [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
** 0.4% [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
*** 0.4% [[Caribbean Hindustani]]
* 1% [[Quechuan languages|Quechuan]]
* 1% [[Tupian languages|Tupian]]
** 1% [[Guarani language|Guarani]]
* 0.90% [[Mayan languages|Mayan]]
** 0.55% Eastern
*** 0.45% [[Quichean languages|Quichean]]
*** 0.09% [[Mamean languages|Mamean]]
** 0.25% Western
*** 0.19% [[Chʼolan languages|Cholan–Tzeltalan]]
*** 0.06% [[Qʼanjobalan languages|Qʼanjobalan]]
** 0.10% [[Yucatec Maya|Yucatec]]
* 0.40% [[Aymaran languages|Aymaran]]
* 0.30% [[Uto-Aztecan languages|Uto-Aztecan]]
** 0.25% [[Nahuatl]]
* 0.30% [[Oto-Manguean languages|Oto-Manguean]]
* 0.06% [[Arawakan languages|Arawakan]]
* 0.06% [[Chibchan languages|Chibchan]]
* 0.06% Japanese
* 0.03% [[Araucanian languages|Araucanian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
| time               = [[UTC−02:00]] {{flagicon|Brazil}} to <br /> [[UTC−08:00]] {{flagicon|Mexico}}
| m49                = <code>419</code> – [[Latin America and the Caribbean]]<br /><code>019</code> – Americas<br /><code>001</code> – World
|GDP_nominal         = * Total: {{increase}} $6.7 trillion (2024)<ref name="IMFWEO.LATAM" /> ([[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|4th]])
* Per capita: {{increase}} $10,042 (2024)<ref name = "IMFWEO.LATAM" /> ([[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|81st]])
|GDP_PPP             = * Total: {{increase}} $14.071 trillion (2024)<ref name="IMFWEO.LATAM">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?a=1&c=001,205,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPRPPPPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 | title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects }}</ref> ([[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|4th]])
* Per capita: {{increase}} $21,684 (2024)<ref name = "IMFWEO.LATAM" /> ([[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|63rd]])
| internet           = [[List of Internet top-level domains#South America|.lat]]
}}

'''Latin America''' ({{langx|es|América Latina}} or {{lang|es|Latinoamérica}}; {{langx|pt|América Latina}}) is the cultural region of the Americas where [[Romance languages]] are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish and Portuguese.<ref>{{Cite web|last=History|date=September 17, 2015|title=list of countries in Latin America|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-countries-in-Latin-America-2061416}}</ref>{{efn|To a lesser extent, some definitions include French and its creoles (e.g. [[Haitian Creole|Haitian]]), as well as Italian dialects.}}

Since it is defined according to its cultural identity instead of its geography, Latin America includes countries from both [[North America|North]] and [[South America]]. For instance, countries from North America like [[Mexico]], [[Honduras]], [[Guatemala]], etc. tend to be included. In fact, most of the countries in Central America, South America and the [[Caribbean]] are considered Latin American countries. English or [[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking countries in South America or the Caribbean like [[Belize]], [[Guyana]], [[Jamaica]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Suriname]], etc. are not considered "Latin American" because they speak Germanic languages. As such, Latin America comprises the  [[Hispanic America]] along with [[Brazil]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bethell |first1=Leslie |title=Brazil and 'Latin America' |journal=Journal of Latin American Studies |date=August 2010 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=457–485 |doi=10.1017/S0022216X1000088X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gistory|date=September 17, 2015|title=Is Brazil Part of Latin America? It's Not an Easy Question|url=https://medium.com/@Gistory/is-brazil-part-of-latin-america-it-s-not-an-easy-question-e5b3cb7c9d89|access-date=July 17, 2024|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Latin-America "Latin America" definition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922035518/https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/Latin-America |date=September 22, 2022 }}. [[Encyclopedia Britannica]], accessed May 20, 2022.</ref> Related terms include the narrower Hispanic America, which exclusively refers to Spanish-speaking nations; and the broader [[Ibero-America]], which includes all Iberian countries in the Americas.<ref>Dressing, David. "Latin America". ''[[Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture]]''. v. 5, 390</ref>

The term ''Latin America'' was first introduced in 1856 at a conference named ''Initiative of the Americas: Idea for a Federal Congress of the Republics'' ({{lang|es|Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas}}), at Paris.{{efn|The original Spanish uses the singular form, ''la América'', equivalent to meaning conveyed in English by the plural form, "the Americas".}}<ref name="bilbao f">{{cite web|last1=Bilbao|first1=Francisco|title=Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas|language=es|location=París|date=June 22, 1856|via=Proyecto Filosofía en español|url=http://www.filosofia.org/aut/002/fbb1285.htm|access-date=July 16, 2017|archive-date=September 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917111216/http://www.filosofia.org/aut/002/fbb1285.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Chilean politician [[Francisco Bilbao]] coined the term to refer to countries sharing cultural and linguistic heritage. It gained further prominence during the 1860s under the rule of [[Napoleon III]], whose government sought to justify France's intervention in the [[Second Mexican Empire]].<ref name="Britton">{{cite book|first=John A.|last=Britton|title=Cables, Crises, and the Press: The Geopolitics of the New Information System in the Americas, 1866–1903|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MdQWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA17|year=2013|pages=16–18|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=9780826353986}}</ref>

==Etymology and definitions==
[[Image:Antonio de Nebrija (1492) Gramática castellana.png|thumb|200px|right|The first page of [[Antonio de Nebrija|Nebrija's]] ''[[Gramática de la lengua castellana]]'' in 1492.]]
Latin America is a geographical region where Spanish or Portuguese is the national language with a common culture, and tradition. As a whole, it can be traced back to the 1830s, in the writing of the French [[Saint-Simonianism|Saint-Simonian]] [[Michel Chevalier]], who postulated that a part of the Americas was inhabited by people of a "[[Romance peoples|Latin race]]", and that it could, therefore, ally itself with "[[Latin Europe]]", ultimately overlapping the [[Latin Church]], in a struggle with "[[Germanic-speaking Europe|Teutonic Europe]]" and "[[Anglo-America|Anglo-Saxon America]]" with its [[Anglo-Saxonism]], as well as "[[Slavic Europe]]" with its [[Pan-Slavism]].<ref name = "mignolo">{{Cite book|last=Mignolo|first=Walter|title=The Idea of Latin America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPacXtsWhewC|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|place=Oxford|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4051-0086-1|pages=77–80}}</ref>

Published in 1492'', [[Gramática de la lengua castellana]]'' ({{lit|Grammar of the [[Castilian languages|Castilian Language]]}}) written by [[Antonio de Nebrija]] was the first work dedicated to the Spanish language and its rules, and it was the first [[grammar]] of a modern [[Languages of Europe|European language]] to be published.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ensayistas.org/antologia/XV/nebrija/|title=Antonio de Nebrija, Antología del Ensayo Hispánico|website=www.ensayistas.org}}</ref><ref>Quoted by Henry Kamen at the outset of ''Empire: how Spain became a world power, 1492–1763'', 2002.</ref>

[[Uruguayan]] historian [[Arturo Ardao]] and [[Chileans|Chilean]] historian [[:es:Miguel Rojas Mix|Miguel Rojas Mix]] found evidence that the term "Latin America" was used earlier than [[John Leddy Phelan]] had claimed, and that the first use of the term was in opposition to imperialist projects in the Americas. Ardao wrote about this subject in his book {{lang|es|Génesis de la idea y el nombre de América latina}} (Genesis of the Idea and the Name of Latin America, 1980),<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.autoresdeluruguay.uy/biblioteca/Arturo_Ardao/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=ardao_-_genesis_de_la_idea_y_el_nombre_de_america_latina_gallegos_1980_.pdf|title=Genesis de la idea y el nombre de América Latina|last=Ardao|first=Arturo|publisher=Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos Rómulo Gallegos|year=1980|location=Caracas, Venezuela|access-date=March 8, 2019|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327085645/http://www.autoresdeluruguay.uy/biblioteca/Arturo_Ardao/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=ardao_-_genesis_de_la_idea_y_el_nombre_de_america_latina_gallegos_1980_.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and Miguel Rojas Mix in his article "{{lang|es|Bilbao y el hallazgo de América latina: Unión continental, socialista y libertaria}}" (Bilbao and the Finding of Latin America: a Continental, Socialist, and Libertarian Union, 1986).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rojas Mix |first1=Miguel |title=Bilbao y el hallazgo de América latina: Unión continental, socialista y libertaria… |journal=Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien |date=1986 |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=35–47 |doi=10.3406/carav.1986.2261 }}</ref>

Michel Gobat notes that "Arturo Ardao, Miguel Rojas Mix, and Aims McGuinness have revealed [that] the term 'Latin America' had already been used in 1856 by Central Americans and South Americans protesting US expansion into the [[Southern Hemisphere]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gobat |first1=Michel |title=The Invention of Latin America: A Transnational History of Anti-Imperialism, Democracy, and Race |journal=The American Historical Review |date=December 2013 |volume=118 |issue=5 |pages=1345–1375 |doi=10.1093/ahr/118.5.1345 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Edward Shawcross summarizes Ardao's and Rojas Mix's findings: "Ardao identified the term in a poem by a Colombian diplomat and intellectual resident in France, José María Torres Caicedo, published on 15 February 1857 in a French-based Spanish-language newspaper, while Rojas Mix located it in a speech delivered in France by the radical liberal Chilean politician [[Francisco Bilbao]] in June 1856".<ref>{{Cite book|title=France, Mexico and informal empire in Latin America, 1820–1867: equilibrium in the New World|last=Edward|first=Shawcross|isbn=9783319704647|location=Cham, Switzerland|page=120|oclc=1022266228|date=February 6, 2018}}</ref>

By the late 1850s, the term was being used in California (by then a part of the United States), with local newspapers such as ''El Clamor Público'' writing about {{lang|es|América latina}} and {{lang|es|latinoamérica}}, and identifying as {{lang|es|Latinos}} as the abbreviated term for their "hemispheric membership in {{lang|es|la raza latina}}".<ref name="Gutierrez-2016">{{cite book|last1=Gutierrez|first1=Ramon A.|editor1-last=Gutierrez|editor1-first=Ramon A.|editor2-last=Almaguer|editor2-first=Tomas|title=The New Latino Studies Reader: A Twenty-First-Century Perspective|chapter=What's in a Name?|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/GutierrezPp.1953Notes|date=2016|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-28484-5|oclc=1043876740|quote=The word {{lang|es|latinoamericano}} emerged in the years following the wars of independence in Spain's former colonies [...] By the late 1850s, {{lang|es|californios}} were writing in newspapers about their membership in {{lang|es|América latina}} (Latin America) and {{lang|es|latinoamerica}}, calling themselves {{lang|es|Latinos}} as the shortened name for their hemispheric membership in {{lang|es|la raza latina}} (the Latin race). Reprinting an 1858 opinion piece by a correspondent in Havana on race relations in the Americas, ''El Clamor Publico'' of Los Angeles surmised that 'two rival races are competing with each other ... the Anglo Saxon and the Latin one [{{lang|es|la raza latina}}].'{{thin space}}|page=34}}</ref>

The words "Latin" and "America" were first found to be combined in a printed work to produce the term "Latin America" in 1856 at a conference by the Chilean politician [[Francisco Bilbao]] in Paris.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/05/16/opinion/o-01901.htm|title=''América latina o Sudamérica?'', por Luiz Alberto Moniz Bandeira, Clarín, 16 de mayo de 2005|publisher=Clarin.com|date=May 16, 2005|access-date=April 23, 2013|archive-date=March 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327183033/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/05/16/opinion/o-01901.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The conference had the title "Initiative of the America. The idea for a Federal Congress of Republics."<ref name="bilbao f"/> The following year, Colombian writer [[:es:José María Torres Caicedo|José María Torres Caicedo]] also used the term in his poem "The Two Americas".<ref>{{cite web|language=es|via=Proyecto Filosofía en español|url=http://www.filosofia.org/hem/185/18570215.htm|author=José María Torres Caicedo|date=September 26, 1856|title=Las dos Américas|location=Venice|access-date=April 23, 2013|archive-date=July 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722121227/http://www.filosofia.org/hem/185/18570215.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Both authors advocated for the political and economic union of all Latin American countries, arguing that regional unity was the only effective means of defending their territories against further foreign interventions by the United States. They also rejected European imperialism, warning that the resurgence of non-democratic governments in Europe posed an additional threat to the stability and autonomy of Latin American nations. In criticizing European political developments, they employed the same term to characterize the deteriorating state of European governance at the time: "despotism".l c<ref>{{Cite web |last=Claros |first=Alejandra |date=August 5, 2024 |title=In the footsteps of the name: the history of Latin America and the Caribbean |url=https://www.caf.com/en/blog/in-the-footsteps-of-the-name-the-history-of-latin-america-and-the-caribbean/ |website=CAF {{!}} Banco}}</ref>

Several years later, during the [[Second French intervention in Mexico|French invasion of Mexico]], Bilbao wrote another work, "Emancipation of the Spirit in the Americas", where he asked all Latin American countries to support the Mexican cause against France, and rejected French imperialism in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. He asked Latin American intellectuals to search for their "intellectual emancipation" by abandoning all French ideas, claiming that France was: "Hypocrite, because she [France] calls herself protector of the Latin race just to subject it to her exploitation regime; treacherous, because she speaks of freedom and nationality, when, unable to conquer freedom for herself, she enslaves others instead!" Therefore, as Michel Gobat puts it, the term Latin America itself had an "anti-imperial genesis," and their creators were far from supporting any form of imperialism in the region, or in any other place of the globe.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bilbao|first1=Francisco|title=Emancipación del espíritu de América|url=http://www.franciscobilbao.cl/1909/article-81905.html|website=Francisco Bilbao Barquín, 1823–1865, Chile|access-date=July 16, 2017|archive-date=September 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916074142/http://www.franciscobilbao.cl/1909/article-81905.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following in the tradition of Chilean writer Francisco Bilbao, who excluded Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay from his early conceptualization of Latin America,<ref>Francisco Bilbao, ''La América en peligro'', Buenos Aires: Impr. de Berheim y Boeno 1862, 14, 23, quoted in Tenorio-Trillo, ''Latin America'', p. 5.</ref> Chilean historian [[Jaime Eyzaguirre]] has criticized the term Latin America for "disguising" and "diluting" the Spanish character of a region (i.e. [[Hispanic America]]) with the inclusion of nations that, according to him, do not share the same pattern of [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|conquest and colonization]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gongóra|first1=Alvaro|last2=de la Taille|first2=Alexandrine|last3=Vial|first3=Gonzalo|author-link3=Gonzalo Vial Correa|title=Jaime Eyzaguirre en su tiempo|language=es|publisher=Zig-Zag|page=223}}</ref> Historian Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo remarked, "the idea of 'Latin America' ought to have vanished with the obsolescence of racial theory."<ref>Mauricio Tenorio-Trillo, ''Latin America: The Allure and Power of an Idea''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press 2017, 1, 3.</ref>

=== Modern definitions ===
[[File:Iglesia católica en el mundo.png|thumb|400px|Areas of the world with a [[Catholic Christian]] majority. Latin America, like [[Latin Europe]], is linked to the [[Latin Church]].]]
* The most common definition of Latin America is the countries and territories in the Americas where the populations speak Spanish or Portuguese and the dominant religion is [[Roman Catholic]], with it being synonymous with Ibero-America ("Iberian America"). Puerto Rico, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean territory of the United States, acquired from the [[Spanish Empire]] following its defeat in the 1898 [[Spanish–American War]], is usually included. This definition excludes the predominantly Protestant English-speaking and Dutch-speaking regions, as well as French-speaking predominantly Catholic regions. Belize, Guyana and Suriname, as well as several French overseas departments, are excluded from the definition.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltConsulta?lema=iberoam%C3%A9rica|last=RAE|title=Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas|publisher=Santillana Educación|year=2005|location=Madrid|isbn=8429406239|access-date=October 15, 2010|archive-date=April 4, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404154750/http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltConsulta?lema=iberoam%C3%A9rica|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In a less used definition, Latin America designates the set of countries in the Americas where any Romance language (a language derived from Latin) predominates: Spanish, Portuguese, or French. Thus, it includes Mexico; most of Central and South America; and in the Caribbean, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. [[French Guiana]] and the [[French West Indies]] are sometimes included. By this definition, ''Latin America'' then comprises all of the countries in the Americas that were once part of the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]], [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]], and [[Second French Empire|French Empires]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rangel|first=Carlos|title=The Latin Americans: Their Love-Hate Relationship with the United States|publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich|year=1977|location=New York|pages=3–5|isbn=978-0-15-148795-0}} {{Cite book|last=Skidmore|first=Thomas E.|author2=Peter H. Smith|title=Modern Latin America|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|edition=6th|location=Oxford and New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/modernlatinameri0006skid/page/1 1–10]|isbn=978-0-19-517013-9|url=https://archive.org/details/modernlatinameri0006skid/page/1}}</ref><ref name="Torres">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MX5BXxjwV9cC&pg=PR17|title=Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music|last=Torres|first=George|page=xvii|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2013|isbn=9780313087943}}</ref>
* The term is sometimes used more broadly to refer to all of the Americas south of the United States, thus including [[the Guianas]] ([[French Guiana]], Guyana, and Suriname); the [[Commonwealth Caribbean|Anglophone Caribbean]] (and Belize); the [[French West Indies|Francophone Caribbean]]; and the [[Dutch Caribbean]].{{cn|date=September 2025}} This definition emphasizes a similar [[Socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] history of the region, which was characterized by formal or [[Neocolonialism|informal colonialism]], rather than cultural aspects (see, for example, [[dependency theory]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Butland|first=Gilbert J.|title=Latin America: A Regional Geography|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=1960|location=New York|pages=115–188|isbn=9780470126585}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dozer|first=Donald Marquand|title=Latin America: An Interpretive History|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1962|location=New York|pages=1–15|isbn=0-87918-049-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Szulc|first=Tad|author-link=Tad Szulc|title=Latin America|publisher=New York Times Company|year=1965|pages=13–17|isbn=0-689-10266-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Olien|first=Michael D.|title=Latin Americans: Contemporary Peoples and Their Cultural Traditions|publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston|year=1973|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/latinamericansco0000olie/page/1 1–5]|isbn=978-0-03-086251-9|url=https://archive.org/details/latinamericansco0000olie/page/1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|editor-last=Black|editor-first=Jan Knippers|title=Latin America: Its Problems and Its Promise: A Multidisciplinary Introduction|publisher=Westview Press|year=1984|location=Boulder|pages=362–378|isbn=978-0-86531-213-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Burns|first=E. Bradford|title=Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History|publisher=Prentice-Hall|year=1986|edition=4th|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/latinamericaconc00burn/page/224 224–227]|isbn=978-0-13-524356-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/latinamericaconc00burn/page/224}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Skidmore|first=Thomas E.|author2=Peter H. Smith|title=Modern Latin America|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|edition=6th|location=Oxford and New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/modernlatinameri0006skid/page/351 351–355]|isbn=978-0-19-517013-9|url=https://archive.org/details/modernlatinameri0006skid/page/351}}</ref> Some sources use the alternative phrase "[[Latin America and the Caribbean]]", as in the [[United Nations geoscheme for the Americas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm|title=Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417070721/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm |archive-date=April 17, 2010|website=UN Statistics Division|access-date= May 23, 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,menuPK:258559~pagePK:158889~piPK:146815~theSitePK:258554,00.html Latin America and the Caribbean] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501014724/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,menuPK:258559~pagePK:158889~piPK:146815~theSitePK:258554,00.html |date=May 1, 2013 }}. [[The World Bank]]. Retrieved July 17, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanic.utexas.edu/subject/countries/|title=Country Directory. Latin American Network Information Center-University of Texas at Austin|publisher=Lanic.utexas.edu|access-date=December 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311080444/http://lanic.utexas.edu/subject/countries/|archive-date=March 11, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Quebec]] and [[Acadia]], [[Geographical distribution of French speakers|Francophone]] parts of North America, are generally excluded from the definition of Latin America.<ref>{{Cite web|title=South America, Latin America|url=https://www.reflexions.uliege.be/cms/c_15746/en/south-america-latin-america|access-date=November 24, 2022|website=Reflexions|publisher=[[University of Liège]]|language=en|archive-date=November 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124133830/https://www.reflexions.uliege.be/cms/c_15746/en/south-america-latin-america|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Subregions and countries===
[[File:Latin America regions.svg|thumb|The four common subregions in Latin America]]
Latin America can be subdivided into several subregions based on geography, politics, [[Democracy in the Americas|democracy]], demographics and culture. The basic geographical subregions are North America, Central America, the [[Caribbean]] and South America; the latter contains further politico-geographical subdivisions such as the [[Southern Cone]], [[the Guianas]] and the [[Andean civilizations]]. It may be subdivided on linguistic grounds into [[Hispanic America|Spanish America]] and [[Portuguese America]].<ref name="GeoSEP">{{cite book|title=Geografía, Quinto Grado [Geography, Fifth Grade]|publisher=Secretaría de Educación Pública [Secretariat of Public Education]|location=Mexico City|pages=75–83|author=María Alejandra Acosta Garcia|edition=Second|first2=Sheridan|last2=González|author3=Ma. de Lourdes Romero|first4=Luis|last4=Reza|first5=Araceli|last5=Salinas|via=Comisión Nacional de Libros de Texto Gratuitos (CONALITEG)|chapter=Three|date=June 2011}}</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+Latin America
! class="unsortable" | [[National flag|Flag]]
! Country/Territory
! [[Capital city|Capital(s)]]
! [[Language|Name(s) in official language(s)]]
! [[List of countries by population|Population]]<br />{{nobold|(2023)}}<ref name="TWFpopulation">{{cite web|title=The World Factbook – Country Comparisons: Population|year=2023|author=Central Intelligence Agency|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/population/country-comparison/|access-date=June 28, 2023|archive-date=January 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106121651/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/population/country-comparison/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! [[List of countries by area|Area]]<br />{{nobold|(km{{sup|2}})}}<ref name="UN area">{{cite web|title=United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2012.htm|access-date=July 18, 2021|website=unstats.un.org|archive-date=October 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015114145/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2012.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
! [[List of countries by population density|Density]]<br />{{nobold|(people/km{{sup|2}})}}
! [[Time zone]]s
! Subregion
|-
| {{center|{{flagicon|ARG}}}} || [[Argentina]]|| [[Buenos Aires]] || Argentina || {{density|disp=table|46,621,847|2,780,400}}
| [[UTC−03:00|UTC/GMT –3 hours]] || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|Bolivia|state}}}} || [[Bolivia]]|| [[Sucre]] and [[La Paz]] || Bolivia; Buliwya; Wuliwya; Volívia || {{density|disp=table|12,186,079|1,098,581}}
| [[UTC−04:00|UTC/GMT –4 hours]] || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|BRA}}}} || [[Brazil]]|| [[Brasília]] || Brasil || {{density|disp=table|218,689,757|8,514,877}}
| [[UTC−02:00|UTC/GMT –2 hours]] ([[Fernando de Noronha]])<br />[[UTC−03:00|UTC/GMT –3 hours]] ([[Brasília]])<br />[[UTC−04:00|UTC/GMT –4 hours]] ([[Amazonas (Brazilian state)|Amazonas]])<br />[[UTC−05:00|UTC/GMT –5 hours]] ([[Acre (state)|Acre]]) || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|CHL}}}} || [[Chile]]|| [[Santiago]] || Chile || {{density|disp=table|18,549,457|756,102}}
| [[UTC−03:00|UTC/GMT –3 hours]] (Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica)<br />[[UTC−04:00|UTC/GMT –4 hours]] (Continental Chile)<br />[[UTC−06:00|UTC/GMT –6 hours]] (Easter Island) || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|COL}}}} || [[Colombia]]|| [[Bogotá]] || Colombia || {{density|disp=table|49,336,454|1,141,748}}
| [[UTC−05:00|UTC/GMT –5 hours]] || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|CRI}}}} || [[Costa Rica]]|| [[San José, Costa Rica|San José]] || Costa Rica || {{density|disp=table|5,256,612|51,100}}
| [[UTC−06:00|UTC/GMT –6 hours]] || Central America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|CUB}}}} || [[Cuba]]|| [[Havana]] || Cuba || {{density|disp=table|10,985,974|109,884}}
| [[UTC−05:00|UTC/GMT –5 hours]] || [[Caribbean]]
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|DOM}}}} || [[Dominican Republic]]|| [[Santo Domingo]] || República Dominicana || {{density|disp=table|10,790,744|48,192}}
| [[UTC−04:00|UTC/GMT –4 hours]] || [[Caribbean]]
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|ECU}}}} || [[Ecuador]]|| [[Quito]] || Ecuador || {{density|disp=table|17,483,326|256,369}}
| [[UTC−05:00|UTC/GMT –5 hours]] (mainland Ecuador)<br />[[UTC-06:00|UTC/GMT –6 hours]] (Galápagos Islands) || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|SLV}}}} || [[El Salvador]]|| [[San Salvador]] || El Salvador || {{density|disp=table|6,602,370|21,041}}
| [[UTC−06:00|UTC/GMT –6 hours]] || Central America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|GTM}}}} || [[Guatemala]]|| [[Guatemala City]] || Guatemala || {{density|disp=table|17,980,803|108,889}}
| [[UTC−06:00|UTC/GMT –6 hours]] || Central America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|HND}}}} || [[Honduras]]|| [[Tegucigalpa]] || Honduras || {{density|disp=table|9,571,352|112,492}}
| [[UTC−06:00|UTC/GMT –6 hours]] || Central America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|MEX}}}} || [[Mexico]]|| [[Mexico City]] || México || {{density|disp=table|129,875,529|1,964,375}}
| [[UTC−05:00|UTC/GMT –5 hours]] (''Zona Sureste'')<br />[[UTC−06:00|UTC/GMT –6 hours]] (''Zona Centro'')<br />[[UTC−07:00|UTC/GMT –7 hours]] (''Zona Pacífico'')<br />[[UTC−08:00|UTC/GMT –8 hours]] (''Zona Noroeste'') || North America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|NIC}}}} || [[Nicaragua]]|| [[Managua]] || Nicaragua || {{density|disp=table|6,359,689|130,373}}
| [[UTC−06:00|UTC/GMT -6 hours]] || Central America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|PAN}}}} || [[Panama]]|| [[Panama City]] || Panamá || {{density|disp=table|4,404,108|75,417}}
| [[UTC−05:00|UTC/GMT –5 hours]] || Central America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|PRY}}}} || [[Paraguay]]|| [[Asunción]] || Paraguay; Tetã Paraguái || {{density|disp=table|7,439,863|406,752}}
| [[UTC−04:00|UTC/GMT –4 hours]] || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|PER}}}} || [[Peru]]|| [[Lima]] || Perú || {{density|disp=table|32,440,172|1,285,216}}
| [[UTC−05:00|UTC/GMT –5 hours]] || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|PRI}}}} || [[Puerto Rico]]* || [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] || Puerto Rico || {{density|disp=table|3,057,311|8,870}}
| [[UTC−04:00|UTC/GMT –4 hours]] || [[Caribbean]]
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|URY}}}} || [[Uruguay]]|| [[Montevideo]] || Uruguay || {{density|disp=table|3,416,264|176,215}}
| [[UTC−03:00|UTC/GMT –3 hours]] || South America
|-
| {{center|{{flagdeco|VEN}}}} || [[Venezuela]]|| [[Caracas]] || Venezuela || {{density|disp=table|30,518,260|912,050}}
| [[UTC−04:30|UTC/GMT –4 hours]] || South America
|-
! || Total || || || {{density|disp=table|641,565,971|19,958,943}}
! ||
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>: Not a sovereign state

==History==
{{Main|History of Latin America|Pre-Columbian era}}

[[File:Chichen Itza 3.jpg|thumb|[[Maya Civilization|Mayan]] UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] of [[Chichén Itzá]].]]
[[File:Philip II's realms in 1598.png|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Philip II of Spain|Philip II's]] dominions in 1598, coloured by governing council:
{{Legend inline|#008000|[[Council of Castile|Castile]]}}
{{Legend inline|#f5ab12|[[Council of Aragon|Aragon]]}}
{{Legend inline|#0000ff|[[Council of Portugal|Portugal]]}}
{{Legend inline|#800000|[[Council of Italy|Italy]]}}
{{Legend inline|#ff0000|[[Council of the Indies|the Indies]]}}
{{Legend inline|#d87ada|[[Council of Flanders|Flanders]]}}
]]

Before the [[European colonization of the Americas|arrival of Europeans]] in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the region was home to many indigenous peoples, including advanced civilizations, most notably from South: the [[Olmec]], [[Maya civilization|Maya]], [[Muisca people|Muisca]], [[Aztecs]] and [[Inca civilization|Inca]]. The region came under control of the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal which established colonies, and imposed [[Roman Catholicism]] and their languages. These countries brought African [[slave]]s to their colonies as laborers, exploiting large, settled societies and their resources. The Spanish Crown regulated immigration, allowing only Christians to travel to the New World.<ref>Mark A. Burkholder (2016) "Spain's America: from kingdoms to colonies", ''Colonial Latin American Review'', 25:2, 125–153, {{doi|10.1080/10609164.2016.1205241}}</ref>

The colonization process led to significant native population declines due to disease, forced labor, and violence. They imposed their culture, destroying native codices and artwork. Colonial-era religion played a crucial role in everyday life, with the Spanish Crown ensuring religious purity and aggressively prosecuting perceived deviations like [[Witchcraft in Latin America|witchcraft]]. The [[decline of Spain]] was the gradual process of financial and military exhaustion and attrition suffered by [[Spanish Empire]] throughout the 17th century, in particular when viewed in comparison with ascendant rival powers of the [[Kingdom of France]] and [[Kingdom of England]].<ref name=devries>{{Cite journal |title=The Economic Crisis of the Seventeenth Century after Fifty Years |journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary History |last=De Vries |first=Jan |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=151–194 |year=2009|doi=10.1162/jinh.2009.40.2.151 }}</ref>

Because Catholicism had played such an important role in the ''[[Reconquista]]'' (Catholic reconquest) of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] from the Muslims, the Catholic Church in essence became another arm of the Spanish government, since the crown was granted [[Patronato real|sweeping powers]] over ecclesiastical affairs in its overseas territories. The Spanish Crown granted it a large role in the administration of the state, and this practice became even more pronounced in the New World, where prelates often assumed the role of government officials.<ref name="Oto-Peralías2016">{{cite journal |last1=Oto-Peralías |first1=Daniel |last2=Romero-Ávila |first2=Diego |title=The economic consequences of the Spanish Reconquest: the long-term effects of Medieval conquest and colonization |journal=Journal of Economic Growth |date=December 2016 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=409–464 |doi=10.1007/s10887-016-9132-9 |hdl=10023/10769 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Under [[Philip II of Spain]], royal power over Latin America increased, but the crown knew little about its overseas possessions. Although the [[Council of the Indies]] was tasked with oversight there, it acted without advice of high officials with direct colonial experience. Another serious problem was that the crown did not know what Spanish laws were in force there.{{sfn|Parker|2014}}

===Spanish Golden Age===
{{Main|Spanish Golden Age}}

[[File:EscorialBiblioteca.jpg|thumb|[[Library of the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial|The library of El Escorial]]]]
The [[Spanish Golden Age]] was a period of intense artistic, literary, and intellectual flourishing in Spain is generally associated with the reigns of [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella I]], [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand II]], [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]], [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III]], and [[Philip IV of Spain|Philip IV]], during which Spain became a leading political and military power.<ref>{{cite book |last=Payne |first=Stanley G. |title=Spain: A Unique History |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=2011 |page=87 |quote=Not merely was the latter for a century the strongest state and military power in western Europe.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kamen |first=Henry |title=Golden Age Spain |publisher=Macmillan |year=1988 |page=5 |quote=Spanish power was the most obvious reality of European politics for over a century.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Geoffrey |title=The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567–1659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries' Wars |edition=2nd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |page=xiii |quote=Habsburg Spain, the richest and most powerful state in Europe.}}</ref> The Spanish Golden Age is conventionally considered to have begun in 1492, and is often regarded as having ended in 1659 with the [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]], which marked the decline of Spanish hegemony in Europe, although the period is commonly understood to have continued in cultural terms until 1681, the year of [[Pedro Calderón de la Barca]]'s death.<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Age in Spain |url=https://www.donquijote.org/es/cultura-espanola/historia/edad-de-oro/ |website=www.donquijote.org |access-date=6 July 2024}}</ref>

The era was characterized by extensive royal, aristocratic, and ecclesiastical patronage, which supported literature, painting, architecture, music, and theatre.<ref name="Salamanca">{{Cite book |last=Grice Hutchinson |first=Marjorie |url=https://cdn.mises.org/The%20School%20of%20Salamanca_3.pdf |title=The School of Salamanca |date=1952 |publisher=Clarendon Press }}</ref> Major artistic and cultural projects, including [[El Escorial]], contributed to the formation of a distinctive Spanish court and religious culture. The period encompassed the [[Plateresque]] and [[Renaissance]] styles and extended into the early [[Spanish Baroque painting|Spanish Baroque]].<ref>[[Alfonso Pérez Sánchez]], ''Pintura barroca en España (1600–1750)'', Madrid, Cátedra, 1992, {{ISBN|84-376-0994-1}}. Regarding 18th century Spanish baroque painting, discussing artists such as Antonio Palomino, Miguel Jacinto Meléndez and the Catalan painter Antoni Viladomat. See pages 403–431.</ref> It produced many of the best-known figures in Spanish cultural history, including [[Miguel de Cervantes]], [[Lope de Vega]], [[Luis de Góngora]], [[Francisco de Quevedo]], [[Diego Velázquez]], and composers such as [[Tomás Luis de Victoria]] and [[Francisco Guerrero (composer)|Francisco Guerrero]].<ref>{{Citation |last1=Izbicki |first1=Thomas |title=School of Salamanca |date=2023 |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/school-salamanca/#:~:text=The%20School%20of%20Salamanca%20is,authors%20from%20the%20Spanish%20Netherlands. |access-date=2024-10-08 |edition=Fall 2023 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |last2=Kaufmann |first2=Matthias |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri}}</ref>

===Independence movements===
In the early nineteenth century nearly all of areas of [[Spanish America]] attained independence by armed struggle, with the exceptions of Cuba and Puerto Rico. Brazil, which had become a monarchy separate from Portugal, became a republic in the late nineteenth century. Political independence from European monarchies did not result in the abolition of black slavery in the new nations, and it resulted in political and economic instability in Spanish America immediately after independence. Yet, as regional [[Caudillo]]s started to rise in power, nation-builders started to view themselves as more modern than their former European colonizers. Leaders began to shift away from aristocracy toward republicanism and democracy, which allowed all citizens, not just the Creole elites, to have a voice in politics. This shift helped unify many of the Latin American nations as all people, even illiterate people, would gather in their communities to talk about political ideals and how they should be used in their nation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sanders |first1=James E. |title=The Vanguard of the Atlantic World: Contesting Modernity in Nineteenth-Century Latin America |journal=Latin American Research Review |date=2011 |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=104–127 |doi=10.1353/lar.2011.0030 }}</ref> Great Britain and the United States exercised significant influence in the post-independence era, resulting in a form of [[neo-colonialism]], where political sovereignty remained in place, but foreign powers exercised considerable power in the economic sphere. Newly independent nations faced domestic and interstate conflicts, struggling with economic instability and social inequality.

The 20th century brought U.S. intervention and the [[Cold War]]'s impact on the region, with revolutions in countries like Cuba influencing Latin American politics. The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw shifts towards left-wing governments, followed by conservative resurgences, and a recent resurgence of left-wing politics in several countries.

===After 2000===
[[File:UNASUR-15SEP2008.jpg|thumb|right|[[UNASUR]] summit in the Palacio de la Moneda, [[Santiago de Chile]]]]
In many countries in the early 2000s, left-wing political parties rose to power, known as the [[Pink tide]]. The presidencies of [[Hugo Chávez]] (1999–2013) in Venezuela, [[Ricardo Lagos]] and [[Michelle Bachelet]] in Chile, [[Lula da Silva]] and [[Dilma Rousseff]] of the [[Workers Party (Brazil)|Workers Party]] (PT) in Brazil, [[Néstor Kirchner]] and his wife [[Cristina Fernández de Kirchner|Cristina Fernández]] in Argentina, [[Tabaré Vázquez]] and [[José Mujica]] in Uruguay, [[Evo Morales]] in Bolivia, [[Daniel Ortega]] in Nicaragua, [[Rafael Correa]] in Ecuador, [[Fernando Lugo]] in Paraguay, [[Manuel Zelaya]] in Honduras (removed from power by a [[2009 Honduran coup d'état|coup d'état]]), [[Mauricio Funes]] and [[Salvador Sánchez Cerén]] in El Salvador are all part of this wave of left-wing politicians who often declare themselves [[Socialism|socialists]], [[Latin American integration|Latin Americanists]], or [[Anti-Imperialism|anti-imperialists]], often implying [[Anti-Americanism#Latin America|opposition to US]] [[Washington consensus|policies towards the region]]. An aspect of this has been the creation of the eight-member ALBA alliance, or "[[Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas|The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America]]" (Spanish: ''Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América'') by some of these countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Latin American Left's Shifting Tides |url=https://catalyst-journal.com/2018/09/the-latin-american-lefts-shifting-tides |access-date=2026-05-20 |website=catalyst-journal.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Pro-Micheletti demonstrators.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|Honduran demonstrator holding a banner with a "don't turn left" sign, 2009]]
Following the pink tide, there was a [[Conservative wave]] across Latin America. In Mexico, the rightwing [[National Action Party (Mexico)|National Action Party]] (PAN) won the [[2000 Mexican general election|presidential election of 2000]] with its candidate [[Vicente Fox]], ending the 71-year rule of the [[Institutional Revolutionary Party]]. He was succeeded six years later by another conservative, [[Felipe Calderón]] (2006–2012), who attempted to crack down on the Mexican drug cartels and instigated the [[Mexican drug war]]. Several right-wing leaders rose to power, including Argentina's [[Mauricio Macri]] and Brazil's [[Michel Temer]], following the impeachment of the country's first female president. In Chile, the conservative [[Sebastián Piñera]] succeeded the socialist [[Michelle Bachelet]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ospina|first1=Jose|title=Is there a right-wing surge in South America?|url=https://www.dw.com/en/is-there-a-right-wing-surge-in-south-america/a-45874897|access-date=December 10, 2018|agency=DW|date=October 28, 2018|archive-date=December 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231011210/https://www.dw.com/en/is-there-a-right-wing-surge-in-south-america/a-45874897|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, center-right [[Luis Lacalle Pou]] ended a 15-year leftist rule in Uruguay, after defeating the [[Broad Front (Uruguay)|Broad Front]] candidate.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 29, 2019|title=Conservative Lacalle Pou wins Uruguay presidential election, ending 15 years of leftist rule|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20191129-conservative-lacalle-pou-wins-uruguay-presidential-election-ending-15-years-of-leftist-rule|access-date=June 13, 2022|website=France 24|language=en|archive-date=June 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613023807/https://www.france24.com/en/20191129-conservative-lacalle-pou-wins-uruguay-presidential-election-ending-15-years-of-leftist-rule|url-status=live}}</ref>

Economically, the [[2000s commodities boom]] caused positive effects for many Latin American economies. Another trend was the rapidly increasing importance of their [[China–Latin America relations|relations with China]].<ref name=AFP2011>Jordi Zamora. {{Deprecated archive|url=https://archive.today/20130124212149/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ggNqQ5G8UFErmAEw71Y-u51P8_Eg?docId=CNG.e829052752a5436e909ab280ad561af6.671|title="China's double-edged trade with Latin America"}}. September 3, 2011. AFP.</ref>
However, with the [[Great Recession]] beginning in 2008, there was an end to the commodity boom, resulting in [[economic stagnation]] or [[recession]] in some countries. A number of left-wing governments of the Pink tide lost support. The worst-hit was Venezuela, which is facing severe [[Crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela|social and economic upheaval]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bull |first1=Benedicte |last2=Rosales |first2=Antulio |title=The crisis in Venezuela: Drivers, transitions, and pathways |journal=European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revista Europea de Estudios Latinoamericanos y del Caribe |date=2020 |issue=109 |pages=1–20 |jstor=26936900 }}</ref>

Charges against a major Brazilian conglomerate, [[Odebrecht#Legal problems|Odebrecht]], have raised allegations of corruption across the region's governments (see [[Operation Car Wash]]). This bribery ring has become the largest corruption scandal in Latin American history.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Casey|first1=Nicholas|last2=Zarate|first2=Andrea|title=Corruption Scandals With Brazilian Roots Cascade Across Latin America|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/world/americas/peru-colombia-venezuela-brazil-odebrecht-scandal.html|website=The New York Times|access-date=June 16, 2017|date=February 13, 2017|archive-date=June 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613234240/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/world/americas/peru-colombia-venezuela-brazil-odebrecht-scandal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As of July 2017, the highest ranking politicians charged were former Brazilian President [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]], who was arrested,<ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-President 'Lula' of Brazil Surrenders to Serve 12-Year Jail Term|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/world/americas/brazil-lula-surrenders-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-.html|website=The New York Times|date=April 7, 2018|access-date=April 7, 2018|last1=Andreoni|first1=Manuela|last2=Londoño|first2=Ernesto|last3=Darlington|first3=Shasta|archive-date=April 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407223333/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/07/world/americas/brazil-lula-surrenders-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and former Peruvian presidents [[Ollanta Humala]] and [[Alejandro Toledo]], who fled to the United States and was extradited back to Peru.<ref>{{cite web|title=Another former Peruvian president is sent to jail, this time as part of growing corruption scandal|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-peru-humala-20170714-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=July 14, 2017|date=July 14, 2017|archive-date=March 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324032925/https://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-peru-humala-20170714-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] proved a political challenge for many unstable Latin American democracies, with scholars identifying a decline in civil liberties as a result of opportunistic emergency powers. This was especially true for countries with strong presidential regimes, such as Brazil.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weiffen |first1=Brigitte |title=Latin America and COVID-19: Political Rights and Presidential Leadership to the Test |journal=Democratic Theory |date=December 2020 |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=61–68 |doi=10.3167/dt.2020.070208 }}</ref>

==Geography==
===Neotropical realm===
{{Main|Neotropical realm}}

[[Image:Ecozone Neotropic.svg|thumb|320px|The [[Neotropical realm]] (in purple)]]
Most of Latin America is part of the [[Neotropical realm]], one of the eight [[biogeographic realm]]s of Earth's land surface. The Neotropic is delimited by similarities in [[fauna]] or [[flora]], which are distinct from the [[Nearctic realm]], which includes most of North America. The Neotropic includes more [[tropical rainforest]] ([[tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests]]) than any other realm. It extends from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to [[southern Brazil]], including the vast [[Amazon rainforest]]. These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of [[biodiversity]] on Earth.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-822562-2.00150-X |quote=The Neotropical Region is one of the major biogeographic divisions for both plants and animals on Earth. It spans from central Mexico and the Caribbean islands to southern South America. The Neotropical Region contains the largest number of mammal species in the New World, and is the region with the largest number of endemic mammal families. |chapter=Diversity and Conservation of Neotropical Mammals |title=Encyclopedia of Biodiversity |date=2024 |last1=Ojeda |first1=Ricardo A. |last2=Novillo |first2=Agustina |pages=204–222 |isbn=978-0-323-98434-8 }}</ref>

===Climate===
{{Main|Geography of South America}}

[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map v2 South America 1991–2020.svg|thumb|upright=2.0|South America Köppen climate map<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sánchez-Dávila |first1=Gabriel |title=Clasificación climática de Sudamérica |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b74200791dda49958d6d39eddaca74a0 |website=ArcGIS StoryMaps |access-date=6 November 2024 |language=Spanish |date=15 Sep 2022}}</ref>]]
As part of the [[Hadley cell|Hadley]] model of atmospheric circulation, the equator is characterised by the ascending branches of separate [[Zonal and meridional flow|meridional]] cells, driven by intense [[Solar irradiance|insolation]].<ref name="Sylvestre2009">Sylvestre, F. (2009). Moisture Pattern During the Last Glacial Maximum in South America. Past Climate Variability in South America and Surrounding Regions: From the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene. F. Vimeux, F. Sylvestre and M. Khodri. 14.</ref><ref name="Grodsky2003">Grodsky, S. A. and J. A. Carton (2003). "The intertropical convergence zone in the South Atlantic and the equatorial cold tongue". Journal of Climate 16(4): 723–733.</ref> The vertical [[convection]] draws in air from the surrounding atmosphere, known as the [[trade winds]]. As these inward flows of air converge they reduce horizontal wind speed, and as they rise, they form [[precipitation]]. The vertical convection also results in a net export of heat and freshwater from the lower atmosphere into the [[troposphere]].<ref name="Sylvestre2009" /><ref name="Oliver2005">Oliver, J. E. (2005). ''Encyclopedia of World Climatology'', Springer.</ref>

The [[Great American Interchange]] was an important late [[Cenozoic]] paleozoogeographic [[biotic interchange]] event in which land and freshwater fauna migrated from North America to South America via Central America and vice versa, as the volcanic [[Isthmus of Panama]] rose up from the sea floor, forming a [[land bridge]] between the previously separated continents. Although earlier dispersals had occurred, probably over water, the migration accelerated dramatically about 2.7&nbsp;million years ([[Ma (unit)|Ma]]) ago during the [[Piacenzian]] age. It resulted from the joining of the Neotropic (roughly South American) and Nearctic (roughly North American) biogeographic realms to definitively form the Americas.<ref name="ODea2016">{{cite journal |last1=O'Dea |first1=A. |last2=Lessios |first2=H. A. |last3=Coates |first3=A. G. |last4=Eytan |first4= R. I. |last5=Restrepo-Moreno |first5=S. A. |last6=Cione |first6=A. L. |last7=Collins |first7=L. S. |last8=de Queiroz |first8=A. |last9=Farris |first9=D. W. |last10=Norris |first10=R. D. |last11= Stallard |first11= R. F. |last12=Woodburne |first12=M. O. |last13=Aguilera |first13=O. |last14=Aubry |first14=M.-P. |last15=Berggren |first15=W. A. |last16=Budd |first16=A. F. |last17=Cozzuol |first17=M. A. |last18= Coppard |first18=S. E. |last19=Duque-Caro |first19=H. |last20=Finnegan |first20=S. |last21=Gasparini |first21=G. M. |last22=Grossman |first22=E. L. |last23=Johnson |first23=K. G. |last24=Keigwin |first24= L. D. |last25= Knowlton |first25=N. |last26=Leigh |first26=E. G. |last27=Leonard-Pingel |first27=J. S. |last28=Marko |first28=P. B. |last29=Pyenson |first29=N. D. |last30=Rachello-Dolmen |first30=P. G. |last31= Soibelzon |first31=E. |last32=Soibelzon |first32=L. |last33=Todd |first33=J. A. |last34=Vermeij |first34=G. J. |last35=Jackson |first35=J. B. C. |title=Formation of the Isthmus of Panama |journal= Science Advances |volume=2 |issue=8 |year=2016 |article-number=e1600883 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1600883 |pmid=27540590 |pmc=4988774 |bibcode=2016SciA....2E0883O |display-authors=3}}</ref>

===Environment===
{{See also|Environmental history of Latin America}}
The environment of Latin America has been changed by human use in the expanding of agriculture, new agricultural technologies, including the [[Green Revolution]], extraction of minerals, growth of cities, and redirection of rivers by the construction of dams for irrigation, drinking water, and hydroelectric power. In the twenty-first century, there is a growing movement to protect nature, and many governments have sought recognition of natural sites by the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Sites]]. Brazil, Mexico, and Peru currently have the greatest number of natural sites.<ref name="list"/>
<gallery mode="packed">
Pico Orizaba1.jpg
Playa Varadero.JPG
Amazon 57.53278W 2.71207S.jpg
</gallery>
[[File:Canon del Sumideiro 2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sumidero Canyon]], located in [[Chiapas]], Mexico.]]
[[File:Glaucous Macaw.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Glaucous macaw]] (behind [[hyacinth macaw]]) and other macaws. [[Macaw]]s are long-tailed, often colorful [[Neotropical parrot|New World parrots]].<ref>{{OED|macaw}}</ref>]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
|+'''Environmental indicators for Latin American countries'''
!Country
!Environmental <br /> performance<ref>{{cite web|url=https://epi.yale.edu/downloads/epi2026pmsum2026-07-06.pdf|title=Environmental Performance Index 2026|work=Environmental Performance Index 2026 rankings|publisher=[[Yale University]]|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=22 July 2026}}</ref> <br /> <small>(2026)</small> <br /> <small>EPI</small>
!CO2 emissions<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iea.org/co2highlights/CO2highlights.pdf|title=CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2011|work=CO2 emissions / population|publisher=International Energy Agency (IEA)|access-date=November 2, 2010|archive-date=February 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202035728/http://www.iea.org/co2highlights/co2highlights.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> <br /> <small>(2009)</small> <br /> <small>(tons of CO2 <br /> per capita)</small>
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Argentina}}
|46.06
| 4.14
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Bolivia}}
|39.25
|1.31
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Brazil}}
| 48.27
|1.74
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Chile}}
| style="background:#cfc;"|50.95
| 3.84
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Colombia}}
| 48.83
|1.33
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Costa Rica}}
| 49.28
|1.37
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Cuba}}
|—
|2.40
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Dominican Republic}}
|38.39
|1.79
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Ecuador}}
|45.46
|2.09
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|El Salvador}}
|29.54
|1.10
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Guatemala}}
|31.49
|1.03
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Honduras}}
|37.37
|0.96
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Mexico}}
| 46.09
|3.72
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Nicaragua}}
|41.70
| 0.73
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Panama}}
|45.14
|2.10
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Paraguay}}
|38.95
| 0.64
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Peru}}
| 41.01
|1.32
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Uruguay}}
|36.91
|2.31
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Venezuela}}
|—
| style="background:#ffdbdb;"| 5.45
|}
{{Clear}}

==Economy==
{{main|Latin American economy}}

===Economic history===
{{Main|Economic history of Latin America}}

[[Image:Cathedral and Archivo de Indias - Seville.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The former ''[[Consulado de mercaderes|Casa Lonja]]'' (right), built by [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] and today the [[General Archive of the Indies]], next to the [[Seville Cathedral|Cathedral of Seville]]]]
[[File:Capitulo-CIX.jpg|thumb|[[Cerro Rico|Potosi]] produced massive amounts of silver from a single site in upper Peru. The first image published in Europe. [[Pedro Cieza de León]], 1553.]]

Before independence from Spain, [[international trade]] was regulated by the royal ''[[Casa de Contratación]]'' (House of Trade) based in [[Seville]]. Inter-regional trade was severely limited with merchants based in Spain and with overseas connections in the main colonial centers controlling the transatlantic trade.<ref>[[Clarence Haring]], ''Trade and Navigation between Spain and the Indies in the Time of the Habsburgs''. Cambridge MA: Harvard Economic Studies 1918.</ref><ref>P. and H. Chaunu, ''Seville et l'Atlantique aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles''. Paris: Flammarion 1977.</ref> Economic thought between 1500 and 1700 was predominantly [[mercantilist]], such as the [[School of Salamanca]]. This reflected [[early modern Europe]] before the [[Industrial Revolution]] but after the [[Renaissance]].<ref name="Salamanca"/>

British traders began making inroads into the theoretically closed Spanish system in the eighteenth century,<ref>Adrian Pearce. ''British Trade with Spanish America, 1763–1808''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press 2008.</ref> and the Spanish crown instituted a series of changes in policy in the eighteenth century, known as the [[Bourbon Reforms]], designed to bring the Spanish America under closer crown control. However, one innovation was ''comercio libre'' ("free commerce"), which was not [[free trade]] as generally understood, but allowed all Spanish and Spanish American ports to be accessible to each other, excluding foreign traders, in a move to stimulate economic activity yet maintain crown control.<ref>Clarence Haring, ''The Spanish Empire in America'', New York: Oxford University Press 1947.</ref>

At independence in the early nineteenth century, Spanish America and Brazil had no foreign investment or direct, legal contact with economic partners beyond those allowed within controlled trade.<ref>[[Woodrow Borah]], ''Early Colonial Trade and Navigation between Mexico and Peru''. Berkeley: University of California Press, Ibero-Americana: 38, 1954</ref> Unlike the later [[East India Company|East India Companies]], which were chartered companies established by the [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]], [[British Empire|English]], and others, the ''Casa'' collected all colonial taxes and duties, approved all voyages of exploration and trade, maintained secret information on trade routes and new discoveries, licensed captains, and administered [[commercial law]].<ref name="FlintFlint2003">{{cite book|author1=Richard Flint|author2=Shirley Cushing Flint|title=The Coronado Expedition: From the Distance of 460 Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHTAtBO5jeIC&pg=PA265|date=18 March 2003|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-2977-6|page=265}}</ref><ref name="HendersonDelpar2000">{{cite book|author1=James D. Henderson|author2=Helen Delpar|author3=Maurice Philip Brungardt|author4=Richard N. Weldon|title=A Reference Guide to Latin American History|url=https://archive.org/details/referenceguideto00hend|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-1-56324-744-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/referenceguideto00hend/page/26 26]}}</ref>

In the period before the 18th century, Latin America's economy was larger than that of [[British America]], and had a similar level of development. The English and [[New France|French colonies in North America]] had a temperate climate and no major indigenous populations whose labor could be exploited. France was developing [[Colbertism]] in the 17th century, during the reign of [[Louis XIV]], which would later evolve into ''[[Dirigisme]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolfe |first1=Martin |title=French Views on Wealth and Taxes from the Middle Ages to the Old Regime |journal=The Journal of Economic History |date=December 1966 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=466–483 |doi=10.1017/S0022050700077500 |jstor=2115903 }}</ref>

The Southern United States used plantation agriculture and had large black slave populations, sharing more characteristics with Brazil and the Caribbean than the northern English colonies. The main difference with Latin America is that the southern English colonies are predominantly Protestant to this day, forming a "[[Bible Belt]]," rather than Catholic.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America|last=Kidd|first=Thomas S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xPCrZa70--AC|year=2007|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0300148251|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=January 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115192531/https://books.google.com/books?id=xPCrZa70--AC|url-status=live}}</ref> The northern English colonies were characterized by the family farm, with a homogeneous European-descent population and a much less sharp divide between rich and poor. Unlike Spanish America and Brazil which restricted immigration, the northern English colonies were a magnet for migration, encouraged by the British crown.{{Sfn|Reid|2017}}

===Size===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
|+'''Population and economy size for Latin American countries'''
!Country
!Population{{UN_Population|ref}}<br /><small>({{UN_Population|Year}}, millions)</small>
!GDP (nominal)<ref name="knoema.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=47&pr.y=1&sy=2019&ey=2019&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=311%2C336%2C213%2C263%2C314%2C268%2C313%2C343%2C316%2C273%2C339%2C278%2C218%2C283%2C223%2C288%2C228%2C293%2C233%2C361%2C238%2C362%2C321%2C364%2C243%2C366%2C248%2C369%2C253%2C298%2C328%2C299%2C258&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP&grp=0&a=|title=GDP 2019, some Latin American countries|work=IMF WEO Database|access-date=February 10, 2020|archive-date=August 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803022106/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=47&pr.y=1&sy=2019&ey=2019&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=311%2C336%2C213%2C263%2C314%2C268%2C313%2C343%2C316%2C273%2C339%2C278%2C218%2C283%2C223%2C288%2C228%2C293%2C233%2C361%2C238%2C362%2C321%2C364%2C243%2C366%2C248%2C369%2C253%2C298%2C328%2C299%2C258&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP&grp=0&a=|url-status=live}}</ref><br /><small>(2019, millions US$)</small>
!GDP (PPP)<br /><small>(2019, millions US$)</small>
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Argentina}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Argentina}}|1|mil=no}}
| 445,469
| 903,542
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Bolivia}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Bolivia (Plurinational State of)}}|1|mil=no}}
| 42,401
| 94,392
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Brazil}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Brazil}}|1|mil=no}}
| 1,847,020
| 3,456,357
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Chile}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Chile}}|1|mil=no}}
| 294,237
| 502,846
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Colombia}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Colombia}}|1|mil=no}}
| 327,895
| 783,002
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Costa Rica}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Costa Rica}}|1|mil=no}}
| 61,021
| 91,611
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Cuba}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Cuba}}|1|mil=no}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Dominican Republic}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Dominican Republic}}|1|mil=no}}
| 89,475
| 201,266
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Ecuador}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Ecuador}}|1|mil=no}}
| 107,914
| 202,773
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|El Salvador}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|El Salvador}}|1|mil=no}}
| 26,871
| 55,731
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Guatemala}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Guatemala}}|1|mil=no}}
| 81,318
| 153,322
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Honduras}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Honduras}}|1|mil=no}}
| 24,449
| 51,757
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Mexico}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Mexico}}|1|mil=no}}
| 1,274,175
| 2,627,851
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Nicaragua}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Nicaragua}}|1|mil=no}}
| 12,528
| 34,531
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Panama}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Panama}}|1|mil=no}}
| 68,536
| 113,156
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Paraguay}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Paraguay}}|1|mil=no}}
| 40,714
| 97,163
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Peru}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Peru}}|1|mil=no}}
| 228,989
| 478,303
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Uruguay}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Uruguay}}|1|mil=no}}
| 59,918
| 82,969
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Venezuela}}
| {{million|{{UN_Population|Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)}}|1|mil=no}}
| 70,140
| {{n/a}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| '''Total'''
| 577.8
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
|}<ref name="knoema.com"/>

===Agriculture===
{{Main|Agriculture in Latin America}}

[[File:SojaBrasnorte.jpg|thumb|[[Soybean]] plantation in [[Mato Grosso]]. In 2020, Brazil was the world's largest producer, with 130 million tons. Latin America produces half of the world's soybeans.]]
The four countries with the strongest agricultural sector in South America are Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. Currently:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL/|title=Latin America production in 2020, by FAO|access-date=June 18, 2022|archive-date=November 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112130804/http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, soy, coffee, oranges, [[guaraná]], [[açaí]] and [[Brazil nut]]; is one of the top five producers of maize, [[papaya]], tobacco, [[pineapple]], banana, cotton, [[beans]], [[coconut]], [[watermelon]], lemon and [[yerba mate]]; is one of the top ten world producers of [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]], [[cashew]], [[avocado]], [[tangerine]], [[persimmon]], [[mango]], [[guava]], rice, [[oat]], [[sorghum]] and tomato; and is one of the top 15 world producers of grapes, apples, melons, peanuts, [[common fig|fig]]s, [[peach]]es, onions, [[palm oil]] and [[natural rubber]].
* Argentina is the world's largest producer of [[yerba mate]]; is one of the five largest producers in the world of soy, maize, [[sunflower seed]]s, lemons and pears, one of the 10 largest producers in the world of [[barley]], grapes, [[artichoke]]s, tobacco and cotton, and one of the 15 largest producers in the world of wheat, [[oat]]s, [[chickpea]]s, sugarcane, [[sorghum]] and [[grapefruit]].
* Chile is one of the five largest world producers of [[cherry|cherries]] and [[cranberry|cranberries]], and one of the ten largest world producers of grapes, apples, [[Kiwifruit|kiwi]], peaches, [[plum]]s and [[hazelnut]]s, focusing on exporting high-value fruits.
* Colombia is one of the five largest producers in the world of coffee, [[avocado]]s and palm oil, and one of the ten largest producers in the world of sugarcane, bananas, [[pineapple]]s and [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]]. It is the main producer of [[Coca]], an illegal plant that is the main ingredient in [[Cocaine]]
* Peru is the world's largest producer of [[quinoa]]; is one of the five largest producers of avocados, [[blueberries|blueberry]], [[artichoke]]s and [[asparagus]]; one of the ten largest producers in the world of coffee and [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]]; one of the 15 largest producers in the world of potatoes and pineapples, and also has a large production of grapes, sugarcane, rice, bananas, maize and [[cassava]]; its agriculture is considerably diversified.
* Paraguay is currently the 6th largest producer of soy in the world and entering the list of the 20 largest producers of maize and sugarcane.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC/|title=South American countries production in 2018, by FAO|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112130804/http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Central America, the following stand out:
* Guatemala is one of the ten largest producers in the world of coffee, sugar cane, melons and [[natural rubber]], and one of the world's 15 largest producers of bananas and [[palm oil]].
* Honduras is one of the five largest producers of coffee in the world, and one of the ten largest producers of [[palm oil]].
* Costa Rica is the world's largest producer of pineapples.
* Dominican Republic is one of the world's top five producers of [[papaya]]s and avocados, and one of the ten largest producers of [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]].
* Mexico is the world's largest producer of avocados, one of the world's top five producers of [[Chili pepper|Chile]], lemons, oranges, mangos, papayas, [[strawberry|strawberries]], grapefruit, pumpkins and asparagus, and one of the world's 10 largest producers of sugar cane, maize, [[sorghum]], [[bean]]s, tomatoes, [[coconut]]s, pineapple, melons and blueberries.

[[File:Perdigao.jpg|thumb|Truck of a meat company in Brazil. Latin America produces 25% of the world's beef and chicken meat.]]

Brazil is the world's largest exporter of [[chicken meat]]: 3.77&nbsp;million tons in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aviculturaindustrial.com.br/imprensa/conheca-os-3-paises-que-desafiam-o-brasil-nas-exportacoes-de-frango/20200122-093443-o532|title=Conheça os 3 países que desafiam o Brasil nas exportações de frango|work=Avicultura Industrial |date=January 22, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814020818/https://www.aviculturaindustrial.com.br/imprensa/conheca-os-3-paises-que-desafiam-o-brasil-nas-exportacoes-de-frango/20200122-093443-o532|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.farmnews.com.br/mercado/maiores-exportadores-de-carne-de-frango/|title=maiores exportadores de carne de frango entre os anos de 2015 e 2019|date=May 30, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601220250/http://www.farmnews.com.br/mercado/maiores-exportadores-de-carne-de-frango/|url-status=live}}</ref> The country had the second largest herd of cattle in the world, 22.2% of the world herd. The country was the second largest producer of beef in 2019, responsible for 15.4% of global production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.beefpoint.com.br/ibge-rebanho-de-bovinos-tinha-21823-milhoes-de-cabecas-em-2016/|title=IBGE: rebanho de bovinos tinha 218,23 milhões de cabeças em 2016|date=September 29, 2017|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509124542/https://www.beefpoint.com.br/ibge-rebanho-de-bovinos-tinha-21823-milhoes-de-cabecas-em-2016/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also the third largest world producer of milk in 2018. This year{{when|date=November 2021}}, the country produced 35.1&nbsp;billion liters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://agronewsbrazil.com.br/brasil-e-o-3o-maior-produtor-de-leite-do-mundo-superando-o-padrao-europeu-em-alguns-municipios/|title=Brasil é o 3º maior produtor de leite do mundo, superando o padrão Europeu em alguns municípios|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=September 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917042822/https://agronewsbrazil.com.br/brasil-e-o-3o-maior-produtor-de-leite-do-mundo-superando-o-padrao-europeu-em-alguns-municipios/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2019, Brazil was the fourth largest pork producer in the world, with almost four million tons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.farmnews.com.br/mercado/principais-paises-produtores-de-carne-suina/|title=principais países produtores de carne suína entre 2017 e a estimativa para 2019|date=July 23, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816082805/https://www.farmnews.com.br/mercado/principais-paises-produtores-de-carne-suina/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, Argentina was the fourth largest producer of beef in the world, with a production of 3 million tons (behind only United States, Brazil and China). Uruguay is also a major meat producer. In 2018, it produced 589 thousand tons of beef.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL/|title=Argentina production in 2018, by FAO|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112130804/http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QL/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the production of [[chicken meat]], Mexico is among the ten largest producers in the world, Argentina among the 15 largest and Peru and Colombia among the 20 largest. In beef production, Mexico is one of the ten largest producers in the world and Colombia is one of the 20 largest producers. In the production of pork, Mexico is among the 15 largest producers in the world. In the production of [[honey]], Argentina is among the five largest producers in the world, Mexico among the ten largest and Brazil among the 15 largest. In terms of [[cow's milk]] production, Mexico is among the 15 largest producers in the world and Argentina among the 20 largest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/faostat/es/#data/QL/|title=Producción de carne y leche, por FAO|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016050347/http://www.fao.org/faostat/es/#data/QL/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Mining and petroleum===
[[File:Cerro ricco.jpg|thumb|[[Cerro Rico]], [[Potosí Department|Potosi]], Bolivia, still a major mine]] Mining is one of the most important economic sectors in Latin America, especially for [[Mining in Chile|Chile]], [[Mining in Peru|Peru]] and [[Mining in Bolivia|Bolivia]], whose economies are highly dependent on this sector. The continent has large productions of:
* Gold (mainly in [[Gold mining in Peru|Peru]], Mexico, [[Gold mining in Brazil|Brazil]] and Argentina);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/|title=mcs2021 /mcs2021-gold.pdf USGS Gold Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=June 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615031507/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Silver (mainly in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-silver.pdf|title=Production statistics of USGS Silver|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515082301/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-silver.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Copper (mainly in [[Copper mining in Chile|Chile]], [[Copper mining in Peru|Peru]], Mexico and Brazil);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf|title=Copper production statistics for the USGS|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Iron ore (Brazil, Peru and [[Iron mining in Chile|Chile]]);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iron-ore.pdf|title=Production statistics of USGS iron ore|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iron-ore.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Zinc]] (Peru, Mexico, Bolivia and Brazil);<ref name= "USGS Zinc Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-zinc.pdf|title=Zinc production statistics from USGS|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-zinc.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Molybdenum]] (Chile, Peru and Mexico);<ref name="pubs.usgs.gov">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-molybdenum.pdf|title=USGS Molybdenum Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-molybdenum.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Lithium]] ([[lithium mining in Chile|Chile]], Argentina and Brazil);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lithium.pdf|title=USGS lithium production statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lithium.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Lead (Peru, Mexico and Bolivia);<ref name="USGS Lead Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lead.pdf|title=USGS Lead Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515091715/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lead.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Bauxite]] (Brazil and Jamaica);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bauxite-alumina.pdf|title=USGS Bauxite Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=December 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208035529/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bauxite-alumina.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Tin]] (Peru, Bolivia and Brazil);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-tin.pdf|title=USGS tin production statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813153917/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-tin.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Manganese]] (Brazil and Mexico);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-manganese.pdf|title=Manganese production statistics from the USGS|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625143322/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-manganese.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Antimony]] (Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala and Ecuador);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-antimony.pdf|title=USGS antimony production statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-antimony.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Nickel]] (Brazil, Dominican Republic and Cuba);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-nickel.pdf|title=USGS Nickel Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-nickel.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Niobium]] (Brazil);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-niobium.pdf|title=USGS Niobium Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-niobium.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Rhenium]] (Chile);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-rhenium.pdf|title=USGS rhenium production statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=June 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621074425/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-rhenium.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Iodine]] ([[Mining in Chile#Iodine and nitrate|Chile]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iodine.pdf|title=USGS iodine production statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625191455/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iodine.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Brazil stands out in the extraction of
* Iron ore (where it is the 2nd largest producer and exporter in the world—iron ore is usually one of the three export products that generate the greatest value in the country's [[trade balance]])
* Copper
* Gold
* [[Bauxite]] (one of the five largest producers in the world)
* [[Manganese]] (one of the five largest producers in the world)
* [[Tin]] (one of the largest producers in the world)
* [[Niobium]] (98% of known world reserves) and
* [[Nickel]]

In terms of gemstones, Brazil is the world's largest producer of [[amethyst]]s, [[topaz]], and [[agate]]s and one of the main producers of [[tourmaline]], emeralds, [[aquamarine (gemstone)|aquamarine]]s, [[garnet]]s and [[opal]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.br/anm/pt-br/pagina-inicial|title=ANM|website=gov.br Agência Nacional de Mineração|date=July 31, 2023|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804161841/https://www.gov.br/anm/pt-br/pagina-inicial|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://noticias.r7.com/brasil/brasil-extrai-cerca-de-2-gramas-de-ouro-por-habitante-em-5-anos-29062019|title=Brasil extrai cerca de 2 gramas de ouro por habitante em 5 anos|date=June 29, 2019|website=R7.com|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712095924/https://noticias.r7.com/brasil/brasil-extrai-cerca-de-2-gramas-de-ouro-por-habitante-em-5-anos-29062019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Economia_Negocios/0,,MUL190262-9356,00-VOTORANTIM+METAIS+ADQUIRE+RESERVAS+DE+ZINCO+DA+MASA.html|title=G1 > Economia e Negócios – NOTÍCIAS – Votorantim Metais adquire reservas de zinco da Masa|website=g1.globo.com|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=January 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118205757/http://g1.globo.com/Noticias/Economia_Negocios/0,,MUL190262-9356,00-VOTORANTIM+METAIS+ADQUIRE+RESERVAS+DE+ZINCO+DA+MASA.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2019/12/12/niobio-g1-visita-em-mg-complexo-industrial-do-maior-produtor-do-mundo.ghtml|title=Nióbio: G1 visita em MG complexo industrial do maior produtor do mundo|website=G1|date=December 12, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212144838/https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2019/12/12/niobio-g1-visita-em-mg-complexo-industrial-do-maior-produtor-do-mundo.ghtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cprm.gov.br/publique/Redes-Institucionais/Rede-de-Bibliotecas---Rede-Ametista/Algumas-Gemas-Classicas-1104.html|title=Serviço Geológico do Brasil|website=cprm.gov.br|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=September 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906194936/http://www.cprm.gov.br/publique/Redes-Institucionais/Rede-de-Bibliotecas---Rede-Ametista/Algumas-Gemas-Classicas-1104.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://noticias.band.uol.com.br/noticias/100000911432/rio-grande-do-sul-o-maior-exportador-de-pedras-preciosas-do-brasil.html|title=Rio Grande do Sul: o maior exportador de pedras preciosas do Brasil|website=Band.com.br|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=May 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502153003/https://noticias.band.uol.com.br/noticias/100000911432/rio-grande-do-sul-o-maior-exportador-de-pedras-preciosas-do-brasil.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Chile contributes about a third of the world's copper production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf|title=Copper production in 2019 by USGS|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, Chile was, in 2019, the world's largest producer of iodine<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iodine.pdf|title=USGS Iodine Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625191455/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iodine.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[rhenium]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-rhenium.pdf|title=USGS Rhenium Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=June 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621074425/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-rhenium.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the second largest producer of [[lithium]]<ref name="USGS Lithium Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lithium.pdf|title=USGS Lithium Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lithium.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[molybdenum]],<ref name="pubs.usgs.gov"/> the sixth largest producer of silver,<ref name="USGS Silver Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-silver.pdf|title=USGS Silver Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515082301/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-silver.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the seventh largest producer of salt,<ref name="USGS Salt Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-salt.pdf|title=USGS Salt Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-salt.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the eighth largest producer of [[potash]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-potash.pdf|title=USGS Potash Product ion Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-potash.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the thirteenth-largest producer of [[sulfur]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-sulfur.pdf|title=USGS Sulfur Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-sulfur.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and the thirteenth largest producer of iron ore<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iron-ore.pdf|title=USGS Iron Ore Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-iron-ore.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> in the world.

In 2019, Peru was the second largest world producer of copper<ref name="USGS Copper Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf|title=USGS Copper Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-copper.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and silver,<ref name="USGS Silver Production Statistics"/> 8th largest world producer of gold,<ref name="USGS Gold Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-gold.pdf|title=USGS Gold Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-gold.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> third largest world producer of lead,<ref name="USGS Lead Production Statistics"/> second largest world producer of [[zinc]],<ref name="USGS Zinc Production Statistics"/> fourth largest world producer of [[tin]],<ref name="USGS Tin Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-tin.pdf|title=USGS Tin Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813153917/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-tin.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> fifth largest world producer of [[boron]],<ref name="USGS Boron Production Statistics">{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-boron.pdf|title=USGS Boron Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=July 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718104325/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-boron.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and fourth largest world producer of molybdenum.<ref name="pubs.usgs.gov"/>

In 2019, Bolivia was the eighth largest world producer of silver;<ref name="USGS Silver Production Statistics"/> fourth largest world producer of boron;<ref name="USGS Boron Production Statistics"/> fifth largest world producer of [[antimony]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-antimony.pdf|title=USGS Antimony Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-antimony.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> fifth largest world producer of [[tin]];<ref name="USGS Tin Production Statistics"/> sixth largest world producer of [[tungsten]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-tungsten.pdf|title=USGS Tungsten Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=July 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210705141418/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-tungsten.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> seventh largest producer of [[zinc]],<ref name="USGS Zinc Production Statistics"/> and the eighth largest producer of lead.<ref name="USGS Lead Production Statistics"/><ref>{{cite web|first=Keith|last=Campbell|url=http://www.miningweekly.com/article/the-state-of-mining-in-south-america-an-overview-2013-06-21|title=The state of mining in South America – an overview|publisher=Miningweekly.com|date=June 21, 2013|access-date=March 19, 2022|archive-date=December 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207073436/https://www.miningweekly.com/article/the-state-of-mining-in-south-america-an-overview-2013-06-21|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anm.gov.br/dnpm/publicacoes/serie-estatisticas-e-economia-mineral/anuario-mineral/anuario-mineral-brasileiro/amb_2018_ano_base_2017|title=Anuário Mineral Brasileiro 2018|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709020214/http://www.anm.gov.br/dnpm/publicacoes/serie-estatisticas-e-economia-mineral/anuario-mineral/anuario-mineral-brasileiro/amb_2018_ano_base_2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, Mexico was the world's largest producer of silver<ref name="USGS Silver Production Statistics"/> (representing almost 23% of world production, producing more than 200 million ounces in 2019);<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scsegusp.com/single-post/2020/05/14/Minera%C3%A7%C3%A3o-no-M%C3%A9xico-ser%C3%A1-reiniciada-na-pr%C3%B3xima-semana|title=La minería en México se reiniciará la próxima semana|date=May 14, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125132143/https://www.scsegusp.com/single-post/2020/05/14/minera%C3%A7%C3%A3o-no-m%C3%A9xico-ser%C3%A1-reiniciada-na-pr%C3%B3xima-semana|url-status=live}}</ref> ninth largest producer of gold,<ref name="USGS Gold Production Statistics"/> the eighth largest producer of copper,<ref name="USGS Copper Production Statistics"/> the world's fifth largest producer of lead,<ref name="USGS Lead Production Statistics"/> the world's sixth largest producer of zinc,<ref name="USGS Zinc Production Statistics"/> the world's fifth largest producer of molybdenum,<ref name="pubs.usgs.gov"/> the world's third largest producer of [[mercury (chemical element)|mercury]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-mercury.pdf|title=USGS Mercury Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=March 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307084311/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-mercury.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the world's fifth largest producer of [[bismuth]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bismuth.pdf|title=USGS Bismuth Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=October 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022151458/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-bismuth.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the world's 13th largest producer of [[manganese]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-manganese.pdf|title=USGS Manganese Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625143322/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-manganese.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 23rd largest world producer of [[phosphate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-phosphate.pdf|title=USGS Phosphate Production Statistics|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=May 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502135915/https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-phosphate.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It is also the eighth largest world producer of [[table salt|salt]].<ref name="USGS Salt Production Statistics"/>

In 2019, Argentina was the fourth largest world producer of lithium,<ref name="USGS Lithium Production Statistics"/> the ninth largest world producer of silver,<ref name="USGS Silver Production Statistics"/> the 17th largest world producer of gold<ref name="USGS Gold Production Statistics"/> and the seventh largest world producer of boron.<ref name="USGS Boron Production Statistics"/>

Colombia is the world's largest producer of [[emeralds]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2012/10/121025_colombia_esmeraldas_ru|title=Colombian emeralds|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=December 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221174300/https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/noticias/2012/10/121025_colombia_esmeraldas_ru|url-status=live}}</ref> In the production of gold, between 2006 and 2017, the country produced 15 tons per year until 2007, when its production increased significantly, breaking a record of 66.1 tons extracted in 2012. In 2017, it extracted 52.2 tons. The country is among the 25 largest gold producers in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/colombia/gold-production|title=Gold production in Colombia|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816022625/https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/colombia/gold-production|url-status=live}}</ref> In the production of silver, in 2017 the country extracted 15,5 tons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/colombia/silver-production|title=Silver production in Colombia|access-date=June 27, 2021|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816150027/https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/colombia/silver-production|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[Petroleum|oil]] production, Brazil was the tenth largest oil producer in the world in 2019, with 2.8&nbsp;million barrels a day. Mexico was the twelfth largest, with 2.1&nbsp;million barrels a day, Colombia in 20th place with 886 thousand barrels a day, Venezuela was the twenty-first place, with 877 thousand barrels a day, Ecuador in 28th with 531 thousand barrels a day and Argentina. 29th with 507 thousand barrels a day. Since Venezuela and Ecuador consume little oil and export most of their production, they are part of [[OPEC]]. Venezuela had a big drop in production after 2015 (when it produced 2.5&nbsp;million barrels a day), falling in 2016 to 2.2&nbsp;million, in 2017 to 2 million, in 2018 to 1.4&nbsp;million and in 2019 to 877 thousand, due to lack of investment.<ref name="eia.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/petroleum-and-other-liquids/annual-petroleum-and-other-liquids-production?pd=5&p=0000000000000000000000000000000000vg&u=0&f=A&v=mapbubble&a=-&i=none&vo=value&&t=C&g=00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001&l=249-ruvvvvvfvtvnvv1vrvvvvfvvvvvvfvvvou20evvvvvvvvvvnvvvs0008&s=94694400000&e=1546300800000|title=Production of Crude Oil including Lease Condensate 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304103613/https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/petroleum-and-other-liquids/annual-petroleum-and-other-liquids-production?pd=5&p=0000000000000000000000000000000000vg&u=0&f=A&v=mapbubble&a=-&i=none&vo=value&t=C&g=00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001&l=249-ruvvvvvfvtvnvv1vrvvvvfvvvvvvfvvvou20evvvvvvvvvvnvvvs0008&s=94694400000&e=1546300800000|url-status=live}}</ref>

In natural gas production, in 2018, Argentina produced 1,524 bcf (billions of cubic feet), Mexico produced 999, Venezuela 946, Brazil 877, Bolivia 617, Peru 451, Colombia 379.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/natural-gas/dry-natural-gas-production?pd=3002&p=00g&u=0&f=A&v=mapbubble&a=-&i=none&vo=value&&t=C&g=00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001&l=249-ruvvvvvfvtvnvv1vrvvvvfvvvvvvfvvvou20evvvvvvvvvvnvvvs0008&s=315532800000&e=1546300800000|title=Natural Gas production|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=October 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019114317/https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/natural-gas/dry-natural-gas-production?pd=3002&p=00g&u=0&f=A&v=mapbubble&a=-&i=none&vo=value&&t=C&g=00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001&l=249-ruvvvvvfvtvnvv1vrvvvvfvvvvvvfvvvou20evvvvvvvvvvnvvvs0008&s=315532800000&e=1546300800000|url-status=live}}</ref>

In coal production, the continent had three of the 30 largest world producers in 2018: Colombia (12th), Mexico (24th) and Brazil (27th).<ref name="bp.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html|title=Statistical Review of World Energy 2018|access-date=June 26, 2021|archive-date=October 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012042030/https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Manufacturing===
[[File:Planta Braskem.jpg|thumb|[[Braskem]], the largest Brazilian chemical industry]]
[[File:EMS - panoramio.jpg|thumb|[[EMS (pharmaceuticals)|EMS]], the largest Brazilian pharmaceutical industry]]
[[File:Laminasdeacero002.jpeg|thumb|Steel production in [[San Nicolás de los Arroyos|San Nicolás]], Argentina.]]
The [[World Bank]] annually lists the top manufacturing countries by total manufacturing value. According to the 2019 list:
* Mexico had the twelfth most valuable industry in the world (US$217.8&nbsp;billion)
* Brazil the thirteenth largest (US$173.6&nbsp;billion)
* Venezuela the thirtieth largest (US$58.2&nbsp;billion, however, it depends on oil to reach this value)
* Argentina the 31st largest (US$57.7&nbsp;billion)
* Colombia the 46th largest (US$35.4&nbsp;billion)
* Peru the 50th largest (US$28.7&nbsp;billion)
* Chile the 51st largest (US$28.3&nbsp;billion).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true|title=Manufacturing, value added (current US$)|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=January 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107135049/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.CD?most_recent_value_desc=true|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Latin America, few countries stand out in industrial activity: Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and, less prominently, Chile. Begun late, the industrialization of these countries received a great boost from World War II: this prevented the countries at war from buying the products they were used to importing and exporting what they produced. At that time, benefiting from the abundant local raw material, the low wages paid to the labor force and a certain specialization brought by immigrants, countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, as well as Venezuela, Chile, Colombia and Peru, were able to implement important industrial parks. In general, in these countries there are industries that require little capital and simple technology for their installation, such as the food processing and textile industries. The basic industries (steel, etc.) also stand out, as well as the metallurgical and mechanical industries.{{Citation needed paragraph|date=April 2022}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Forero |first1=David |last2=Tena-Junguito |first2=Antonio |title=Industrialization as an engine of growth in Latin America throughout a century 1913–2013 |journal=Structural Change and Economic Dynamics |date=March 2024 |volume=68 |pages=98–115 |doi=10.1016/j.strueco.2023.08.009 }}</ref>

The industrial parks of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile, however, present much greater diversity and sophistication, producing advanced technology items. In the rest of Latin American countries, mainly in Central America, the processing industries of primary products for export predominate.{{Citation needed paragraph|date=April 2022}}

In the [[food industry]], in 2019, Brazil was the second largest exporter of processed foods in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://alimentosprocessados.com.br/industria-na-sociedade-brasileira.php|title=Alimentos Processados {{pipe}} A indústria de alimentos e bebidas na sociedade brasileira atual|website=alimentosprocessados.com.br|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=March 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325142658/https://alimentosprocessados.com.br/industria-na-sociedade-brasileira.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2020/02/18/faturamento-da-industria-de-alimentos-cresceu-67percent-em-2019.ghtml|title=Faturamento da indústria de alimentos cresceu 6,7% em 2019|website=G1|date=February 18, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=February 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219171658/https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2020/02/18/faturamento-da-industria-de-alimentos-cresceu-67percent-em-2019.ghtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/economia/noticia/2020-02/industria-de-alimentos-e-bebidas-faturaram-r-6999-bi-em-2019|title=Indústria de alimentos e bebidas faturou R$699,9 bi em 2019|date=February 18, 2020|website=Agência Brasil|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=February 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219032930/https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/economia/noticia/2020-02/industria-de-alimentos-e-bebidas-faturaram-r-6999-bi-em-2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, the country was the second largest producer of [[Pulp (paper)|pulp]] in the world and the eighth largest producer of paper.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2020/02/21/producao-nacional-de-celulose-cai-66percent-em-2019-aponta-iba.ghtml|title=Produção nacional de celulose cai 6,6% em 2019, aponta Ibá|website=Valor Econômico|date=February 21, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221134709/https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2020/02/21/producao-nacional-de-celulose-cai-66percent-em-2019-aponta-iba.ghtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.celuloseonline.com.br/sabe-qual-e-o-estado-brasileiro-que-mais-produz-madeira-nao-e-sao-paulo/|title=Sabe qual é o estado brasileiro que mais produz Madeira?|date=October 9, 2017|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=October 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012095718/https://www.celuloseonline.com.br/sabe-qual-e-o-estado-brasileiro-que-mais-produz-madeira-nao-e-sao-paulo/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/espirito-santo/noticia/sao-mateus-e-o-6-maior-produtor-de-madeira-em-tora-para-papel-e-celulose-no-pais-diz-ibge.ghtml|title=São Mateus é o 6º maior produtor de madeira em tora para papel e celulose no país, diz IBGE|website=G1|date=September 28, 2017|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614215127/https://g1.globo.com/espirito-santo/noticia/sao-mateus-e-o-6-maior-produtor-de-madeira-em-tora-para-papel-e-celulose-no-pais-diz-ibge.ghtml|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[footwear industry]], in 2019, Brazil ranked fourth among world producers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/sp/ribeirao-preto-franca/noticia/2019/07/14/industrias-calcadistas-em-franca-sp-registram-queda-de-40percent-nas-vagas-de-trabalho-em-6-anos.ghtml|title=Indústrias calçadistas em Franca, SP registram queda de 40% nas vagas de trabalho em 6 anos|website=G1|date=July 14, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=July 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714205803/https://g1.globo.com/sp/ribeirao-preto-franca/noticia/2019/07/14/industrias-calcadistas-em-franca-sp-registram-queda-de-40percent-nas-vagas-de-trabalho-em-6-anos.ghtml|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fenac.com.br/producao-de-calcados-deve-crescer-3-em-2019|title=Fenac – Centro de Eventos e Negócios {{pipe}} Produção de calçados deve crescer 3% em 2019|first=Agência Maya: Criação de Sites e Marketing|last=Digital|website=fenac.com.br|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=November 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101151709/http://www.fenac.com.br/producao-de-calcados-deve-crescer-3-em-2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abicalcados.com.br/noticia/abicalcados-apresenta-relatorio-setorial-2019|title=Abicalçados apresenta Relatório Setorial 2019|website=abicalcados.com.br|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422064032/https://www.abicalcados.com.br/noticia/abicalcados-apresenta-relatorio-setorial-2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fazcomex.com.br/blog/exportacao-de-calcados-saiba-mais/|title=Exportação de Calçados: Saiba mais|date=February 27, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=April 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415014352/https://www.fazcomex.com.br/blog/exportacao-de-calcados-saiba-mais/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2019, the country was the eighth largest producer of [[vehicles]] and the ninth largest producer of steel in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://diariodocomercio.com.br/livre/minas-gerais-produz-323-do-aco-nacional-em-2019/|title=Minas Gerais produz 32,3% do aço nacional em 2019|first=Diário do|last=Comércio|date=January 24, 2020|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614182655/https://diariodocomercio.com.br/livre/minas-gerais-produz-323-do-aco-nacional-em-2019/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.istoedinheiro.com.br/o-novo-mapa-das-montadoras/|title=O novo mapa das montadoras, que agora rumam para o interior do País|date=March 8, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308152711/https://www.istoedinheiro.com.br/o-novo-mapa-das-montadoras/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/rj/sul-do-rio-costa-verde/noticia/industria-automobilistica-do-sul-do-rio-impulsiona-superavit-na-economia.ghtml|title=Indústria automobilística do Sul do Rio impulsiona superavit na economia|website=G1|date=July 12, 2017|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719091817/https://g1.globo.com/rj/sul-do-rio-costa-verde/noticia/industria-automobilistica-do-sul-do-rio-impulsiona-superavit-na-economia.ghtml|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, the [[chemical industry]] of Brazil was the eighth largest in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pwc.com.br/pt/publicacoes/setores-atividade/assets/quimico-petroquimico/2013/pwc-chemicals-port-13.pdf|title=Indústria Química no Brasil|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.pwc.com.br/pt/publicacoes/setores-atividade/assets/quimico-petroquimico/2013/pwc-chemicals-port-13.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/br/Documents/energy-resources/Deloitte-Abiquim-Setor-Quimico-Relatorio.pdf|title=Estudo de 2018|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/br/Documents/energy-resources/Deloitte-Abiquim-Setor-Quimico-Relatorio.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://economia.uol.com.br/noticias/estadao-conteudo/2020/02/03/producao-nacional-da-industria-de-quimicos-cai-57-em-2019-diz-abiquim.htm|title=Produção nacional da indústria de químicos cai 5,7% em 2019, diz Abiquim|website=economia.uol.com.br|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614230629/https://economia.uol.com.br/noticias/estadao-conteudo/2020/02/03/producao-nacional-da-industria-de-quimicos-cai-57-em-2019-diz-abiquim.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[textile industry]], Brazil, although it was among the five largest world producers in 2013, is very little integrated into world trade.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bnb.gov.br/documents/80223/2509338/textil_16_2017%28V2%29.pdf/063d7521-342f-e81e-232a-e251964fa1c3|title=Industria Textil no Brasil|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=June 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200619042050/https://www.bnb.gov.br/documents/80223/2509338/textil_16_2017%28V2%29.pdf/063d7521-342f-e81e-232a-e251964fa1c3|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the aviation sector, Brazil has [[Embraer]], the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, behind [[Boeing]] and [[Airbus]].

===Infrastructure===
[[File:New Panama Canal.jpg|thumb|[[Panama Canal expansion project]]; New ''Agua Clara'' locks (Atlantic side)]]
[[File:General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge view from the lake to Cabimas side.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge]]]]

Transport in Latin America is carried out primarily by road, the most developed mode in the region. There is also considerable [[port]] and [[airport]] infrastructure. The railway and [[fluvial]] sector, although it has potential, is usually treated in a secondary way.

Brazil has more than {{cvt|1700000|km|mi}} of [[roads]], of which {{cvt|215,000|km|mi}} are paved, and about {{cvt|14,000|km|mi}} are [[dual carriageway|divided highways]]. The two most important highways in the country are [[BR-101]] and [[BR-116]].<ref name="Anuário CNT do transporte 2018">{{cite web|url=https://anuariodotransporte.cnt.org.br/2018/|title=Anuário CNT do transporte 2018|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111012349/http://anuariodotransporte.cnt.org.br/2018/|url-status=live}}</ref> Argentina has more than {{cvt|600,000|km|mi}} of roads, of which about {{cvt|70,000|km|mi}} are paved, and about {{cvt|2,500|km|mi}} are divided highways. The three most important highways in the country are [[National Route 9 (Argentina)|Route 9]], [[National Route 7 (Argentina)|Route 7]] and [[National Route 14 (Argentina)|Route 14]].<ref name="Anuário CNT do transporte 2018"/> Colombia has about {{cvt|210,000|km|mi}} of roads, and about {{cvt|2,300|km}} are divided highways.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mintransporte.gov.co/descargar.php?idFile=14090|title=Transporte en Cifras Estadísticas 2015|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=January 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127090803/https://www.mintransporte.gov.co/descargar.php?idFile=14090|url-status=live}}</ref> Chile has about {{cvt|82,000|km|mi}} of roads, {{cvt|20,000|km}} of which are paved, and about {{cvt|2,000|km|mi}} are divided highways. The most important highway in the country is the [[Chile Route 5|Route 5]] ([[Pan-American Highway]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapas.mop.cl/cc2017/Cuadernillo/Cuadernillo_2017.pdf|title=Carta Caminera 2017|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414172426/http://www.mapas.mop.cl/cc2017/Cuadernillo/Cuadernillo_2017.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> These 4 countries have the most developed road infrastructure and the largest number of double-lane highways in South America.

The roadway network in Mexico has an extent of {{convert|366095|km|mi|abbr=on}},<ref name=cis>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/|title= CIA – The World Factbook|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126164719/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico |archive-date=January 26, 2021|website=CIA World Factbook|access-date=December 20, 2010}}</ref> of which {{convert|116802|km|mi|abbr=on}} are paved,<ref name=sctroad>[http://dgaf.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/EST_BASICA/EST_BASICA_2005/EST2005_12INFRA.pdf Infraestructura Carretera] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716114353/http://dgaf.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/EST_BASICA/EST_BASICA_2005/EST2005_12INFRA.pdf |date=July 16, 2007 }}. Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes. México. Retrieved January 13, 2007</ref><ref>With data from [[The World Factbook]]</ref> Of these, {{convert|10474|km|mi|abbr=on}} are multi-lane [[Controlled-access highway|expressways]]: {{convert|9544|km|mi|abbr=on}} are four-lane highways and the rest have 6 or more lanes.<ref name=sctroad/>

Due to the [[Andes Mountains]], [[Amazon River]] and [[Amazon Forest]], there have always been difficulties in implementing transcontinental or bioceanic highways. Practically the only route that existed was the one that connected Brazil to Buenos Aires, in Argentina and later to Santiago, in Chile. However, in recent years, with the combined effort of countries, new routes have started to emerge, such as Brazil-Peru ([[Interoceanic Highway]]), and a new highway between Brazil, Paraguay, northern Argentina and northern Chile ([[Central Bi-Oceanic railway|Bioceanic Corridor]]).[[File:A Saúde dos Portos (7110638275).jpg|thumb|right|Port of Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil]]

There are more than 2,000 airports in Brazil. The country has the second largest number of airports in the world, behind only the United States. [[São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport|São Paulo International Airport]], located in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, is the largest and busiest in the country – the airport connects São Paulo to practically all major cities around the world. Brazil has 44 international airports, such as those in [[Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport|Rio de Janeiro]], [[Brasília International Airport|Brasília]], [[Belo Horizonte International Airport|Belo Horizonte]], [[Salgado Filho International Airport|Porto Alegre]], [[Hercílio Luz International Airport|Florianópolis]], [[Marechal Rondon International Airport|Cuiabá]], [[Salvador International Airport|Salvador]], [[Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport|Recife]], [[Fortaleza Airport|Fortaleza]], [[Belém/Val-de-Cans International Airport|Belém]] and [[Eduardo Gomes International Airport|Manaus]], among others. Argentina has important international airports such as [[Ministro Pistarini International Airport|Buenos Aires]], [[Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport|Cordoba]], [[San Carlos de Bariloche Airport|Bariloche]], [[Governor Francisco Gabrielli International Airport|Mendoza]], [[Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport|Salta]], [[Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport|Puerto Iguazú]], [[Presidente Perón International Airport|Neuquén]] and [[Ushuaia – Malvinas Argentinas International Airport|Ushuaia]], among others. Chile has important international airports such as [[Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport|Santiago]], [[Andrés Sabella Gálvez International Airport|Antofagasta]], [[El Tepual Airport|Puerto Montt]], [[Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport|Punta Arenas]] and [[Diego Aracena International Airport|Iquique]], among others. Colombia has important international airports such as [[El Dorado International Airport|Bogotá]], [[José María Córdova International Airport|Medellín]], [[Rafael Núñez International Airport|Cartagena]], [[Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport|Cali]] and [[Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport|Barranquilla]], among others. Peru has important international airports such as [[Jorge Chávez International Airport|Lima]], [[Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport|Cuzco]] and [[Rodríguez Ballón International Airport|Arequipa]]. Other important airports are those in the capitals of Uruguay ([[Carrasco International Airport|Montevideo]]), Paraguay ([[Silvio Pettirossi International Airport|Asunción]]), Bolivia ([[El Alto International Airport|La Paz]]) and Ecuador ([[Mariscal Sucre International Airport|Quito]]). The 10 busiest airports in South America in 2017 were: São Paulo-Guarulhos (Brazil), Bogotá (Colombia), São Paulo-Congonhas (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru), Brasília (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Buenos Aires-Aeroparque (Argentina), Buenos Aires-Ezeiza (Argentina), and Minas Gerais (Brazil).<ref name="panrotas.com.br">{{cite web|url=https://www.panrotas.com.br/aviacao/aeroportos/2018/10/brasil-tem-9-dos-maiores-aeroportos-da-america-latina_159919.html|title=Brasil tem 9 dos maiores aeroportos da América Latina|date=October 29, 2018|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111125631/https://www.panrotas.com.br/aviacao/aeroportos/2018/10/brasil-tem-9-dos-maiores-aeroportos-da-america-latina_159919.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

There are 1,580 airports in Mexico, the fourth-largest number of airports by country in the world.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2053rank.html Ranking on the number of airports per country] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119190550/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2053rank.html |date=January 19, 2018 }}. CIA Factbook</ref> The seven largest airports—which absorb 90% of air travel—are (in order of air traffic): [[Mexico City International Airport|Mexico City]], [[Cancún International Airport|Cancún]], [[Guadalajara International Airport|Guadalajara]], [[Monterrey International Airport|Monterrey]], [[Tijuana International Airport|Tijuana]], [[Acapulco International Airport|Acapulco]], and [[Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport|Puerto Vallarta]].<ref name=mcx>[http://www.mcx.es/turismo/infopais/mexico/Mexico.htm#D.-%20Infr Infrastructuras] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202171017/http://www.mcx.es/turismo/infopais/mexico/Mexico.htm#D.-%20Infr |date=February 2, 2009 }}. Información de México. Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio de España.</ref> Considering all of Latin America, the 10 busiest airports in 2024 were: Bogotá (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico), São Paulo-Guarulhos (Brazil), Cancún (Mexico), Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru), São Paulo-Congonhas (Brazil), Tocumen (Panama), Guadalajara (Mexico) and Brasilia (Brazil).<ref>{{Cite web |title=ACI-LAC presents the 10 busiest airports in Latin America and the Caribbean: an industry on the rise |url=https://ala.aero/2025/04/aci-lac-presents-the-10-busiest-airports-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-an-industry-on-the-rise/ |access-date=24 November 2025 |website=ala.aero}}</ref>

Brazil has some of the busiest ports in South America, such as [[Port of Santos]], [[Port of Rio de Janeiro]], [[Port of Paranaguá]], [[Port of Itajaí]], [[Port of Rio Grande]], [[Port of São Francisco do Sul]] and [[Suape Port]]. Argentina has ports such as [[Port of Buenos Aires]] and [[Port of Rosario]]. Chile has important ports in [[Valparaíso]], [[Caldera, Chile|Caldera]], [[Mejillones]], [[Antofagasta]], [[Iquique]], [[Arica]] and [[Puerto Montt]]. Colombia has important ports such as [[Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca|Buenaventura]], [[Cartagena Container Terminal]] and [[Puerto Bolivar, Colombia|Puerto Bolivar]]. Peru has important ports in [[Callao]], [[Ilo, Peru|Ilo]] and [[Matarani]]. The 15 busiest ports in South America are: Port of Santos (Brazil), Port of Bahia de Cartagena (Colombia), Callao (Peru), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Buenos Aires (Argentina), San Antonio (Chile), Buenaventura (Colombia), Itajaí (Brazil), Valparaíso (Chile), Montevideo (Uruguay), Paranaguá (Brazil), Rio Grande (Brazil), São Francisco do Sul (Brazil), Manaus (Brazil) and Coronel (Chile).<ref name="cepal.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.cepal.org/sites/default/files/news/files/actividad_portuaria_2018.pdf|title=Port Activity of Latin America and the Caribbean 2018|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114132759/https://www.cepal.org/sites/default/files/news/files/actividad_portuaria_2018.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The four major seaports concentrating around 60% of the merchandise traffic in Mexico are [[Altamira, Tamaulipas|Altamira]] and [[Veracruz, Veracruz|Veracruz]] in the [[Gulf of Mexico]], and [[Manzanillo, Colima|Manzanillo]] and [[Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán|Lázaro Cárdenas]] in the Pacific Ocean. Considering all of Latin America, the 10 largest ports in terms of movement are: Colon (Panama), Santos (Brazil), Manzanillo (Mexico), Bahia de Cartagena (Colombia), Pacifico (Panama), Callao (Peru), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Buenos Aires (Argentina), San Antonio (Chile) and Buenaventura (Colombia).<ref name="cepal.org"/>

The [[Rail transport in Brazil|Brazilian railway network]] has an extension of about 30,000 kilometers. It is basically used for transporting ores.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/brazil/|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence|date=July 12, 2022|access-date=January 24, 2021|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812124129/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/brazil/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Rail transport in Argentina|Argentine rail network]], with 47,000&nbsp;km of tracks, was one of the largest in the world and continues to be the most extensive in Latin America. It came to have about 100,000&nbsp;km of rails, but the lifting of tracks and the emphasis placed on motor transport gradually reduced it. It has four different trails and international connections with Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. [[Rail transport in Chile|Chile]] has almost 7,000&nbsp;km of railways, with connections to Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. [[Rail transport in Colombia|Colombia]] has only about 3,500&nbsp;km of railways.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mintransporte.gov.co/Servicios/Estadisticas/DIAGNOSTICO_TRANSPORTE_2008.pdf|title=Diagnostico Transporte|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=March 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307192918/https://www.mintransporte.gov.co/Servicios/Estadisticas/DIAGNOSTICO_TRANSPORTE_2008.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Among the main Brazilian [[waterways]], two stand out: Hidrovia Tietê-Paraná (which has a length of 2,400&nbsp;km, 1,600 on the Paraná River and 800&nbsp;km on the Tietê River, draining agricultural production from the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás and part of Rondônia, Tocantins and Minas General) and Hidrovia do Solimões-Amazonas (it has two sections: Solimões, which extends from Tabatinga to Manaus, with approximately 1600&nbsp;km, and Amazonas, which extends from Manaus to Belém, with 1650&nbsp;km. Almost entirely passenger transport from the Amazon plain is done by this waterway, in addition to practically all cargo transportation that is directed to the major regional centers of Belém and Manaus). In Brazil, this transport is still underutilized: the most important waterway stretches, from an economic point of view, are found in the Southeast and South of the country. Its full use still depends on the construction of locks, major dredging works and, mainly, of ports that allow intermodal integration. In Argentina, the waterway network is made up of the La Plata, Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers. The main river ports are [[Zárate, Buenos Aires|Zárate]] and [[Campana Partido|Campana]]. The port of Buenos Aires is historically the first in individual importance, but the area known as Up-River, which stretches along 67&nbsp;km of the Santa Fé portion of the Paraná River, brings together 17 ports that concentrate 50% of the total exports of the country.

=== Energy ===
As of 2023, Latin America and the Caribbean generates 60% of its electricity from [[renewable energy]] – double the global average of 30%. Despite this, fossil fuels still play a substantial role, especially in transportation and industry, with oil and gas constituting a notable portion. Approximately two-thirds of the region's [[energy mix]] comes from fossil fuels,<ref>{{Cite web |last=IEA |date=June 2024 |title=World Energy Investment 2024: Latin America and the Caribbean |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2024/latin-america-and-the-caribbean |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=IEA |date=November 2023 |title=Latin America Energy Outlook 2023 |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/latin-america-energy-outlook-2023/executive-summary |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}</ref> Of the region's total energy production, 43% is [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]], 8% [[Wind power|wind]] and 6% is [[Solar power|solar]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ember |title=Electricity Data Explorer |url=https://ember-energy.org/data/electricity-data-explorer/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241118234806/https://ember-energy.org/data/electricity-data-explorer/ |archive-date=18 November 2024 |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Ember |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Brazil====
{{Main|Energy policy of Brazil|Renewable energy in Brazil}}

[[File:ItaipuAerea2AAL.jpg|thumb|right|[[Itaipu Dam]] in Paraná]]
[[File:Energia Eolica.jpg|thumb|right|[[Wind power]] in [[Parnaíba]]]]
[[File:Angra dos Reis - usinas nucleares.jpg|thumb|[[Angra Nuclear Power Plant]] in [[Angra dos Reis]], Rio de Janeiro]]
[[File:Usina solar de Pirapora 2.gif|thumb|[[Pirapora Solar Complex]], the largest in Brazil and Latin America with a capacity of 321 MW]]
The Brazilian government has undertaken an ambitious program to reduce dependence on imported petroleum. Imports previously accounted for more than 70% of the country's oil needs but Brazil became self-sufficient in oil in 2006–2007. Brazil was the 10th largest oil producer in the world in 2019, with 2.8&nbsp;million barrels / day. Production manages to supply the country's demand.<ref name="eia.gov"/> In the beginning of 2020, in the production of [[Petroleum|oil]] and natural gas, the country exceeded 4 million [[barrels of oil equivalent]] per day, for the first time. In January this year, 3.168&nbsp;million barrels of oil per day and 138.753&nbsp;million cubic meters of natural gas were extracted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anp.gov.br/noticias/5628-producao-de-petroleo-e-gas-no-brasil-ultrapassa-4-milhoes-de-boe-d-pela-primeira-vez|title=Produção de petróleo e gás no Brasil ultrapassa 4 milhões de boe/d pela primeira vez|website=anp.gov.br|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=February 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220091405/http://www.anp.gov.br/noticias/5628-producao-de-petroleo-e-gas-no-brasil-ultrapassa-4-milhoes-de-boe-d-pela-primeira-vez|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Brazil is one of the main world producers of [[hydroelectricity|hydroelectric power]]. In 2019, Brazil had 217 hydroelectric plants in operation, with an installed capacity of 98,581 MW, 60.16% of the country's energy generation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cbie.com.br/artigos/quantas-usinas-geradoras-de-energia-temos-no-brasil/|title=How many power plants do we have in Brazil?|date=April 5, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031005818/https://cbie.com.br/artigos/quantas-usinas-geradoras-de-energia-temos-no-brasil/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the total generation of electricity, in 2019 Brazil reached 170,000 megawatts of installed capacity, more than 75% from renewable sources (the majority, hydroelectric).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aneel.gov.br/sala-de-imprensa-exibicao/-/asset_publisher/XGPXSqdMFHrE/content/brasil-alcanca-170-mil-megawatts-de-capacidade-instalada-em-2019/656877?inheritRedirect=false|title=Brasil alcança 170 mil megawatts de capacidade instalada em 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=April 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413193140/https://www.aneel.gov.br/sala-de-imprensa-exibicao/-/asset_publisher/XGPXSqdMFHrE/content/brasil-alcanca-170-mil-megawatts-de-capacidade-instalada-em-2019/656877?inheritRedirect=false|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energiaeambiente.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IEMA-AGUA_vFinal.pdf|title=IEMA (Instituto de Energia e Meio Ambiente),2016.Série TERMOELETRICIDADE EM FOCO: Uso de água em termoelétricas|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401075849/http://www.energiaeambiente.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IEMA-AGUA_vFinal.pdf|archive-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[Southeast Region, Brazil|Southeast Region]] used about 50% of the load of the National Integrated System (SIN), being the main energy consuming region in the country. The region's installed electricity generation capacity totaled almost 42,500 MW, which represented about a third of Brazil's generation capacity. The [[hydroelectric]] generation represented 58% of the region's installed capacity, with the remaining 42% corresponding basically to the [[thermoelectric]] generation. São Paulo accounted for 40% of this capacity; Minas Gerais by about 25%; Rio de Janeiro by 13.3%; and Espírito Santo accounted for the rest. The [[South Region, Brazil|South Region]] owns the [[Itaipu Dam]], which was the largest hydroelectric plant in the world for several years, until the inauguration of [[Three Gorges Dam]] in China. It remains the second largest operating hydroelectric in the world. Brazil is the co-owner of the Itaipu Plant with Paraguay: the dam is located on the [[Paraná River]], located on the border between countries. It has an installed generation capacity of 14 GW for 20 generating units of 700 MW each. [[North Region, Brazil|North Region]] has large hydroelectric plants, such as [[Belo Monte Dam]] and [[Tucuruí Dam]], which produce much of the national energy. Brazil's hydroelectric potential has not yet been fully exploited, so the country still has the capacity to build several renewable energy plants in its territory.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.bndes.gov.br/bib/jspui/bitstream/1408/4401/1/O%20BNDES%20e%20a%20quest%C3%A3o%20energ%C3%A9tica%20e%20logistica%20na%20Regi%C3%A3o%20Sudeste_5_P.pdf|title=O BNDES e a questão energética e logística da Região Sudeste|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=July 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709090411/https://web.bndes.gov.br/bib/jspui/bitstream/1408/4401/1/O%20BNDES%20e%20a%20quest%c3%a3o%20energ%c3%a9tica%20e%20logistica%20na%20Regi%c3%a3o%20Sudeste_5_P.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hybiggest.html|title=Power: World's biggest hydroelectric facility|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519000659/http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hybiggest.html|archive-date=May 19, 2006}}</ref>

{{As of|2022|7|url=http://www.ons.org.br/paginas/conhecimento/acervo-digital/documentos-e-publicacoes|post=,}} according to ONS, total installed capacity of [[wind power]] was 22 GW, with average [[capacity factor]] of 58%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.org.br/AcervoDigitalDocumentosEPublicacoes/Boletim%20Mensal%20de%20Gera%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20E%C3%B3lica%202021-02.pdf|title=Boletim Mensal de Geração Eólica Fevereiro/2021|language=pt|date=February 20, 2021|publisher=Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico – ONS|pages=6, 14|access-date=April 7, 2021|archive-date=April 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410221330/http://www.ons.org.br/AcervoDigitalDocumentosEPublicacoes/Boletim%20Mensal%20de%20Gera%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20E%C3%B3lica%202021-02.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://megawhat.energy/news/147158/eolica-supera-22-gw-em-operacao-no-brasil|title=Eólica supera 22 GW em operação no Brasil|date=July 21, 2022|publisher=Megawhar|access-date=August 2, 2022|language=pt-br|archive-date=March 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315014248/https://megawhat.energy/news/147158/eolica-supera-22-gw-em-operacao-no-brasil|url-status=live}}</ref> While the world average wind production capacity factors is 24.7%, there are areas in Northern Brazil, specially in Bahia State, where some wind farms record with average capacity factors over 60%;<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.brasil.gov.br/noticias/infraestrutura/2014/12/brasil-e-o-pais-com-melhor-fator-de-aproveitamento-da-energia-eolica|title=Brasil é o país com melhor fator de aproveitamento da energia eólica|work=Governo do Brasil|access-date=October 7, 2018|language=pt-BR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007223102/http://www.brasil.gov.br/noticias/infraestrutura/2014/12/brasil-e-o-pais-com-melhor-fator-de-aproveitamento-da-energia-eolica|archive-date=October 7, 2018}}</ref><ref name="UNESCO-2015" /> the average capacity factor in the [[Northeast Region, Brazil|Northeast Region]] is 45% in the coast and 49% in the interior.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.epe.gov.br/sites-pt/publicacoes-dados-abertos/publicacoes/PublicacoesArquivos/publicacao-233/topico-520/Boletim_2020_Q1.pdf|title=Boletim Trimestral de Energia Eólica – Junho de 2020|language=pt-BR|publisher=[[Empresa de Pesquisa Energética]]|date=June 23, 2020|page=4|access-date=October 24, 2020|archive-date=August 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811053611/https://www.epe.gov.br/sites-pt/publicacoes-dados-abertos/publicacoes/PublicacoesArquivos/publicacao-233/topico-520/Boletim_2020_Q1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, wind energy represented 9% of the energy generated in the country.<ref name="cbie.com.br">{{cite web|url=https://cbie.com.br/artigos/quantas-usinas-geradoras-de-energia-temos-no-brasil/|title=Quantas usinas geradoras de energia temos no Brasil?|date=April 5, 2019|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031005818/https://cbie.com.br/artigos/quantas-usinas-geradoras-de-energia-temos-no-brasil/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, it was estimated that the country had an estimated wind power generation potential of around 522 GW (this, only onshore), enough energy to meet three times the country's current demand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/ventos-promissores-a-caminho/|title=Ventos promissores a caminho|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=November 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129102108/https://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/ventos-promissores-a-caminho/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.ctee.com.br/brazilwindpower/2016/zpublisher/materia/?url=potencial-eolico-onshore-brasileiro-pode-ser-de-880-gw-indica-estudo-20161026|title=Brazilian onshore wind potential could be 880 GW, study indicates|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=August 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814221022/http://www2.ctee.com.br/brazilwindpower/2016/zpublisher/materia/?url=potencial-eolico-onshore-brasileiro-pode-ser-de-880-gw-indica-estudo-20161026|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2021 Brazil was the 7th country in the world in terms of installed wind power (21 GW),<ref name="RENEWABLE CAPACITY STATISTICS 2021"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2022/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2022.pdf|title=Global wind statistics|date=April 22, 2022|website=IRENA|language=en-US|access-date=April 22, 2022|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2022/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2022.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 4th largest producer of wind energy in the world (72 TWh), behind only China, USA and Germany.<ref name="Ritchie-2022">{{Cite journal|url=https://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy|title=Energy|first1=Hannah|last1=Ritchie|author1-link=Hannah Ritchie|first2=Max|last2=Roser|author2-link=Max Roser|first3=Pablo|last3=Rosado|date=October 27, 2022|journal=Our World in Data|via=ourworldindata.org|access-date=October 27, 2022|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804120952/https://ourworldindata.org/renewable-energy|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="RENEWABLE CAPACITY STATISTICS 2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2021.pdf|title=Renewable capacity statistics 2021|access-date=April 23, 2021|archive-date=August 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827043106/https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2021.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nuclear energy accounts for about 4% of Brazil's electricity.<ref name=uic>{{cite web|publisher=Uranium Information Centre|url=http://www.uic.com.au/nip95.htm|title=Nuclear Power in Brazil. Briefing Paper # 95|date=May 2007|access-date=May 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208105204/http://www.uic.com.au/nip95.htm|archive-date=February 8, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> The nuclear power generation monopoly is owned by [[Eletronuclear|Eletronuclear (Eletrobrás Eletronuclear S/A)]], a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Eletrobrás]]. Nuclear energy is produced by [[List of nuclear reactors#Brazil|two reactors]] at [[Angra Nuclear Power Plant|Angra]]. It is located at the Central Nuclear Almirante Álvaro Alberto (CNAAA) on the Praia de Itaorna in [[Angra dos Reis]], Rio de Janeiro. It consists of two [[pressurized water reactor]]s, Angra I, with capacity of 657 MW, connected to the power grid in 1982, and Angra II, with capacity of 1,350 MW, connected in 2000. A third reactor, Angra III, with a projected output of 1,350 MW, is planned to be finished.<ref name=merco>{{cite web|publisher=Mecropress|url=http://www.mercopress.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=9036|title=Brazil plans to build seven nuclear reactors|date=October 23, 2006|access-date=May 19, 2007|archive-date=February 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219171559/http://www.mercopress.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=9036|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{As of|2022|10|url=http://www.ons.org.br/paginas/conhecimento/acervo-digital/documentos-e-publicacoes|post=,}} according to ONS, total installed capacity of [[photovoltaic solar]] was 21 GW, with average [[capacity factor]] of 23%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://canalenergia.com.br/noticias/53228183/solar-atinge-21-gw-e-r-1086-bi-em-investimentos-no-brasil|title=Solar atinge 21 GW e R$ 108,6 bi em investimentos no Brasil|website=canalenergia.com.br|access-date=October 27, 2022|archive-date=April 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401111703/https://www.canalenergia.com.br/noticias/53228183/solar-atinge-21-gw-e-r-1086-bi-em-investimentos-no-brasil|url-status=live}}</ref> Some of the most [[Solar irradiance|irradiated]] Brazilian States are MG ("Minas Gerais"), BA ("Bahia") and GO ("Goiás"), which have indeed world irradiation level records.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://sharenergy.com.br/quais-melhores-regioes-brasil-para-geracao-de-energia-fotovoltaica/|title=Quais as melhores regiões do Brasil para geração de energia fotovoltaica? – Sharenergy|date=February 3, 2017|work=Sharenergy|access-date=October 7, 2018|language=pt-BR|archive-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007223213/http://sharenergy.com.br/quais-melhores-regioes-brasil-para-geracao-de-energia-fotovoltaica/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="UNESCO-2015" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.org.br/AcervoDigitalDocumentosEPublicacoes/Boletim%20Mensal%20de%20Gera%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20Solar%202020-09.pdf|title=Boletim Mensal de Geração Solar Fotovoltaica Setembro/2020|language=pt|date=October 13, 2020|publisher=Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico – ONS|pages=6, 13|access-date=October 21, 2020|archive-date=November 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102012240/http://www.ons.org.br/AcervoDigitalDocumentosEPublicacoes/Boletim%20Mensal%20de%20Gera%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20Solar%202020-09.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, solar power represented 1.27% of the energy generated in the country.<ref name="cbie.com.br"/> In 2021, Brazil was the 14th country in the world in terms of installed solar power (13 GW),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2022/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2022.pdf|title=RENEWABLE CAPACITY STATISTICS 2022|access-date=October 27, 2022|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2022/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2022.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 11th largest producer of solar energy in the world (16.8 TWh).<ref name="Ritchie-2022"/>

In 2020, Brazil was the 2nd largest country in the world in the production of energy through [[biomass]] (energy production from solid biofuels and renewable waste), with 15,2 GW installed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2021.pdf|title=RENEWABLE CAPACITY STATISTICS 2021 page 41|access-date=May 24, 2021|archive-date=August 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827043106/https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Apr/IRENA_RE_Capacity_Statistics_2021.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Other countries====
After Brazil, Mexico is the country in Latin America that most stands out in energy production. In 2020, the country was the 14th largest petroleum producer in the world, and in 2018 it was the 12th largest exporter. In natural gas, the country was, in 2015, the 21st largest producer in the world, and in 2007 it was the 29th largest exporter. Mexico was also the world's 24th largest producer of coal in 2018. In renewable energies, in 2020, the country ranked 14th in the world in terms of installed wind energy (8.1 GW), 20th in the world in terms of installed solar energy (5.6 GW) and 19th in the world in terms of installed hydroelectric power (12.6 GW). In third place, Colombia stands out: In 2020, the country was the 20th largest petroleum producer in the world, and in 2015 it was the 19th largest exporter. In natural gas, the country was, in 2015, the 40th largest producer in the world. Colombia's biggest highlight is in coal, where the country was, in 2018, the world's 12th largest producer and the 5th largest exporter. In renewable energies, in 2020, the country ranked 45th in the world in terms of installed wind energy (0.5 GW), 76th in the world in terms of installed solar energy (0.1 GW) and 20th in the world in terms of installed hydroelectric power (12.6 GW).

Venezuela, which was one of the world's largest oil producers (about 2.5&nbsp;million barrels/day in 2015) and one of the largest exporters, due to its political problems, has had its production drastically reduced in recent years: in 2016, it dropped to 2.2 million, in 2017 to 2 million, in 2018 to 1.4 million and in 2019 to 877 thousand, reaching only 300,000 barrels/day at a given point. The country also stands out in hydroelectricity, where it was the 14th country in the world in terms of installed capacity in 2020 (16,5 GW).
[[File:Torre YPF.JPG|thumb|[[YPF]] [[Repsol-YPF Tower|headquarters]] in Buenos Aires, Argentina.]]
Argentina was, in 2017, the 18th largest producer in the world, and the largest producer in Latin America, of natural gas, in addition to being the 28th largest oil producer; although the country has the Vaca Muerta field, which holds close to 16&nbsp;billion barrels of technically recoverable shale oil, and is the second largest shale natural gas deposit in the world, the country lacks the capacity to exploit the deposit: it is necessary capital, technology and knowledge that can only come from offshore energy companies, who view Argentina and its erratic economic policies with considerable suspicion, not wanting to invest in the country. In renewable energies, in 2020, the country ranked 27th in the world in terms of installed wind energy (2.6 GW), 42nd in the world in terms of installed solar energy (0.7 GW) and 21st in the world in terms of installed hydroelectric power (11.3 GW). The country has great future potential for the production of wind energy in the Patagonia region. Chile, although currently not a major energy producer, has great future potential for solar energy production in the Atacama Desert region.

Paraguay stands out today in hydroelectric production thanks to the Itaipu Power Plant. Trinidad and Tobago and Bolivia stand out in the production of natural gas, where they were, respectively, the 20th and 31st largest in the world in 2015. Ecuador, because it consumes little energy, is part of OPEC and was the 27th largest oil producer in the world in 2020, being the 22nd largest exporter in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/petroleum-and-other-liquids/annual-petroleum-and-other-liquids-production|title=Annual production of oil and other liquids|access-date=December 5, 2020|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627013533/https://www.eia.gov/international/data/world/petroleum-and-other-liquids/annual-petroleum-and-other-liquids-production|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/KeyWorld2014.pdf IEA. Key World Energy Statistics 2014. Natural Gas.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021020232/http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/KeyWorld2014.pdf |date=October 21, 2014 }} Access date – January 17, 2021</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2249rank.|title=html CIA. The World Factbook. Natural gas – production.}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="bp.com"/><ref name="RENEWABLE CAPACITY STATISTICS 2021"/>

===Tourism===
[[File:Cancun aerial photo by safa.jpg|thumbnail|right|Aerial view of [[Cancún]]. Mexico is the most visited country in Latin America and 6th in the world.]]
Income from tourism is key to the economy of several Latin American countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=984876|title=El turismo en América Latina y el Caribe y la experiencia del BID|trans-title=Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean and the experience of the IDB|work=Ingresos directos por turismo internacional|publisher=Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)|first=Carmen|last=Altés|access-date=May 3, 2009|archive-date=January 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118124254/http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=984876|url-status=live}}</ref> Mexico is the only Latin American country to be ranked in the top 10 worldwide in the number of tourist visits. It received by far the largest number of international tourists, with 39.3&nbsp;million visitors in 2017, followed by Argentina, with 6.7&nbsp;million; then Brazil, with 6.6&nbsp;million; Chile, with 6.5&nbsp;million; Dominican Republic, with 6.2&nbsp;million; Cuba with 4.3&nbsp;million; Peru and Colombia with 4.0&nbsp;million. The [[World Tourism Organization]] reports the following destinations as the top six tourism earners for the year 2017: Mexico, with US$21,333&nbsp;million; the Dominican Republic, with US$7,178&nbsp;million; Brazil, with US$6,024&nbsp;million; Colombia, with US$4,773&nbsp;million; Argentina, with US$4,687&nbsp;million; and Panama, with US$4,258&nbsp;million.<ref name="WTO Tourism Highlights 2018 Edition">{{cite book |title=UNWTO Tourism Highlights: 2018 Edition |date=2018 |doi=10.18111/9789284419876 |isbn=978-92-844-1987-6 }}{{pn|date=May 2026}}</ref>
[[File:Fitz Roy 1.jpg|thumb|[[Fitz Roy|Monte Fitz Roy]], [[Patagonia|Argentine Patagonia]]]]
Places such as [[Cancún]], [[Riviera Maya]], [[Chichen Itza]], [[Cabo San Lucas]], Mexico City, [[Acapulco]], [[Puerto Vallarta]], [[Guanajuato City]], [[San Miguel de Allende]], [[Guadalajara]] in Mexico, [[Punta Cana]], [[Santo Domingo]] in Dominican Republic, [[Punta del Este]] in Uruguay, [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]], [[Ponce, Puerto Rico|Ponce]] in Puerto Rico, Panama City in Panama, [[Poás Volcano National Park]] in Costa Rica, [[Viña del Mar]] in Chile, [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[Florianópolis]], [[Iguazu Falls]], São Paulo, [[Armação dos Búzios]], [[Salvador, Bahia|Salvador]], [[Bombinhas]], [[Angra dos Reis]], [[Balneário Camboriú]], [[Paraty]], [[Ipojuca]], [[Natal, Rio Grande do Norte|Natal]], [[Cairu]], [[Fortaleza]] and [[Itapema]] in Brazil;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.br/turismo/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/acoes-e-programas/observatorio/anuario-estatistico/anuario-estatistico-de-turismo-2021-ano-base-2020/anuario-estatistico-de-turismo-2021-ano-base-2020_divulgacao-compactado.pdf|title=ANUÁRIO ESTATÍSTICO DE TURISMO 2021 BRASIL|access-date=October 1, 2022|archive-date=October 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001141952/https://www.gov.br/turismo/pt-br/acesso-a-informacao/acoes-e-programas/observatorio/anuario-estatistico/anuario-estatistico-de-turismo-2021-ano-base-2020/anuario-estatistico-de-turismo-2021-ano-base-2020_divulgacao-compactado.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Buenos Aires]], [[Bariloche]], [[Salta]], [[Jujuy]], [[Perito Moreno Glacier]], [[Valdes Peninsula]], [[Jesuit missions among the Guaraní#Jesuit reductions by country|Guarani Jesuit Missions in the cities of Misiones and Corrientes]], [[Ischigualasto Provincial Park]], [[Ushuaia]] and [[Patagonia]] in Argentina;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eldestapeweb.com/turismo/turismo/los-10-destinos-mas-visitados-de-argentina-segun-los-portales-de-turismo-2021121014100|title=Los 10 destinos más visitados de Argentina según los portales de turismo|first=El|last=Destape|date=December 10, 2021|website=www.eldestapeweb.com|access-date=October 1, 2022|archive-date=October 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001141952/https://www.eldestapeweb.com/turismo/turismo/los-10-destinos-mas-visitados-de-argentina-segun-los-portales-de-turismo-2021121014100|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Isla Margarita]], [[Angel Falls]], [[Los Roques archipelago]], [[Gran Sabana]] in Venezuela; [[Machu Picchu]], Lima, [[Nazca Lines]], [[Cuzco]] in Peru; [[Lake Titicaca]], [[Salar de Uyuni]], La Paz, [[Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos]] in Bolivia; [[Tayrona National Natural Park]], [[Santa Marta, Colombia|Santa Marta]], [[Bogotá]], [[Cali]], [[Medellín]], [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]], [[San Andrés (island)|San Andrés]] in Colombia, and the [[Galápagos Islands]] in Ecuador are popular among international visitors in the region.

===Trade blocs===
[[File:Banco del Sur.jpg|thumb|[[Rafael Correa]], [[Evo Morales]], [[Néstor Kirchner]], [[Cristina Fernández]], [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]], [[Nicanor Duarte]], and [[Hugo Chávez]] at the signing of the founding charter of the [[Bank of the South]]]]{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2022}}
The major [[trade bloc]]s (or [[Trade agreement|agreements]]) in the region are the [[Pacific Alliance]] and [[Mercosur]]. Minor blocs or trade agreements are the [[G3 Free Trade Agreement]], the [[Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement]] (DR-CAFTA), the [[Caribbean Community]] (CARICOM) and the [[Andean Community of Nations]] (CAN). However, major reconfigurations are taking place along opposing approaches to integration and trade; Venezuela has officially withdrawn from both the CAN and G3 and it has been formally admitted into the Mercosur (pending ratification from the Paraguayan legislature).{{when|date=November 2021}} The president-elect of Ecuador has manifested his intentions of following the same path. This bloc nominally opposes any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, although Uruguay has manifested its intention otherwise. Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico are the only four Latin American nations that have an FTA with the United States and Canada, both members of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA).

==== China ====
China's economic influence in Latin America increased substantially in the 21st century. Imports from China valued $8.3&nbsp;billion in 2000, but by 2022 its value was $450&nbsp;billion and had grown to be the largest trading partner of South America, as well as the second-largest for the broader Latin America.<ref name="Council on Foreign Relations">{{cite web|title=China's Growing Influence in Latin America|url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-influence-latin-america-argentina-brazil-venezuela-security-energy-bri#chapter-title-0-1|website=Council on Foreign Relations|access-date=May 5, 2022|archive-date=May 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505174838/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-influence-latin-america-argentina-brazil-venezuela-security-energy-bri#chapter-title-0-1|url-status=live}}</ref> In particular, many of the investments are related to the [[Belt and Road Initiative]] or energy. China has also provided loans to several Latin American countries; this has raised concerns about the possibility of debt traps."<ref>{{Cite web |last=China Africa Research Initiative |date=29 November 2022 |title=Evolution of Chinese Lending to Sri Lanka Since the mid-2000s: Separating Myth from Reality |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5652847de4b033f56d2bdc29/t/638689771d0e3c4beb14bf2f/1669761400150/Briefing+Paper+-+Sri+Lanka+Debt+-+V5.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=5 January 2023 |website=China Africa Research Initiative |language=en-US |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306044109/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5652847de4b033f56d2bdc29/t/638689771d0e3c4beb14bf2f/1669761400150/Briefing+Paper+-+Sri+Lanka+Debt+-+V5.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=China Faces 'Creditor Trap' in Lending to Latin America: Q&A|website=[[Bloomberg News]]|date=February 22, 2022|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-22/china-faces-creditor-trap-in-lending-to-latin-america-q-a|access-date=May 5, 2022|archive-date=May 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220505174839/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-22/china-faces-creditor-trap-in-lending-to-latin-america-q-a|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Council on Foreign Relations" /> Specifically, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, and Argentina received the most loans from China during 2005–2016.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baisotti |first1=Pablo |title=New Global Cities in Latin America and Asia |date=2022 |doi=10.3998/mpub.12105185 |jstor=10.3998/mpub.12105185 |isbn=978-0-472-07523-2 }}{{pn|date=May 2026}}</ref>

==Inequality==
{{Main|Wealth inequality in Latin America}}

[[File:Favela Jaqueline (Vila Sônia) 02.jpg|thumb|Slums on the outskirts of a wealthy urban area in [[São Paulo]], Brazil.]]
[[Wealth inequality]] in Latin America remains a serious issue despite strong economic growth and improved social indicators. A report released in 2013 by the [[United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs]] entitled ''Inequality Matters: Report of the World Social Situation'', observed that: 'Declines in the wage share have been attributed to the impact of labour-saving technological change and to a general weakening of labour market regulations and institutions.'<ref name="UNESCO-2015">{{Cite book|url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002325/232555e.pdf|title=Rethinking Education: Towards a global common good?|publisher=UNESCO|year=2015|isbn=978-92-3-100088-1|pages=24, Box 1|access-date=March 15, 2017|archive-date=November 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113020635/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002325/232555e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Such declines are likely to disproportionately affect individuals in the middle and bottom of the [[income distribution]], as they rely mostly on wages for income. In addition, the report noted that 'highly-unequal land distribution has created social and political tensions and is a source of [[economic efficiency|economic inefficiency]], as small landholders frequently lack access to credit and other resources to increase [[productivity]], while big owners may not have had enough incentive to do so.<ref name="UNESCO-2015" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/world-social-situation-2013.html|title=Report on World Social Situation 2013: Inequality Matters.|publisher=United Nations|year=2013|isbn=978-92-1-130322-3|access-date=June 28, 2017|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525113848/http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/world-social-situation-2013.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the United Nations [[ECLAC]], Latin America is the most unequal region in the world.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.cepal.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/7/42797/P42797.xml&xsl=/dds/tpl/p9f.xsl&base=/ddpe/tpl-i/top-bottom.xslt|title=Protección social inclusiva en América Latina. Una mirada integral, un enfoque de derechos|trans-title=Inclusive social protection in Latin America. An integral look, a focus on rights|publisher=United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)|isbn=9789210545556|date=March 2011|access-date=August 9, 2012|archive-date=February 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201202652/http://www.cepal.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/publicaciones/xml/7/42797/P42797.xml&xsl=/dds/tpl/p9f.xsl&base=/ddpe/tpl-i/top-bottom.xslt|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2025, ''[[The Economist]]'' said that Latin America's "tax and welfare systems are shockingly bad at reducing inequality."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/06/05/slums-swimming-pools-and-latin-americas-inequality|title=Slums, swimming pools and Latin America's inequality|date=June 5, 2025|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=June 5, 2025}}</ref>

===History of inequality===
{{Main|Spain in the 17th century}}

[[Image:Francisco rizi-auto de fe.jpg|thumb|right|[[Spanish Inquisition]]'s ''[[auto-da-fé]]'' held in the [[Plaza Mayor, Madrid]] in 1680]]
Spanish society in 17th century [[Habsburg Spain]] was extremely inegalitarian. The nobility, being wealthier than ordinary people, also had the privilege of being exempt from taxes. Spanish society associated social status with leisure and thus work was undignified for nobles. Even wealthy merchants invested in land, titles, and juros. Two acceptable careers for the nobility were the church and education. In 1620, there were 100,000 Spaniards in the clergy, by the late 17th century there were 150,000. Many Spaniards spent long years in universities, taking advantage of the increase in its numbers. By 1660, there were about 200,000 Spaniards in the clergy and the Church owned 20% of all the land in Spain.{{Sfn|Kamen|2005}}

Inequality in Latin America has deep historical roots in the [[Casta|Latin European racially based Casta system]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Nutini, Hugo|first2=Barry|last2=Isaac|title=Social Stratification in central Mexico 1500–2000|year=2009|page=55|publisher=University of Texas Press|quote=There are basically four operational categories that may be termed ethnic or even racial in Mexico today: (1) güero or blanco (white), denoting European and Near East extraction; (2) criollo (creole), meaning light mestizo in this context but actually of varying complexion; (3) mestizo, an imprecise category that includes many phenotypic variations; and (4) indio, also an imprecise category. These are nominal categories, and neither güero/blanco nor criollo is a widely used term (see Nutini 1997: 230). Nevertheless, there is a popular consensus in Mexico today that these four categories represent major sectors of the nation and that they can be arranged into a rough hierarchy: whites and creoles at the top, a vast population of mestizos in the middle, and Indians (perceived as both a racial and an ethnic component) at the bottom.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Seed|first=Patricia|author-link=Patricia Seed|title=To Love, Honor, and Obey in Colonial Mexico: conflicts over Marriage Choice, 1574–1821|publisher=Stanford University|year=1988|location=Stanford|pages=21–23|isbn=0-8047-2159-9}}</ref> instituted in Latin America during colonial times that has been difficult to eradicate because of the differences between initial endowments and opportunities among social groups have constrained the poorest's [[social mobility]], thus causing poverty to transmit from generation to generation, and become a vicious cycle. Inequality has been reproduced and transmitted through generations because Latin American political systems allow a differentiated access on the influence that social groups have in the decision-making process, and it responds in different ways to the least favored groups that have less political representation and capacity of pressure.<ref>Francisco H. Ferreira et al. Inequality in Latin America: Breaking with History?, The World Bank, Washington, D.C., 2004</ref> Recent [[economic liberalisation]] also plays a role as not everyone is [[Equity (economics)|equally capable]] of taking advantage of its benefits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=1011&title=untangling-links-trade-poverty-gender|title=Untangling links between trade, poverty and gender|work=ODI Briefing Papers 38, March 2008|publisher=Overseas Development Institute (ODI)|first1=Nicola|last1=Jones|first2=Hayley|last2=Baker|access-date=April 15, 2011|archive-date=July 19, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090719000422/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=1011&title=untangling-links-trade-poverty-gender|url-status=dead}}</ref> Differences in opportunities and endowments tend to be based on [[Racism|race]], ethnicity, rurality, and [[Gender inequality|gender]]. Because inequality in gender and location are near-universal, race and ethnicity play a larger, more integral role in discriminatory practices in Latin America. The differences have a strong impact on the distribution of income, capital and political standing.

One indicator of inequality is access to and quality of education. During the first phase of [[globalization]] in Latin America, educational inequality was on the rise, peaking around the end of the 19th century. In comparison with other [[Developing country|developing regions]], Latin America then had the highest level of [[educational inequality]], which is certainly a contributing factor for its current general high inequality. During the 20th century, however, educational inequality started decreasing.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Joerg |last2=Mumme |first2=Christina |title=Globalization and educational inequality during the 18 th to 20 th centuries: Latin America in global comparison |journal=Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History |date=September 2010 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=279–305 |doi=10.1017/S021261091000008X |hdl=10016/21558 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

=== Standard of living ===
Latin America has the highest levels of [[income inequality]] in the world.<ref>{{cite book|author=Baten, Jörg|title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present.|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=148f|isbn=9781107507180}}</ref> The following table lists all the countries in Latin America indicating a valuation of the country's [[Human Development Index]], GDP at purchasing power parity per capita, measurement of inequality through the [[Gini index]], measurement of poverty through the [[Human Poverty Index]], a measure of extreme poverty based on people living on less than 1.25 dollars a day, [[life expectancy]], murder rates and a measurement of safety through the [[Global Peace Index]]. Green cells indicate the best performance in each category, and red the lowest.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
|+'''Social and economic indicators for Latin American countries'''
! Country
! HDI <small>(2023)</small><ref name="2022 components35">{{cite book |url=https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 – A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI |date=6 May 2025 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |isbn= |publication-date=6 May 2025 |pages= |access-date=6 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506064128/https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2025 |archive-date=6 May 2025}}</ref>
! GDP (PPP) <br /><small>per capita in US$</small><br /><small>(2025)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://knoema.com/sijweyg/gdp-per-capita-ranking-2015-data-and-charts|title=GDP per Capita Ranking 2015 – Data and Charts|work=Knoema|access-date=May 13, 2016|archive-date=May 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506215827/http://knoema.com/sijweyg/gdp-per-capita-ranking-2015-data-and-charts|url-status=live}}</ref>
! Real GDP growth <small>(2025)</small>
! Income <br />inequality
<small>(2015)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table3.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2011|work=Table 3: Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|publisher=United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)|access-date=August 8, 2012|archive-date=May 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515163938/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table3.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! Extreme poverty% <br /> <small><1.25 US$</small> <br /> <small>(2011)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table5.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2011|work=Table 5: Multidimensional Poverty Index|publisher=United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)|access-date=August 8, 2012|archive-date=September 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911013222/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table5.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! Youth literacy% <small>(2015)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/literacy-statistics-trends-1985-2015.pdf|title=ADULT AND YOUTH LITERACY: National, regional and global trends, 1985–2015|access-date=January 2, 2016|archive-date=August 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802154845/http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Documents/literacy-statistics-trends-1985-2015.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! Life expectancy <br /> <small>(2016)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geoba.se/population.php?pc=world&type=15|title=Geoba.se: Gazetteer – The World – Life Expectancy – Top 100+ By Country (2016)|access-date=May 13, 2016|archive-date=November 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120052840/http://www.geoba.se/population.php?pc=world&type=15|url-status=live}}</ref>
! Murder <small>rate per 100,000</small> <small>(2014)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=ZJ&year_high_desc=false|title=Homicide Statistics 2014|work=Murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants|publisher=United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)|access-date=February 2, 2017|archive-date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202145918/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=ZJ&year_high_desc=false|url-status=live}}</ref>
! Peace <br /> <small>GPI</small> <small>(2016)</small><ref name=vohgpi>{{cite web|url=http://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/|title=Global Rankings|work=Vision of Humanity|date=July 24, 2020|publisher=Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619080402/http://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Argentina}}
| 0.865 (<span style="color:#090;">'''VH'''</span>)
| 20,170
| 4.5
| 43.6
| 0.9
| 99.2
| 78
| 6
| 1.957
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Bolivia}}
| 0.733 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 11,574
| 0.6
| 46.6
| 14.0
| 99.4
| 70
| 12 <sup>(2012)</sup>
| 2.038
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Brazil}}
| 0.786 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 23,239
| 2.4
| 52.7
| 0.9
| 97.5
| 70
| 29
| 2.176
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Chile}}
| 0.878 (<span style="color:#090;">'''VH'''</span>)
| 35,286
| 2.5
| 50.8
| 0.8
| 98.9
| 79
| 4
| 1.635<ref name=vohgpi/>
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Colombia}}
| 0.788 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 22,421
| 2.5
| 52.2<ref name="socio-economic policies">{{cite web|url=http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/condiciones_vida/pobreza/bol_pobreza_15_.pdf|title=socio-economic policies|publisher=dane.gov.co|access-date=March 2, 2016|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306045647/http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/condiciones_vida/pobreza/bol_pobreza_15_.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| 8.2
| 98.2
| 76
| 28
| 2.764
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Costa Rica}}
| 0.833 (<span style="color:#090;">'''VH'''</span>)
| 31,485
| 3.6
| 48.6
| 0.7
| 98.3
| 79
| 10
| 1.699
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Cuba}}
| 0.762 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| 100.0
| 79
|
| 2.057
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Dominican Republic}}
| 0.776 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 30,538
| 3.0
| 45.7
| 4.3
| 97.0
| 78
| 17
| 2.143
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Ecuador}}
| 0.777 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 16,578
| 3.2
| 46.6
| 5.1
| 98.7
| 77
| 8
| 2.020
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|El Salvador}}
| 0.678 (<span style="color:#fc0;">'''M'''</span>)
| 13,753
| 2.5
| 41.8
| 15.1
| 96.0
| 75
| 64
| 2.237
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Guatemala}}
| 0.662 (<span style="color:#fc0;">'''M'''</span>)
| 15,634
| 3.8
| 52.4
| 16.9
| 87.4
| 72
| 31
| 2.270
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Honduras}}
| 0.645 (<span style="color:#fc0;">'''M'''</span>)
| 7,927
| 3.8
| 57.4
| 23.3
| 95.9
| 71
| 75
| 2.237
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Mexico}}
| 0.789 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 25,463
| 1.0
| 48.1
| 8.4
| 98.5
| 77
| 16
| 2.557
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Nicaragua}}
| 0.706 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 9,107
| 3.0
| 45.7
| 15.8
| 87.0
| 73
| 8 <sup>(2019)</sup><ref name="Statistic Yearbook National Police 2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.policia.gob.ni/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Polic%C3%ADa-Nacional-ANUARIO-2019-para-web.pdf|title=Statistic yearbook|publisher=policica.gob.ni|access-date=January 22, 2021|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128070346/https://www.policia.gob.ni/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Polic%C3%ADa-Nacional-ANUARIO-2019-para-web.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| 1.975
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Panama}}
| 0.839 (<span style="color:#090;">'''VH'''</span>)
| 43,651
| 4.0
| 51.9
| 9.5
| 97.6
| 79
| 18 <sup>(2012)</sup>
| 1.837
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Paraguay}}
| 0.756 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 19,571
| 4.4
| 48.0
| 5.1
| 98.6
| 77
| 9
| 2.037
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Peru}}
| 0.794 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 18,689
| 2.9
| 45.3
| 5.9
| 97.4
| 74
| 7
| 2.057
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Uruguay}}
| 0.862 (<span style="color:#090;">'''VH'''</span>)
| 37,190
| 2.5
| 41.3
| 0.0
| 98.8
| 77
| 8
| 1.726
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagu|Venezuela}}
| 0.709 (<span style="color:#0c0;">'''H'''</span>)
| 8,397
| 0.5
| 44.8
| 3.5
| 98.5
| 75
| 62
| 2.651
|}

==Demographics==
{{Further|Latin Americans}}
{{See also|Demographics of South America|Indigenous peoples of South America|White Latin Americans|Afro-Latin Americans|Asian Latin Americans}}
{{Historical populations
|title       = Historical populations
|type        = Latin America and the Caribbean
|percentages = pagr
|align       = right
|footnote    = Source: [https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/sixbillion/sixbilpart1.pdf "UN report 2004 data" (PDF)]
|1750 |16000000
|1800 |24000000
|1850 |38000000
|1900 |74000000
|1950 |167000000
|2001 |511000000
|2013 |603191486
}}

===Largest cities===
{{multiple image
| align             = center
| caption_align     = center
| direction         = horizontal
| width             = 150
| header_background =
| header_align      = center
| header            = Latin American cities
| image1            = SP from Altino Arantes Building.jpg
| width1            = 150
| caption1          = [[São Paulo]]
| image2            = Mexico City Reforma skyline (cropped).jpg
| width2            = 200
| caption2          = [[Mexico City]]
| image3            = Buenos_Aires_Puerto_Madero_13.jpg
| width3            = 200
| caption3          = [[Buenos Aires]]
| image4            = CostaneraCenter2016.jpg
| width4            = 200
| caption4          = [[Santiago]]
| image5            = Skyline downtown Bogota.jpg
| width5           = 200
| caption5        = [[Bogotá]]
}}

Urbanization accelerated starting in the mid-twentieth century, especially in [[Capital city|capital cities]], or in the case of Brazil, traditional economic and political hubs founded in the colonial era. In Mexico, the rapid growth and modernization in country's north has seen the growth of [[Timeline of Monterrey, Mexico|Monterrey]], in [[Nuevo León]]. The following is a list of the ten largest metropolitan areas in Latin America. Entries in "bold" indicate they are ranked the highest.<ref name="brookingsgdp">{{cite web|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/global-metro-monitor/|title=Global Metro Monitor 2014|date=January 22, 2015|publisher=[[Brookings Institution]]|access-date=January 22, 2015|archive-date=January 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107040203/https://www.brookings.edu/research/global-metro-monitor/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! City !! Country !! 2017 population !! 2014 GDP ([[GDP (PPP)|PPP]], $million, USD) !! 2014 GDP per capita, (USD)
|-
||[[Greater Mexico City|Mexico City]] || {{Flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico || 23,655,355 || $403,561 || $19,239
|-
||[[Greater São Paulo|São Paulo]] || {{Flagicon|Brazil}} Brazil || 23,467,354 || '''$430,510''' || $20,650
|-
||[[Greater Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]] || {{Flagicon|Argentina}} Argentina || 15,564,354 || $315,885 || $23,606
|-
||[[Greater Rio de Janeiro|Rio de Janeiro]] || {{Flagicon|Brazil}} Brazil || 14,440,345|| $176,630 || $14,176
|-
||[[Lima Metropolitan Area|Lima]]||{{Flagicon|Peru}} Peru|| 9,804,609 || $176,447 || $16,530
|-
||[[Metropolitan Area of Bogotá|Bogotá]] || {{Flagicon|Colombia}} Colombia || 7,337,449 || $209,150 || $19,497
|-
||[[Santiago Metropolitan Region|Santiago]] || {{Flagicon|Chile}} Chile || 7,164,400 || $171,436 || $23,290
|-
||[[Greater Belo Horizonte|Belo Horizonte]] || {{Flagicon|Brazil}} Brazil || 6,145,800 || $95,686 ||  $17,635
|-
||[[Guadalajara Metropolitan Area|Guadalajara]] || {{Flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico || 4,687,700 || $80,656 || $17,206
|-
||[[Monterrey Metropolitan area|Monterrey]] || {{Flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico || 4,344,200 || $122,896 || '''$28,290'''
|}

===Race and ethnicity===
{{Main|Ethnic groups in Latin America|Race and ethnicity in Latin America}}

[[File:Ignacio María Barreda - Las castas mexicanas.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Eighteenth-century Mexican Casta painting showing 16 castas hierarchically arranged. [[Ignacio Maria Barreda]], 1777. Real Academia Española de la Lengua, Madrid.]]{{More citations needed section|date=April 2022}}
Latin American populations are diverse, with descendants of the Indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans initially brought as slaves, and Asians, as well as new immigrants.

Mixing of groups was a fact of life at contact of the Old World and the New, but colonial regimes established legal and social discrimination against non-white populations simply on the basis of perceived ethnicity and skin color. Social class was usually linked to a person's racial category, with European-born Spaniards and Portuguese on top. During the colonial era, with a dearth initially of European women, European men and Indigenous women and African women produced what were considered mixed-race children. In Spanish America, the so-called ''Sociedad de [[castas]]'' or ''Sistema de castas'' was constructed by white elites to try to rationalize the processes at work. In the sixteenth century the Spanish crown sought to protect Indigenous populations from exploitation by white elites for their labor and land. The crown created the'' {{Interlanguage link| República de indios|es|República de indios en la Nueva España}}'' to paternalistically govern and protect Indigenous peoples. It also created the ''República de Españoles'', which included not only European whites, but all non-Indigenous peoples, such as Black, mulattoes, and mixed-race castas who were not dwelling in Indigenous communities. In the religious sphere, the Indigenous were deemed perpetual neophytes in the Catholic faith, which meant Indigenous men were not eligible to be ordained as Catholic priests; however, Indigenous were also excluded from the jurisdiction of the [[Inquisition]]. Catholics saw military conquest and religious conquest as two parts of the assimilation of Indigenous populations, suppressing Indigenous religious practices and eliminating the Indigenous priesthood. Some worship continued underground. Jews and other non-Catholics, such as Protestants (all called "Lutherans") were banned from settling and were subject to the Inquisition.

[[File:Latin America Ethnic Distribution by Country.png|thumb|300px|Map of ethno-racial distribution by country.]]

Considerable mixing of populations occurred in cities, while the countryside was largely Indigenous. At independence in the early nineteenth century, in many places in Spanish America formal racial and legal distinctions disappeared, although slavery was not uniformly abolished. Significant black populations exist in Brazil and Spanish Caribbean islands such as Cuba and Puerto Rico and the circum-Caribbean mainland (Venezuela, Colombia, Panama), as long as in the southern part of South America and Central America (Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Peru) a legacy of their use in plantations. All these areas also have significant white populations. In Brazil, coastal Indigenous peoples largely died out in the early sixteenth century, with Indigenous populations surviving far from cities, sugar plantations, and other European enterprises. Many mixed-race people in much of Latin America are tri-racial, usually of European, African, and Indigenous blood, where European (mostly Spanish/Portuguese) tends to be the strongest of the three. In most of Brazil and the Spanish Caribbean, the average ancestral mix is European and African blood, with much smaller amounts of indigenous blood. While the opposite is true in many mainland Spanish-speaking Latin American countries like Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama, where the average ancestral mix is of European and indigenous blood, with smaller amounts of African. But in Mexico, and other places in northern Central America and southern South America, mixed race people tend to be completely of European and indigenous blood.

Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Brazil have dominant Mulatto/Triracial populations ("Pardo" in Brazil). More specifically, in Brazil and Cuba, there is equally large white populations and smaller black populations, while Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are more Mulatto/Triracial dominated, with significant black and white minorities. Parts of Central America and northern South America are more diverse in that they are predominantly made up of Mestizos and Whites but also have large numbers of Mulattos, Black, and Indigenous people, especially Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama.

[[File:Italian immigrants buenos aires.jpg|thumb|297x297px|[[Italian Argentines|Italian immigrants]] arriving in [[Buenos Aires]], during the [[great European immigration wave to Argentina]].]]

The [[Southern Cone]] region—encompassing [[Argentine Primera División|Argentina]], Uruguay, and Chile—is predominantly [[White Latin Americans|White]] due to the massive [[European immigration to the Americas|European immigration]] that occurred from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Vidart |first1=Daniel |url=https://anaforas.fic.edu.uy/jspui/bitstream/123456789/9985/1/Nuestra_tierra_39.pdf |title=El legado de los inmigrantes II |last2=Pi Hugarte |first2=Renzo |publisher=Editorial "Nuestra Tierra" |pages=52 |trans-title=Our land, the legacy of immigrants II |archive-date=January 15, 2025 |access-date=April 14, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250115063003/https://anaforas.fic.edu.uy/jspui/bitstream/123456789/9985/1/Nuestra_tierra_39.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The rest of Latin America, including Mexico, northern Central America—Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras— and central South America—Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay—are dominated by mestizos but also have large white and indigenous minorities. Black people make up the majority of the French Caribbean, but it is generally not considered part of Latin America.
In the nineteenth century, a number of Latin American countries sought immigrants from Europe and Asia. With the abolition of black slavery in 1888, the Brazilian monarchy fell in 1889. By then, another source of cheap labor to work on coffee plantations was found in Japan. Chinese male immigrants arrived in Cuba, Mexico, Peru and elsewhere. With political turmoil in Europe during the mid-nineteenth century and widespread poverty, Germans, Spaniards, and Italians immigrated to Latin America in large numbers, welcomed by Latin American governments both as a source of labor as well as a way to increase the size of their white populations. In Argentina, many Afro-Argentines married Euro-Argentines.<ref>Andrews, George Reid. 1980. The Afro-Argentines of Buenos Aires, 1800–1900, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press</ref>

In twentieth-century Brazil, sociologist [[Gilberto Freyre]] proposed that Brazil was a "[[racial democracy]]", with less discrimination against black people than in the United States.<ref>Gilberto Freyre. ''The Masters and the Slaves: A Study in the Development of Brazilian Civilization''. Samuel Putnam (trans.). Berkeley: [[University of California Press]].</ref> Even if a system of legal racial segregation was never implemented in Latin America, unlike the United States, subsequent research has shown that in Brazil there's discrimination against darker citizens, and that whites remain the elites in the country.<ref>[[Thomas Skidmore|Thomas E. Skidmore]]. ''Black into White: Race and Nationality in Brazilian Thought''. New York: [[Oxford University Press]], 1974.</ref><ref>[[France Winddance Twine]] Racism in a Racial Democracy: The Maintenance of White Supremacy in Brazil,(1997) Rutgers University Press</ref> In Mexico, the mestizo population was considered the true embodiment of "[[La raza cósmica|the cosmic race]]", according to Mexican intellectual [[José Vasconcelos]], thus erasing other populations. There was considerable discrimination against Asians, with calls for the expulsion of [[Chinese immigration to Mexico|Chinese]] in northern Mexico during the [[Mexican Revolution]] (1910–1920) and racially motivated [[Torreón massacre|massacres]]. In a number of Latin American countries, Indigenous groups have organized explicitly as Indigenous, to claim human rights and influence political power. With the passage of anti-colonial resolutions in the [[United Nations General Assembly]] and the signing of resolutions for Indigenous rights, the Indigenous are able to act to guarantee their existence within nation-states with legal [[standing]].

===Ethnic groups===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="3" |Ethnic Group
! colspan="2" |Year
|-
! colspan="2" |2022<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_nac_26.php |title=Демоскоп Weekly – Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей }}</ref>
|-
!Number
!%
|-
|
|
|
|-
!South America
!490,725,023
! align="right" |67.25%
|-
|Brazilians
|221,000,000
| align="right" |30.29%
|-
|Argentinians
|69,204,000
| align="right" |9.48%
|-
|Colombians
|57,600,923
| align="right" |7.89%
|-
|Venezuelans
|45,720,000
| align="right" |6.27%
|-
|Peruvians
|34,102,000
| align="right" |4.67%
|-
|Chileans
|27,829,000
| align="right" |3.81%
|-
|Ecuadorians
|19,300,000
| align="right" |2.65%
|-
|Paraguayans
|13,621,000
| align="right" |1.87%
|-
|Bolivians
|12,391,000
| align="right" |1.70%
|-
|Uruguayans
|7,103,000
| align="right" |0.97%
|-
!North America
!131,194,976
! align="right" |17.98%
|-
|Mexicans
|131,194,976
| align="right" |17.98%
|-
!Central America
!51,519,730
! align="right" |7.06%
|-
|Guatemalans
|17,141,463
| align="right" |2.35%
|-
|Nicaraguans
|12,904,622
| align="right" |1.77%
|-
|Salvadorans
|9,630,289
| align="right" |1.32%
|-
|Panamanians
|7,762,736
| align="right" |1.06%
|-
|Costa Ricans
|7,200,680
| align="right" |0.99%
|-
|Hondurans
|4,763,940
| align="right" |0.65%
|-
!Caribbean
!27,256,789
! align="right" |3.73%
|-
|Cubans
|12,729,000
| align="right" |1.74%
|-
|Dominicans
|12,706,605
| align="right" |1.74%
|-
|Puerto Ricans
|1,821,184
| align="right" |0.25%
|-
!Indigenous People
!11,860,350
! align="right" |1.63%
|-
|Aymarans
|9,278,905
| align="right" |1.27%
|-
|Mapuche
|2,672,499
| align="right" |0.37%
|-
!Others
!7,231,086
! align="right" |0.99%
|-
|
|
|
|-
!Total:
!719,787,954
!100%
|}

===Language===
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Placard piemontèis a San Fransesch an Argentin-a.jpg|thumb|Trilingual sign in Spanish, Italian and [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]] in [[San Francisco, Argentina|San Francisco]], [[Córdoba Province, Argentina|Córdoba Province]], Argentina.]]

[[File:Map-Most Widely Spoken Native Languages in Latin America.png|thumb|Most widely spoken Native languages in Latin America:<br>'''{{color|blue|Quechua}}''', '''{{background color|black|{{color|#f9dc38|Guaraní}}}}''', '''{{background color|black|{{color|#ff9922|Aymara}}}}''', '''{{color|#cc0000|Náhuatl}}''', '''{{color|#006600|Mayan Languages}}''', '''Mapudungun''']]

Spanish is the predominant language of Latin America. It is spoken as a first language by about 60% of the population. Portuguese is spoken by about 30%, and about 10% speak other languages such as [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]], [[Mayan languages]], [[Guarani language|Guaraní]], [[Aymara language|Aymara]], [[Nahuatl]], English, French, [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and Italian. Spanish is the official language of most of the countries and territories on the Latin American mainland, as well as in Cuba, Puerto Rico (where it is co-official with English), and the Dominican Republic. Portuguese is spoken mostly in Brazil, the largest and most populous country in the region. French is spoken in Haiti and in the French [[overseas department]]s of [[Guadeloupe]], Martinique, and [[French Guiana]]. It is also spoken by some [[Panamanians]] of Afro-[[Antilles|Antillean]] descent. Dutch is the official language in Suriname, Aruba, [[Curaçao]] and [[Bonaire]]. As Dutch is a [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]], the territories are not necessarily considered part of Latin America. However, the native and co-official language of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, is [[Papiamento]], a [[creole language]] largely based on Portuguese and Spanish that has had a considerable influence from Dutch and other [[Portuguese-based creole languages]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=GmbH |first=Babbel |title=Where In The World Do People Speak Spanish? |url=https://www.babbel.com/learn-spanish/advanced/how-many-people-speak-spanish |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=Babbel |language=en}}</ref>

[[Indigenous languages of the Americas|Amerindian languages]] are widely spoken in Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico, and to a lesser degree, in Panama, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile. In other Latin American countries, the population of speakers of Indigenous languages tend to be very small or even non-existent, for example in Uruguay. Mexico is possibly contains more Indigenous languages than any other Latin American country, but the most-spoken Indigenous language there is Nahuatl.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Babbel.com |last2=GmbH |first2=Lesson Nine |title=The 10 Latin American Countries With The Most Indigenous Languages |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/latin-america-indigenous-languages |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

In Peru, [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] is an official language, alongside Spanish and other Indigenous languages in the areas where they predominate. In Ecuador, while [[Quichua]] holds no official status, it is a recognized language under the country's constitution; however, it is only spoken by a few groups in the country's highlands. In Bolivia, [[Aymara language|Aymara]], Quechua, and [[Guaraní language|Guaraní]] hold official status alongside Spanish. Guaraní, like Spanish, is an official language of Paraguay, and is spoken by a majority of the population, which is, for the most part, bilingual, and it is co-official with Spanish in the Argentine province of [[Corrientes]]. In Nicaragua, Spanish is the official language, but on the country's Caribbean coast English and Indigenous languages such as [[Miskito language|Miskito]], [[Sumo languages|Sumo]], and [[Rama language|Rama]] also hold official status. Colombia recognizes all Indigenous languages spoken within its territory as official, though fewer than 1% of its population are native speakers of these languages. [[Nahuatl]] is one of the 62 Native languages spoken by Indigenous people in Mexico, which are officially recognized by the government as "national languages" along with Spanish.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Guaraní language {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guarani-language |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250903212314/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Guarani-language |archive-date=September 3, 2025 |access-date=2026-03-17 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Quechua speaking countries |url=https://www.worlddata.info/languages/quechua.php |access-date=2026-03-17 |website=Worlddata.info |language=en}}</ref>

Other European languages spoken in Latin America include: English, by half of the current population in Puerto Rico, as well as in nearby countries that may or may not be considered Latin American, like Belize and Guyana, and spoken by descendants of British settlers in Argentina and Chile. German is spoken in southern Brazil, southern Chile, portions of Argentina, Venezuela and Paraguay; [[Italian language in Brazil|Italian in Brazil]], Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay; [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and Russian in southern Brazil and Argentina; and [[Welsh language|Welsh]], in southern Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A1163503|title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia|publisher=Bbc.co.uk|date=July 22, 2008|access-date=April 23, 2013|archive-date=March 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312033518/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1163503|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1stclassargentina.com/tours/WelshImmigration.html|title=The Welsh Immigration to Argentina|work=1stclassargentina.com|access-date=October 4, 2009|archive-date=March 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319080522/http://www.1stclassargentina.com/tours/WelshImmigration.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andesceltig.com/|title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia|publisher=Andesceltig.com|date=September 29, 2009|access-date=April 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917174822/http://andesceltig.com/|archive-date=September 17, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Non-European or Asian languages include Japanese in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay, Korean in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Chile, Arabic in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile, and Chinese throughout South America. Countries like Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil have their own dialects or variations of German and Italian.

In several nations, especially in the Caribbean region, [[creole languages]] are spoken. The most widely-spoken creole language in the combined Latin America and the Caribbean region is [[Haitian Creole]], the predominant language of Haiti, derived primarily from French and certain West African tongues, with [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindian]], English, Portuguese, and Spanish influences as well. Creole languages of mainland Latin America, similarly, are derived from European languages and various African tongues. The aforementioned Papiamento, commonly spoken on the Dutch Caribbean [[ABC islands (Leeward Antilles)|ABC Islands]], is a [[Portuguese-based creole languages|Portuguese-based creole]].

The [[Garifuna language]] is spoken along the Caribbean coast in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Belize, mostly by the [[Garifuna people]], a mixed-race [[Zambo]] people who were the result of mixing between Indigenous Caribbeans and escaped Black slaves. Primarily an [[Arawakan languages|Arawakan language]], it has influences from Caribbean and European languages.

Archaeologists have deciphered over 15 pre-Columbian distinct writing systems from Mesoamerican societies. Ancient [[Maya civilization|Maya]] had the most sophisticated textually written language, but since texts were largely confined to the religious and administrative elite, traditions were passed down orally. Oral traditions also prevailed in other major Indigenous groups including, but not limited to, the [[Aztecs]] and other Nahuatl speakers, [[Quechua people|Quechua]] and Aymara of the [[Andean world|Andean regions]], the [[K'iche' people|Quiché]] of Central America, the [[Tupi-Guaraní]] in today's Brazil, the [[Guaraní people|Guaraní]] in Paraguay, and the [[Mapuche]] in Chile.<ref>{{cite book|last=Meade|first=Teresa A.|author-link=Teresa Meade|title=History of Modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present|date=2016|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|location=Chichester, UK|isbn=978-1-118-77248-5|page=13|edition=2nd}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Latin America}}

[[File:Meirelles-primeiramissa2.jpg|thumb|right|The first [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in Brazil among the [[Indigenous peoples in Brazil|Native Brazilians]] on 26 April 1500. Painting by [[Victor Meirelles]] (1860).]]
[[File:Santuario de Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia, 2015-07-21, DD 21-23 HDR-Edit.JPG|thumb|The [[Las Lajas Sanctuary]] in southern Colombia, Department of [[Nariño Department|Nariño]]]]
[[File:Catedral Arequipa, Peru.jpg|thumb|[[Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa|Cathedral of Arequipa]], in Southern Peru]]
[[File:Argentina-02271_-_Metropolitan_Cathedral_(49024465657).jpg|thumb|[[Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral]], where the remains of [[José de San Martín|General José de San Martín]] lie, the [[Libertadores|Libertador]] of Argentina, Chile and Peru.]]

The vast majority of Latin Americans are Christians (90%),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx|title=Christians|date=December 18, 2012|work=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=May 13, 2016|archive-date=December 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221010337/http://www.pewforum.org/global-religious-landscape-christians.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> mostly Roman Catholics belonging to the [[Latin Church]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html|title=CIA – The World Factbook – Field Listing – Religions|access-date=March 17, 2009|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220203407/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> About 70% of the Latin American population considers itself Catholic.<ref>Fraser, Barbara J., [http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0503707.htm In Latin America, Catholics down, church's credibility up, poll says] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20050628212330/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0503707.htm |date=June 28, 2005}} Catholic News Service June 23, 2005</ref> In 2012 Latin America constitutes in absolute terms the second [[Christianity by country|world's largest Christian population]], after Europe.<ref name="Survey1">{{cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf|title=The Global Religious Landscape|publisher=Pewforum.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125173538/https://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/01/global-religion-full.pdf|access-date=May 7, 2020|archive-date=January 25, 2017}}</ref>

According to the detailed Pew multi-country survey in 2014, 69% of the Latin American population is Catholic and 19% is Protestant. Protestants are 26% of the population in Brazil and over 40% in much of Central America. More than half of these are converts from Roman Catholicism.<ref>Alec Ryrie, "The World's Local Religion" [http://www.historytoday.com/alec-ryrie/worlds-local-religion ''History Today'' (2017) online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922033834/http://www.historytoday.com/alec-ryrie/worlds-local-religion |date=September 22, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Religion in Latin America"/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|+Religion in Latin America (2014)<ref name="Religion in Latin America">{{cite web|title=Religion in Latin America, Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region|date=November 13, 2014|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|access-date=March 4, 2015|archive-date=August 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821110257/https://www.pewforum.org/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! Country !! Catholic (%) !! Protestant (%) !! Irreligion (%) !! Other (%)
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Paraguay}} Paraguay
| 89
| 7
| 1
| 2
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico
| 81
| 9
| 7
| 4
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Colombia}} Colombia
| 79
| 13
| 6
| 2
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Ecuador}} Ecuador
| 79
| 13
| 5
| 3
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Bolivia}} Bolivia
| 77
| 16
| 4
| 3
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Peru}} Peru
| 76
| 17
| 4
| 3
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Venezuela}} Venezuela
| 73
| 17
| 7
| 4
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Argentina}} Argentina
| 71
| 15
| 12
| 3
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Panama}} Panama
| 70
| 19
| 7
| 4
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Chile}} Chile
| 64
| 17
| 16
| 3
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Costa Rica}} Costa Rica
| 62
| 25
| 9
| 4
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Brazil}} Brazil
| 61
| 26
| 8
| 5
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Dominican Republic}} Dominican Republic
| 57
| 23
| 18
| 2
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Puerto Rico}} Puerto Rico{{refn|group=sn|Note: Puerto Rico is [[Political status of Puerto Rico|a territory]] of the {{flagicon|United States}} United States.}}
| 56
| 33
| 8
| 2
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|El Salvador}} El Salvador
| 50
| 36
| 12
| 3
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Guatemala}} Guatemala
| 50
| 41
| 6
| 3
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Nicaragua}} Nicaragua
| 50
| 40
| 7
| 4
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Honduras}} Honduras
| 46
| 41
| 10
| 2
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flagicon|Uruguay}} Uruguay
| 42
| 15
| 37
| 6
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="text-align:left;"| '''Total'''
| '''69'''
| '''19'''
| '''8'''
| '''3'''
|}
{{reflist|group=sn}}

===Family structure===
[[File:Adolescent birth rate in women aged 10-19 years, OWID.svg|thumb|upright=1.6|The adolescent birth rate in women aged 10–19 years, 2016<ref>{{cite web |title=Adolescent birth rate in women aged 10–19 years |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/adolescent-fertility-ihme |website=Our World in Data |access-date=15 February 2020}}</ref>]]
Latin America has the highest rates of non-marital childbearing in the world, with 55–74% of all children in the region born to unmarried parents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sustaindemographicdividend.org/articles/international-family-indicators/global-childrens-trends |title=Global Children's Trends &#124; The Sustainable Demographic Dividend |publisher=Sustaindemographicdividend.org |access-date=2013-02-11 |archive-date=March 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321165905/http://sustaindemographicdividend.org/articles/international-family-indicators/global-childrens-trends |url-status=dead }}</ref> In most countries in this traditionally Catholic region, children born outside marriage are now the norm. In 2014, non-marital births were 74% in Colombia, 70% in Paraguay, 69% in Peru, 63% in the Dominican Republic, 58% in Argentina, and 55% in Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldfamilymap.org/2014/e-ppendix/figure5|title=Births outside marriage|publisher=Childtrends.org|access-date=2014-12-06|archive-date=2015-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206070035/http://worldfamilymap.org/2014/e-ppendix/figure5|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="sustaindemographicdividend.org">{{cite web|url=http://sustaindemographicdividend.org/articles/international-family-indicators/global-childrens-trends|title=Global Children's Trends – The Sustainable Demographic Dividend|access-date=20 April 2016|archive-date=March 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321165905/http://sustaindemographicdividend.org/articles/international-family-indicators/global-childrens-trends|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cis.org/illegitimate_nation.html|title=Illegitimate Nation: An Examination of Out-of-Wedlock Births Among Immigrants and Natives|date=June 2007}}</ref> In Brazil, non-marital births increased to 65.8% in 2009, up from 56.2% in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://paa2013.princeton.edu/papers/131703 |format=PDF |title=The Evolution of Births Outside of Marriage, Paternal Recognition and Children's Rights in Brazil |website=Paa2013.princeton.edu |access-date=2017-03-26 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084714/http://paa2013.princeton.edu/papers/131703 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Chile, non-marital births increased to 70.7% in 2013, up from 48.3% in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latercera.com/noticia/nacional/2014/07/680-586611-9-alza-de-hijos-fuera-del-matrimonio-muestra-evolucion-de-la-familia-en-chile.shtml|title=Alza de hijos fuera del matrimonio muestra evolución de la familia en Chile|author=Grupo Copesa|date=13 July 2014|access-date=20 April 2016|archive-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715042243/http://www.latercera.com/noticia/nacional/2014/07/680-586611-9-alza-de-hijos-fuera-del-matrimonio-muestra-evolucion-de-la-familia-en-chile.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Latin America also has relatively high teenage pregnancy rates, much higher than North America, Europe, and much of Asia, but lower than sub-Saharan Africa.

===Migration===
{{See also|Latin American diaspora}}
The entire hemisphere was settled by migrants from Asia, Europe, and Africa. Indigenous Amerindian populations settled throughout the hemisphere before the arrival of Europeans in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the forced migration of slaves from Africa.

In the post-independence period, a number of Latin American countries sought to attract European immigrants as a source of labor as well as to deliberately change the proportions of racial and ethnic groups within their borders. Chile, Argentina, and Brazil actively recruited labor from Catholic southern Europe, where populations were poor and sought better economic opportunities. Many nineteenth-century immigrants went to the United States and Canada, but a significant number arrived in Latin America. Although Mexico tried to attract immigrants, it largely failed.<ref>Burden, David K. La Idea Salvadora: Immigration and Colonization Politics in Mexico, 1821–1857. University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005.</ref> As black slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888, coffee growers recruited Japanese migrants to work in coffee plantations. There is a significant population of Japanese descent in Brazil. Cuba and Peru recruited Chinese labor in the late nineteenth century. Some Chinese immigrants who were excluded from immigrating to the United States settled in northern Mexico. When the United States acquired its southwest by conquest in the [[Mexican–American War]], Latin American populations did not cross the border to the United States, the border crossed them.

In the twentieth century there have been several types of migration. One is the movement of rural populations within a given country to cities in search of work, causing many Latin American cities to grow significantly. Another is international movement of populations, often fleeing repression or war. Other international migration is for economic reasons, often unregulated or undocumented. Mexicans immigrated to the U.S. during the violence of the [[Mexican Revolution]] (1910–1920)<ref>Gutmann, Myron P., et al. "The demographic impact of the Mexican Revolution in the United States." Austin: Population Research Center, University of Texas (2000)</ref> and the religious [[Cristero War]] (1926–29);<ref>Young, Julia G. "Cristero Diaspora: Mexican Immigrants, The US Catholic Church, and Mexico's [[Cristero War]], 1926–29." The Catholic Historical Review (2012): 271–300.</ref> during World War II, Mexican men worked in the U.S. in the [[bracero program]]. Economic migration from Mexico followed the crash of the Mexican economy in the 1980s.<ref>Durand, Jorge, and Douglas S. Massey. "Mexican migration to the United States: A critical review." Latin American Research Review 27.2 (1992): 3–42.</ref>
Spanish refugees fled to Mexico following the fascist victory in the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936–38), with some 50,000 exiles finding refuge at the invitation of President [[Lázaro Cárdenas]].<ref>Sánchez-Albornoz, Nicolás. "The Spanish Exiles in Mexico and Beyond." Exile and the politics of exclusion in the Americas (2012)</ref> Following World War II a larger wave of refugees to Latin America, many of them Jews, settled in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, and Venezuela. Some were only transiting through the region, but others stayed and created communities.<ref>Adams, Jacqueline.  Introduction: Jewish Refugees' Lives in Latin America after Persecution and Impoverishment in Europe. Comparative Cultural Studies: European and Latin American Perspectives 11: 5–17, 2021</ref> A number of Nazis escaped to Latin America, living under assumed names, in an attempt to avoid attention and prosecution.

In the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution, middle class and elite Cubans moved to the U.S., particularly to Florida. Some fled Chile for the U.S. and Europe after the 1973 military coup.<ref>Wright, Thomas C., and Rody Oñate Zúniga. "Chilean political exile." ''[[Latin American Perspectives]]'' 34.4 (2007): 31–49.</ref> Colombians migrated to Spain and the United Kingdom during the region's political turmoil, compounded by the rise of narcotrafficking and [[guerrilla warfare]].<ref>Bermudez, Anastasia. "The "diaspora politics" of Colombian migrants in the UK and Spain." International Migration 49.3 (2011): 125–143.</ref> During the Central American wars of the 1970s to the 1990s, many Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans migrated to the U.S. to escape narcotrafficking, gangs, and poverty. As living conditions deteriorated in Venezuela under [[Hugo Chávez]] and [[Nicolás Maduro]], many left for neighboring Colombia and Ecuador. In the 1990s, economic stress in Ecuador during the [[La Década Perdida]] triggered considerable migration to Spain and to the U.S.<ref>Bertoli, Simone, Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga, and Francesc Ortega. "Immigration policies and the Ecuadorian exodus." The World Bank Economic Review 25.1 (2011): 57–76.</ref>

Some Latin American countries seek to strengthen links between migrants and their states of origin, while promoting their integration in the receiving state. These emigrant policies focus on the rights, obligations, and opportunities for participation of emigrated citizens who already live outside the borders of the country of origin. Research on Latin America shows that the extension of policies towards migrants is linked to a focus on civil rights and state benefits that can positively influence integration in recipient countries. In addition, the tolerance of dual citizenship has spread more in Latin America than in any other region of the world.<ref>{{cite web|author=Pedroza, L.|author2=Palop, P.|author3=Hoffmann, B.|year=2018|title=Emigrant Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean: FLASCO-Chile.|url=https://www.giga-hamburg.de/sites/default/files/md_pdf/emigrant-policies-LatinAmerica-and-theCaribbean.pdf|access-date=May 9, 2019|archive-date=May 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509092619/https://www.giga-hamburg.de/sites/default/files/md_pdf/emigrant-policies-LatinAmerica-and-theCaribbean.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in Latin America}}

[[File:World map of countries by literacy rate.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|right|World map indicating literacy rate by country in 2015 (2015 CIA ''[[World Factbook]]''). Grey = no data.]]
[[File:AEXCNBA 1934-1984 - Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, frente, desde Bolívar y Moreno.jpg|thumb|[[Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires]], one of the most prestigious schools in Latin America. Its alumni includes two [[Nobel Prize|Nobel]] laureates and four presidents of Argentina.]]
Despite significant progress, education access and school completion remains unequal in Latin America. The region has made great progress in educational coverage; almost all children attend primary school, and access to secondary education has increased considerably. Quality issues such as poor teaching methods, lack of appropriate equipment, and overcrowding exist throughout the region. These issues lead to adolescents dropping out of the educational system early. Most educational systems in the region have implemented various types of administrative and institutional reforms that have enabled reach for places and communities that had no access to education services in the early 1990s. School meal programs are also employed to expand access to education, and at least 23 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region have large-scale school feeding activities, altogether reaching 88% of primary school-age children in the region.<ref>Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF). 2022. [https://gcnf.org/global-reports/ School Meal Programs Around the World: Results from the 2021 Global Survey of School Meal Programs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129061612/https://gcnf.org/global-reports/ |date=January 29, 2023 }}. GCNF: Seattle.</ref> Compared to prior generations, Latin American youth have seen an increase in their levels of education. On average, they have completed two more years of school than their parents.<ref name="Welti">{{cite book |last1=Welti |first1=Carlos |chapter=Adolescents in Latin America: Facing the Future with Skepticism |pages=276–306 |editor-first1=B. |editor-first2=Reed W. |editor-first3=T. S. |editor-last1=Bradford Brown |editor-last2=Larson |editor-last3=Saraswathi |title=The World's Youth |date=2002 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511613814 |isbn=978-0-521-80910-8 }}</ref>

However, there are still 23&nbsp;million children in the region between the ages of 4 and 17 outside of the formal education system. Estimates indicate that 30% of preschool age children (ages 4–5) do not attend school, and for the most vulnerable populations, the poor and rural, this proportion exceeds 40 percent. Among primary school age children (ages 6 to 12), attendance is almost universal; however, there is still a need to enroll five million more children in the primary education system. These children mostly live in remote areas, are Indigenous or Afro-descendants and live in extreme poverty.<ref name=Survey>[BID/EDU Stakeholder Survey 1993/2003, February 8, 2011]</ref>

Among people between the ages of 13 and 17 years, only 80% are full-time students, and only 66% of these advance to secondary school. These percentages are lower among vulnerable population groups: only 75% of the poorest youth between the ages of 13 and 17 years attend school. Tertiary education has the lowest coverage, with only 70% of people between the ages of 18 and 25 years outside of the education system. Currently, more than half of low income or rural children fail to complete nine years of education.<ref name=Survey/>

===Life expectancy===
{{Main|List of countries in the Americas by life expectancy}}

List of countries by [[life expectancy]] at birth for 2023 according to the [[World Bank Group]].<ref name='wbg_total'>{{cite web|title=Life expectancy at birth, total|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN|publisher=The World Bank Group|date=15 April 2025|access-date=28 April 2025|archive-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202140034/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name='wbg_male'>{{cite web|title=Life expectancy at birth, male|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN|publisher=The World Bank Group|date=15 April 2025|access-date=28 April 2025|archive-date=March 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311024618/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name='wbg_female'>{{cite web|title=Life expectancy at birth, female|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN|publisher=The World Bank Group|date=15 April 2025|access-date=28 April 2025|archive-date=March 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312055808/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{static row numbers}}{{mw-datatable}}{{sort under}}{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-datatable static-row-numbers sort-under sticky-table-head sticky-table-col1 col1left col2center col3center col4center col5center col6center col8center col10center col12center col14center col16center" style=text-align:right;
|+ {{sro|World Bank Group (2023)}}
|- class="sortbottom static-row-header"
! rowspan=2 style="vertical-align:middle;"|Countries and<br>territories
! colspan=4|2023
! colspan=11 style="border-left-width:2px;"|Historical data
! rowspan=2 style="border-left-width:2px; text-align:middle;"|{{nobr|recovery from}}<br>[[COVID-19]]:<br>2019→2023
|- class="sortbottom static-row-header"
! style="vertical-align:middle;" class=sticky-table-none|All
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|Male
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|Female
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|{{tooltip|Sex gap|Difference in life expectancy for female and male}}
! style="border-left-width:2px; vertical-align:middle; padding-left:1em;"|2014
! style="text-align:left;"|{{tooltip|2014<br>→2019|Change of life expectancy from 2014 to 2019}}
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|2019
! style="text-align:left;"|2019<br>→2020
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|2020
! style="text-align:left;"|2020<br>→2021
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|2021
! style="text-align:left;"|2021<br>→2022
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|2022
! style="text-align:left;"|2022<br>→2023
! style="vertical-align:middle;"|2023
|-
| {{flaglist|Puerto Rico}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 81.69 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 78.03 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 85.24 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 7.21 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 80.04 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.40 || 81.44 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −1.43 || 80.01 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.24 || 79.77 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.34 || 79.43 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 2.26 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 81.69 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.25
|-
| {{flaglist|Chile}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 81.17 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 79.24 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 83.08 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 3.84 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 79.71 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.61 || 80.32 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.97 || 79.35 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.47 || 78.88 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.30 || 79.18 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.99 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 81.17 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.84
|-
| {{flaglist|Costa Rica}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 80.80 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 78.13 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 83.42 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 5.29 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 80.23 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.07 || 80.30 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.57 || 79.72 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −1.67 || 78.05 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.27 || 79.32 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.48 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 80.80 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.50
|-
| {{flaglist|Panama}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 79.59 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 76.65 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 82.56 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 5.90 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 77.36 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.15 || 78.51 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −2.18 || 76.33 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.67 || 77.00 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 2.32 || 79.32 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.27 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 79.59 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 1.08
|-
| {{flaglist|Uruguay}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 78.14 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 74.19 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 81.92 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 7.73 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 77.19 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.31 || 77.50 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.88 || 78.38 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −2.95 || 75.43 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.03 || 76.47 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.67 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 78.14 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.64
|-
| {{flaglist|Cuba}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 78.08 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 75.67 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 80.52 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 4.85 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 77.83 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.41 || 77.41 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.01 || 77.41 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −4.21 || 73.20 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 4.43 || 77.63 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.46 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 78.08 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.67
|-
| {{flaglist|Peru}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.74 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 75.41 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 80.12 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 4.71 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 75.26 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.02 || 76.28 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −2.44 || 73.83 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −2.24 || 71.60 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 5.24 || 76.83 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.91 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.74 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 1.46
|-
| {{flaglist|Colombia}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.72 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 74.95 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 80.45 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 5.50 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 75.95 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.84 || 76.79 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −2.04 || 74.76 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −2.06 || 72.70 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 3.81 || 76.51 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.22 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.72 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.93
|-
| {{flaglist|Argentina}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.39 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 74.81 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 79.88 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 5.07 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 76.27 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.58 || 76.85 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.97 || 75.88 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −1.93 || 73.95 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.86 || 75.81 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.59 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.39 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.55
|-
| {{flaglist|Ecuador}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.39 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 74.66 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 80.14 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 5.47 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 76.14 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.14 || 77.29 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −5.28 || 72.00 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.74 || 72.75 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 3.83 || 76.58 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.81 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 77.39 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.11
|-
| {{flaglist|Brazil}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 75.85 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 72.76 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 78.98 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 6.22 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 74.82 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.99 || 75.81 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −1.30 || 74.51 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −1.47 || 73.04 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.83 || 74.87 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.98 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 75.85 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.04
|-
| {{flaglist|Mexico}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 75.07 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 72.24 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 77.81 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 5.57 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 74.40 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.13 || 74.53 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −4.08 || 70.45 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.70 || 69.75 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 4.22 || 73.97 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.10 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 75.07 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.54
|-
| {{flaglist|Nicaragua}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 74.95 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 72.31 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 77.42 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 5.11 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 72.79 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.97 || 73.76 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −3.00 || 70.77 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.29 || 70.48 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 3.98 || 74.46 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.48 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 74.95 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 1.18
|-
| {{flaglist|Paraguay}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 73.84 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 70.89 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 76.95 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 6.07 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 73.42 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 0.25 || 73.67 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.95 || 72.72 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −4.61 || 68.11 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 4.21 || 72.32 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 1.52 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 73.84 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.18
|-
| {{flaglist|Dominican Republic}} ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 73.72 ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| 70.53 ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| 76.97 ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| 6.44 ||style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;"| 73.14 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.03 || 73.11 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.48 || 72.64 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.88 || 71.76 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| 2.45 || 74.21 ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| −0.49 ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| 73.72 ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| 0.61
|-
| {{flaglist|Honduras}} || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.88 || style="background:#eaf3ff;" | 70.35 || style="background:#fee7f6;" | 75.50 || style="background:#fff8dc;" | 5.16 || style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;" | 71.03 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 1.09 || 72.12 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −1.26 || 70.86 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −1.37 || 69.49 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 3.22 || 72.72 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 0.17 || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.88 || style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;" | 0.76
|-
| {{flaglist|Guatemala}} || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.60 || style="background:#eaf3ff;" | 70.31 || style="background:#fee7f6;" | 74.88 || style="background:#fff8dc;" | 4.56 || style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;" | 70.94 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 0.70 || 71.64 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −1.67 || 69.97 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −2.11 || 67.86 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 3.35 || 71.21 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 1.40 || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.60 || style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;" | 0.96
|-
| {{flaglist|Venezuela}} || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.51 || style="background:#eaf3ff;" | 68.72 || style="background:#fee7f6;" | 76.50 || style="background:#fff8dc;" | 7.78 || style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;" | 72.84 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −0.07 || 72.77 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −0.40 || 72.37 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −0.83 || 71.54 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 1.03 || 72.57 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −0.05 || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.51 || style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:crimson;" | −0.25
|-
| {{flaglist|El Salvador}} || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.10 || style="background:#eaf3ff;" | 67.52 || style="background:#fee7f6;" | 76.26 || style="background:#fff8dc;" | 8.74 || style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;" | 71.14 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 0.58 || 71.72 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −1.48 || 70.24 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −0.30 || 69.94 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 2.03 || 71.97 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 0.13 || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 72.10 || style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;" | 0.37
|-
| {{flaglist|Bolivia}} || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 68.58 || style="background:#eaf3ff;" | 66.13 || style="background:#fee7f6;" | 71.14 || style="background:#fff8dc;" | 5.02 || style="border-left-width:2px; padding-left:1em;" | 66.97 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 0.85 || 67.82 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −4.91 || 62.91 || style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;" | −1.48 || 61.43 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 6.01 || 67.43 || style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;" | 1.15 || style="background:#e0ffd8;" | 68.58 || style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;" | 0.76
|-class=static-row-header
|style="text-align:center;"| '''World''' ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| '''73.33''' ||style="background:#eaf3ff;"| '''70.95''' ||style="background:#fee7f6;"| '''75.84''' ||style="background:#fff8dc;"| '''4.89''' ||style="border-left-width:2px;padding-left:1em;"| '''71.78''' ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| '''1.09''' || '''72.87''' ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| '''−0.68''' || '''72.18''' ||style="background:#fffae0;color:crimson;"| '''−0.97''' || '''71.22''' ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| '''1.75''' || '''72.97''' ||style="background:#fffae0;color:darkgreen;"| '''0.36''' ||style="background:#e0ffd8;"| '''73.33''' ||style="background:#fffae0;border-left-width:2px;color:darkgreen;"| '''0.46'''
|}

=== Public health ===
[[File:Healthy life expectancy bar chart -Latin America.png|thumb|Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in Latin America in 2019<ref name="who">{{cite web|title=Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy, data by country|language=en|publisher=World Health Organization|url=https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.688|date=December 4, 2022}}</ref>]]

==== Health Development in Latin America ====
Latin America has made notable progress in developing healthcare throughout the recent decades, and this is mostly driven even by both domestic policy and international collaborations. Some developments that were used:
* The Pan American Health Organization. (''This section is an excerpt from [[Pan American Health Organization]]).'' The '''Pan American Health Organization''' ('''PAHO''') is a [[List of specialized agencies of the United Nations|specialized agency]] of the United Nations (UN) in charge of international health cooperation in the Americas. This organization has played a crucial role in making efforts to combat communicable and noncommunicable diseases, strengthen health systems, and respond to emergencies and disasters.
* Public/Private Initiatives and Partnerships. An example that has been in place since 2015 is the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative (SMI).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salud Mesoamérica Initiative (SMI) {{!}} Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation |url=https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/health-policy-planning/evaluations/smi |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.healthdata.org |language=en}}</ref> This research project that focuses on the inequalities in health outcomes and access in Central America. It is a model that supports the transformation of [[Health Systems Global|health systems]] in each country, to bring coverage, access to healthcare, and health services among the poor in Mesoamérica, in particular women and children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iniciativas de financiamiento basados en resultados {{!}} bid-saludmesoamerica |url=https://www.saludmesoamerica.org/es |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.saludmesoamerica.org |language=es}}</ref>

==== Water ====
[[File:Palacio aguas corrientes 1890s.jpg|thumb|[[Palacio de Aguas Corrientes|Palace of Running Waters]], water pumping station and headquarters of [[Obras Sanitarias de la Nación]] soon after being inaugurated in Buenos Aires, Argentina.]]{{Excerpt|Water supply and sanitation in Latin America}}

==== Reproductive rights ====
{{Excerpt|Reproductive rights in Latin America}}

==== HIV/AIDS ====
{{Excerpt|HIV/AIDS in Latin America}}

===Crime and violence===
{{main|Crime and violence in Latin America}}

[[File:Homicide rates per 100000 people world, UNODC 2012.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|2012 map of countries by [[List of countries by intentional homicide rate|homicide rate]]. As of 2015, the Latin American countries with the highest rates were El Salvador (108.64 per 100,000 people), Honduras (63.75) and Venezuela (57.15). The countries with the lowest rates were Chile (3.59), Cuba (4.72) and Argentina (6.53).]]
Latin America has been cited by numerous sources to be the most dangerous region in the world.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/142442/latin-america-most-dangerous-world-region-in-terms-of-violence-calderon-.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024043050/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/142442/latin-america-most-dangerous-world-region-in-terms-of-violence-calderon-.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 24, 2012|title=Latin America the Most Dangerous Region in terms of Violence|access-date=August 28, 2013}}</ref> Studies have shown that Latin America contains the majority of the world's [[List of cities by murder rate|most dangerous cities]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4404176.stm|work=BBC News|title=Latin America: Crisis behind bars|date=November 16, 2005|access-date=May 7, 2010|archive-date=September 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908172128/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4404176.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Crime and violence prevention and public security are now important issues for governments and citizens in the Latin America region. Homicide rates in Latin America are the highest in the world. From the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, homicide rates increased by 50 percent. Latin America experienced more than 2.5&nbsp;million murders between 2000 and 2017.<ref>{{cite news|title=Latin America Is the Murder Capital of the World|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/400-murders-a-day-the-crisis-of-latin-america-1537455390|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=September 20, 2018|access-date=July 26, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323151839/https://www.wsj.com/articles/400-murders-a-day-the-crisis-of-latin-america-1537455390|url-status=live}}</ref> There were a total of 63,880 murders in Brazil in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Year of Violence Sees Brazil's Murder Rate Hit Record High|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/world/americas/brazil-murder-rate-record.html|work=The New York Times|date=August 10, 2018|access-date=July 26, 2019|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816111814/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/world/americas/brazil-murder-rate-record.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The most frequent victims of such homicides are young men, 69 percent of them between the ages of 15 and 19. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with the highest homicide rate per year per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 were: El Salvador 109, Honduras 64, Venezuela 57, Jamaica 43, Belize 34.4, St. Kitts and Nevis 34, Guatemala 34, Trinidad and Tobago 31, the Bahamas 30, Brazil 26.7, Colombia 26.5, the Dominican Republic 22, St. Lucia 22, Guyana 19, Mexico 16, Puerto Rico 16, Ecuador 13, Grenada 13, Costa Rica 12, Bolivia 12, Nicaragua 12, Panama 11, Antigua and Barbuda 11, and Haiti 10.<ref name="Homicide Statistics database.">{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=ZJ&year_high_desc=false|title=Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people)|publisher=UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-date=September 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922100402/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/VC.IHR.PSRC.P5?locations=ZJ&year_high_desc=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the countries with the highest homicide rates are in Africa and Latin America. Countries in Central America, like El Salvador and Honduras, top the list of homicides in the world.<ref name="murder rates2">{{cite web|url=https://theworld.org/stories/2016/06/27/countries-highest-murder-rates|title=Map: Here are countries with the world's highest murder rates|date=June 27, 2016 |publisher=UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.|access-date=February 1, 2017|archive-date=February 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170201131042/https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-06-27/map-here-are-countries-worlds-highest-murder-rates|url-status=live}}</ref>

Brazil has more overall [[homicide]]s than any country in the world, at 50,108, accounting for one in 10 globally. Crime-related violence is the biggest threat to public health in Latin America, striking more victims than [[HIV/AIDS]] or any other infectious disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/Archive/2005/Apr/21-965427.html|title=Crime Hinders Development, Democracy in Latin America, U.S. Says – US Department of State|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213142246/http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/Archive/2005/Apr/21-965427.html|archive-date=February 13, 2008}}</ref> Countries with the lowest homicide rate per year per 100,000 inhabitants as of 2015 were: Chile 3, Peru 7, Argentina 7, Uruguay 8 and Paraguay 9.<ref name="Homicide Statistics database."/><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/37/4/751|title="Understanding the uneven distribution of the incidence of homicide in Latin America"|date=2008 |doi=10.1093/ije/dyn153 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601042340/http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/37/4/751|archive-date=June 1, 2010 |last1=Briceno-Leon |first1=R. |last2=Villaveces |first2=A. |last3=Concha-Eastman |first3=A. |journal=International Journal of Epidemiology |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=751–757 |pmid=18653511 }} ''International Journal of Epidemiology''</ref>

==Culture==
{{Main|Latin American culture}}

[[File:Holy Week procession Comayagua Honduras (1).jpg|right|thumb|Roman Catholic Easter procession in [[Comayagua]], Honduras]]
[[File:Nicaragua Mestizaje.jpg|thumb|Nicaraguan women wearing the [[Mestizaje]] costume, which is a traditional costume worn to dance the Mestizaje dance. The costume demonstrates the Spanish influence upon Nicaraguan clothing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Traditional Nicaraguan Costumes: Mestizaje Costume|url=http://www.vianica.com/go/specials/19-traditional-nicaraguan-costumes.html|work=ViaNica.com|access-date=November 21, 2007|archive-date=October 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024123152/https://www.vianica.com/go/specials/19-traditional-nicaraguan-costumes.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
[[File:Argentine-woman-making-empanadas.JPG|thumb|[[Argentines|Argentine]] women making [[empanadas]], a traditional [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian]] food.]]
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2022}}Latin American culture is a mixture of many influences including cultures from their indigenous people as well as European, African, Asian, and US influences.

Indigenous cultures are that of the people who inhabited the continent prior to European colonization. Ancient and advanced civilizations developed their own political, social and religious systems. The Maya, the Aztec and the Inca are examples of these. Indigenous legacies in music, dance, foods, arts and crafts, clothing, folk culture and traditions are strong in Latin America. Indigenous languages affected Spanish and Portuguese, giving rise to [[loanword]]s like [[Pampas|pampa]], [[taco]], [[tamale]], [[moccassin]], [[cacique]].

[[Culture of Europe|European cultures]] were brought mainly by the colonial powers{{spaced ndash}}the Spanish and Portuguese{{spaced ndash}}between the 16th and 19th centuries, including as part of the [[Spanish Golden Age]]. The most enduring European colonial influences are language, institutions, customs and Catholicism.

Additional cultural influences came from Europe during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, due to growing immigration from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Germany; as well as artistic, ideological and technological developments of the time. Due to the impact of [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideals after the French Revolution, a certain number of Iberian American countries decriminalized homosexuality after France and French territories in the Americas did so in 1791. 

Some of the countries that abolished sodomy laws or banned state interference in consensual adult sexuality in the 19th century were: 

* Dominican Republic (1822)
* Brazil (1824)
* Peru (1836)
* Mexico (1871)
* Paraguay (1880)
* Argentina (1887)
* Honduras (1899)
* Guatemala
* El Salvador

Today same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and French overseas departments. South America experienced waves of immigration of Europeans, especially Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Germans, Austrians, Poles, Ukrainians, French, Dutch, Russians, Croatians, Lithuanians, and Ashkenazi Jews. With the end of colonialism, French culture also exerted a direct influence in Latin America, especially in the realms of [[high culture]], [[Independence|Independentism]], science and medicine.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stepan|first=Nancy Leys|author-link=Nancy Stepan|title="The Hour of Eugenics": Race, Gender, and Nation in Latin America|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1991|location=Ithaca|pages=in passim|no-pp=true|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NuUxkMC1ePYC|isbn=978-0-8014-9795-7}}</ref> This can be seen in the region's artistic traditions, including painting, literature, and music, and in the realms of science and politics.

Latin America also sees influences from [[Culture of Africa|African cultures]], whose presence stems from a long history of the [[Atlantic slave trade]]. People of African descent have influenced the ethno-scapes of Latin America and the Caribbean. This is manifested for instance in music, dance and religion, especially in countries like Brazil, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

[[Culture of Asia|Asian cultures]] are also present, which derives from the long history of the [[coolie]]s who mostly arrived during the 19th and 20th centuries. This was most commonly Chinese workers in Peru and Venezuela, but also from Japanese and Korean immigration- especially headed to Brazil. This has greatly affected cuisine and other traditions including literature, art and lifestyles and politics. Asian influences have especially affected Brazil, Cuba, Panama and Peru.

Lastly, the influence of the United States and globalization is present throughout the region, with particular strength in northern Latin America, especially Puerto Rico, which is an American territory. Prior to 1959, Cuba, which fought for its independence with American aid in the [[Spanish–American War]], also had a close political and economic relationship with the United States. The United States also helped Panama become independent from Colombia and built the twenty-mile-long [[Panama Canal Zone]] in Panama, which it held from 1903—the [[Panama Canal]] opened to transoceanic freight traffic in 1914—to 1999, when the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]] restored Panamanian control of the Canal Zone.

===Art===
{{Main|Latin American art}}

{{See also|List of Latin American artists}}
[[File:RiveraMuralNationalPalace.jpg|thumbnail|left|[[Diego Rivera]]'s mural depicting Mexico's history at the [[National Palace (Mexico)|National Palace in Mexico City]]]]
Beyond the tradition of Indigenous art, the development of Latin American visual art was influenced by Spanish, Portuguese and French [[Baroque]] painting, which in turn often followed the trends of the Italians. In general, artistic [[Eurocentrism]] began to wane in the early twentieth century with the increased appreciation for indigenous forms of representation<!-- check for encyclopedic tone -->.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Giannelli|first=Anthony|date=April 28, 2021|title=Decolonizing Identity through Latin American Visual Art|url=https://magazine.artland.com/decolonizing-identity-through-latin-american-visual-art/|access-date=July 2, 2022|website=Artland Magazine|language=en-US|archive-date=July 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702051920/https://magazine.artland.com/decolonizing-identity-through-latin-american-visual-art/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Santiago Martinez Delgado in the colombian congress.jpg|thumb|right|Mural by [[Santiago Martinez Delgado]] at the [[Colombian Congress]]]]

From the early twentieth century, the art of Latin America was greatly inspired by the [[Constructivism (art)|Constructivist Movement]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Perez-Barreiro|first=Gabriel|date=December 1994|title=Constructivism in Latin America|journal=University of Essex Collection of Latin American Art}}</ref> The movement rapidly spread from Russia to Europe and then into Latin America. [[Joaquín Torres García]] and [[Manuel Rendón]] have been credited with bringing the Constructivist Movement into Latin America from Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/museoreinasofia/docs/kobro_ing|title=Kobro and Strzemiński. Avant-Garde Prototypes|website=Issuu|date=November 29, 2017|access-date=May 3, 2019|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503112733/https://issuu.com/museoreinasofia/docs/kobro_ing|url-status=live}}</ref>

An important artistic movement generated in Latin America is ''[[muralism]]'' represented by [[Diego Rivera]], [[David Alfaro Siqueiros]], [[José Clemente Orozco]] and [[Rufino Tamayo]] in Mexico, [[Santiago Martinez Delgado]] and [[Pedro Nel Gómez]] in Colombia and [[Antonio Berni]] in Argentina. Some of the most notable ''Muralista'' works can be found in Mexico, Colombia, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and [[Philadelphia]].

Painter [[Frida Kahlo]], one of the most famous Mexican artists, painted about her own life and the Mexican culture in a style combining [[Realism (arts)|Realism]], [[Symbolism (arts)|Symbolism]], and [[Surrealism]]. Kahlo's work commands the highest selling price of all Latin American paintings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Frida Kahlo "Roots" Sets $5.6 Million Record at Sotheby's|url=http://www.artknowledgenews.com/Frida_Kahlo_Roots_$5.6_Million_Record-at-Sothebys.html|publisher=Art Knowledge News|access-date=September 23, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620174806/http://www.artknowledgenews.com/Frida_Kahlo_Roots_%245.6_Million_Record-at-Sothebys.html|archive-date=June 20, 2007}}</ref>

The Venezuelan [[Armando Reverón]], whose works are recognized internationally, is one of the most important artists of the 20th century in South America; he is a precursor of [[Arte Povera]] and [[Happening]]. In the 60s kinetic art emerged in Venezuela. Its main representatives are [[Jesús Soto]], [[Carlos Cruz-Diez]], [[Alejandro Otero]], and [[Gego]].

Colombian sculptor and painter [[Fernando Botero]] has gained regional and international recognition for his works which, on first examination, are noted for their exaggerated proportions and the corpulence of the human and animal figures.<ref>{{cite web|author=Notimex / El Siglo De Torreón|url=http://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/725150.fernando-botero-el-gran-artista-de-latinoamerica.html|title=Fernando Botero, el gran artista de Latinoamérica|publisher=Elsiglodetorreon.com.mx|date=April 1, 2012|access-date=December 9, 2013|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525114048/https://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/725150.fernando-botero-el-gran-artista-de-latinoamerica.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.revistaenie.clarin.com/arte/pintura/Fernando-Botero-MNBA_0_934106624.html|title=Fernando Botero, el aprendiz eterno|publisher=Revistaenie.clarin.com|date=October 6, 2013|access-date=December 9, 2013|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061921/http://www.revistaenie.clarin.com/arte/pintura/Fernando-Botero-MNBA_0_934106624.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/international/americas/08botero.html|work=The New York Times|first=Juan|last=Forero|title='Great Crime' at Abu Ghraib Enrages and Inspires an Artist|date=May 8, 2005|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-date=July 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716035202/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/international/americas/08botero.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Ecuadorian [[Oswaldo Guayasamín]] is considered one of the most important and seminal artists in Ecuador and South America. In his life, he made over 13,000 paintings and held more than 180 exhibitions all over the world, including Paris, Barcelona, New York, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Prague, and Rome. He brought his unique style of expressionism and cubism to the collection of Ecuador artwork during the [[Age of Anger]] which relates to the period of the Cold War when the United States opposed communist presence in South America.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ecuador.com/blog/oswaldo-guayasamin/|title=Oswaldo Guayasamin|access-date=January 22, 2023|archive-date=January 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122223334/https://www.ecuador.com/blog/oswaldo-guayasamin/|url-status=live}}</ref> Social criticism of human and social inequality was central to his artwork.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.passporttheworld.com/life-art-famous-ecuadorian-painter-oswaldo-guayasamin/|title=The life and art of famous Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín|date=February 10, 2020|access-date=January 22, 2023|archive-date=January 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122223330/https://www.passporttheworld.com/life-art-famous-ecuadorian-painter-oswaldo-guayasamin/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Film===
{{Main|Latin American cinema}}

[[File:Guadalajara international Film Festival.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Guadalajara International Film Festival]] is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America.]]{{More citations needed section|date=April 2022}}
Latin American film encompasses a wide range of genres and national industries. Historically, the main centers of production have been Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba. Latin American film flourished after sound was introduced in cinema, which added a linguistic barrier to the export of Hollywood film south of the border.<ref>Paul A. Schroeder Rodriguez. ''Latin American Cinema: A Comparative History'' (University of California Press; 2016) studies 50 films since the silent era.</ref>
[[File:Alejandro Inarritu Cannes 2017.jpg|right|upright|thumb|In 2015, [[Alejandro González Iñárritu]] became the second Mexican director in a row to win both the [[Academy Award for Best Director]] and the [[Directors Guild of America Award]] for Best Director. He won his second [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] in 2016 for ''[[The Revenant (2015 film)|The Revenant]]''.]]

[[Cinema of Mexico|Mexican cinema]] began in the silent era from 1896 to 1929 and flourished in the [[Golden age of the cinema of Mexico|Golden Era]] of the 1940s. It boasted a huge industry comparable to [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] at the time, with stars such as [[María Félix]], [[Dolores del Río]], and [[Pedro Infante]]. In the 1970s, Mexico was the location for many cult horror and action movies. More recently, films such as ''[[Amores Perros]]'' (2000) and ''[[Y tu mamá también]]'' (2001) enjoyed box office and critical acclaim and propelled [[Alfonso Cuarón]] and [[Alejandro González Iñárritu]] to the front rank of Hollywood directors. Iñárritu in 2010 directed ''[[Biutiful]]'' and [[Birdman (film)|''Birdman'']] (2014), Alfonso Cuarón directed ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' in 2004 and ''[[Gravity (2013 film)|Gravity]]'' in 2013. A close friend of both, [[Guillermo del Toro]], a top rank Hollywood director in Hollywood and Spain, directed ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]'' (2006) and produced ''[[The Orphanage (2007 film)|El Orfanato]]'' (2007). [[Carlos Carrera]] (''[[The Crime of Father Amaro (film)|The Crime of Father Amaro]])'', and screenwriter [[Guillermo Arriaga]] are also some of the best known modern Mexican film makers. ''[[Rudo y Cursi]]'' released in December (2008) in Mexico, was directed by [[Carlos Cuarón]].
[[File:Cristina, elenco y Oscar.jpg|left|thumb|President [[Cristina Fernández]] with the film director [[Juan José Campanella]] and the cast of ''[[The Secret in Their Eyes]]'' (2009) with the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film]]]]

[[Cinema of Argentina|Argentine cinema]] has also been prominent since the first half of the 20th century and today averages over 60 full-length titles yearly. The industry suffered during the [[Proceso de Reorganización Nacional|1976–1983 military dictatorship]]; but re-emerged to produce the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] winner ''[[The Official Story]]'' in 1985. A wave of imported US films again damaged the industry in the early 1990s, though it soon recovered, thriving even during the [[Argentine economic crisis (1999-2002)|Argentine economic crisis]] around 2001. Many Argentine movies produced during recent years have been internationally acclaimed, including ''[[Nueve reinas]]'' (2000), ''[[Son of the Bride]]'' (2001), ''[[El abrazo partido]]'' (2004), ''[[El otro]]'' (2007), the 2010 Foreign Language Academy Award winner ''[[El secreto de sus ojos]]'', ''[[Wild Tales (film)|Wild Tales]]'' (2014) and ''[[Argentina, 1985]]'' (2022).

[[Cinema of Brazil|In Brazil]], the ''[[Cinema Novo]]'' movement created a particular way of making movies with critical and intellectual screenplays, clearer photography related to the light of the outdoors in a tropical landscape, and a political message. The modern Brazilian film industry has become more profitable inside the country, and some of its productions have received prizes and recognition in Europe and the United States, with movies such as ''[[Central do Brasil (film)|Central do Brasil]]'' (1999), ''[[City of God (2002 film)|Cidade de Deus]]'' (2002) and ''[[Tropa de Elite]]'' (2007).

[[File:Elenco de Una Mujer Fantástica Premios Fénix 2017.jpg|thumb|Cast of [[A Fantastic Woman]] on the red carpet at the [[Teatro de la Ciudad]] (City Theatre). It was selected as the Chilean entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] where it won in the [[90th Academy Awards]].<ref name="Premios Óscar Latinos">{{cite web|url=https://premiososcarlatinos.wordpress.com/2017/09/12/los-latinos-al-oscar-2018-chile/|title=Los latinos al Óscar 2018: Chile|author=Bacherbas|work=Premios Óscar Latinos|date=September 11, 2017|access-date=September 11, 2017}}</ref>]]
[[Cinema of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican cinema]] has produced some notable films, such as ''[[Una Aventura Llamada Menudo]]'', ''[[Los Diaz de Doris]]'' and ''[[Casi Casi]]''. An influx of Hollywood films affected the local film industry in Puerto Rico during the 1980s and 1990s, but several Puerto Rican films have been produced since and it has been recovering.

[[Cinema of Cuba|Cuban cinema]] has enjoyed much official support since the [[Cuban revolution]] and important film-makers include [[Tomás Gutiérrez Alea]].

[[Venezuelan television]] has also had a great impact in Latin America, is said that whilst "Venezuelan cinema began sporadically in the 1950s[, it] only emerged as a national-cultural movement in the mid-1970s" when it gained state support and auteurs could produce work. International co-productions with Latin America and Spain continued into this era and beyond, and Venezuelan films of this time were counted among the works of New Latin American Cinema. This period is known as Venezuela's Golden Age of cinema, having massive popularity even though it was a time of much social and political upheaval.

One of the most famous Venezuelan films, even to date, is the 1976 film [[Soy un delincuente]] by [[Clemente de la Cerda]], which won the [[Special Jury Prize (Locarno International Film Festival)|Special Jury Prize]] at the 1977 [[Locarno International Film Festival]]. Soy un delincuente was one of nine films for which the state gave substantial funding to produce, made in the year after the Venezuelan state began giving financial support to cinema in 1975. The support likely came from increased oil wealth in the early 1970s, and the subsequent 1973 credit incentive policy. At the time of its production the film was the most popular film in the country, and took a decade to be usurped from this position, even though it was only one in a string of films designed to tell [[Social realism|social realist]] stories of struggle in the 1950s and '60s. Equally famous is the 1977 film [[El Pez que Fuma]] ([[Román Chalbaud]]). In 1981 FONCINE (the Venezuelan Film Fund) was founded, and this year it provided even more funding to produce seventeen feature films. A few years later in 1983 with [[Viernes Negro]], oil prices dropped and Venezuela entered a depression which prevented such extravagant funding, but film production continued; more transnational productions occurred, many more with Spain due to Latin America's poor economic fortune in general, and there was some in new cinema, as well: [[Fina Torres]]' 1985 [[Oriana (film)|Oriana]] won the [[Caméra d'Or]] Prize at the [[1985 Cannes Film Festival]] as the best first feature. Film production peaked in 1984–5,<sup>:37</sup> with 1986 considered Venezuelan cinema's most successful year by the state, thanks to over 4 million admissions to national films, according to [[Venezuelanalysis]]. The Venezuelan capital of Caracas hosted the Ibero-American Forum on Cinematography Integration in 1989, from which the pan-continental IBERMEDIA was formed; a union which provides regional funding.

===Literature===
{{Main|Latin American literature}}

{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2022}}
{{See also|List of Latin American writers}}
[[File:Gabriela Mistral-01.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Chilean poet [[Gabriela Mistral]], first Latin American to win a [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], in 1945]]

[[File:Gabogarciamarquez1.png|thumb|left|175px|upright|[[Gabriel García Márquez]] Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982, primarily for his masterpiece, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" ("Cien años de soledad").]]

[[File:Paz0.jpg|thumb|upright|175px|[[Octavio Paz]] Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990 for his influential body of work, which explored existential themes, Mexican identity, and the complexities of modernity]]
[[File:Miguel_Angel_Asturias.jpg|thumb|left|175px|upright|[[Miguel Ángel Asturias]] received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967 for his literary contributions, particularly for his novels that delve into the complexities of Latin American society and its indigenous cultures.]]
[[File:Mario Vargas Llosa (crop 2).jpg|175px|thumb|upright=.7|Peruvian [[Mario Vargas Llosa]], the winner of the 2010 [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] and the 1994 [[Miguel de Cervantes Prize]], among others]]

Pre-Columbian cultures were primarily oral, although the Aztecs and Maya, for instance, produced elaborate [[Aztec codices|codices]]. Oral accounts of mythological and religious beliefs were also sometimes recorded after the arrival of European colonizers, as was the case with the [[Popol Vuh]]. Moreover, a tradition of oral narrative survives to this day, for instance among the [[Quechua languages|Quechua]]-speaking population of Peru and the [[K'iche' people|Quiché (K'iche')]] of Guatemala.

From the very moment of Europe's discovery of the continents, early explorers and [[conquistadores]] produced written accounts and crónicas of their experience{{spaced ndash}}such as [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]'s letters or [[Bernal Díaz del Castillo]]'s description of the conquest of Mexico. During the colonial period, written culture was often in the hands of the church, within which context [[Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz]] wrote memorable poetry and philosophical essays. Towards the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th, a distinctive [[Criollo (people)|criollo]] literary tradition emerged, including the first novels such as Lizardi's ''[[El Periquillo Sarniento]]'' (1816).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gethin |title=Spain. Golden Age Literature. Innovations and Originality. |url=https://www.spainthenandnow.com/spanish-literature/spain-golden-age-literature-overview |access-date=2025-03-15 |language=en-US}}</ref>

The 19th century was a period of "foundational fictions" in critic Doris Sommer's words, novels in the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] or [[Naturalism (literature)|Naturalist]] traditions that attempted to establish a sense of national identity, and which often focussed on the Indigenous question or the [[dichotomy]] of "civilization or barbarism" (for which see, say, [[Domingo Faustino Sarmiento|Domingo Sarmiento]]'s ''[[Facundo]]'' (1845), [[Juan León Mera]]'s ''Cumandá'' (1879), or [[Euclides da Cunha]]'s ''[[Os Sertões]]'' (1902)). The 19th century also witnessed the realist work of [[Machado de Assis]], who made use of surreal devices of metaphor and playful narrative construction, much admired by critic [[Harold Bloom]].
[[File:Jorge Luis Borges 1951, by Grete Stern (full).jpg|thumb|[[Jorge Luis Borges]] in 1951]]
At the turn of the 20th century, ''[[modernismo]]'' emerged, a poetic movement whose founding text was Nicaraguan poet [[Rubén Darío]]'s ''Azul'' (1888). This was the first Latin American literary movement to influence literary culture outside of the region, and was also the first truly Latin American literature, in that national differences were no longer so much at issue. [[José Martí]], for instance, though a Cuban patriot, also lived in Mexico and the United States and wrote for journals in Argentina and elsewhere.

However, what really put Latin American literature on the global map was no doubt the literary [[Latin American Boom|boom]] of the 1960s and 1970s, distinguished by daring and experimental novels (such as [[Julio Cortázar]]'s ''[[Hopscotch (Julio Cortázar novel)|Rayuela]]'' (1963)) that were frequently published in Spain and quickly translated into English. The Boom's defining novel was [[Gabriel García Márquez]]'s ''[[One Hundred Years of Solitude|Cien años de soledad]]'' (1967), which led to the association of Latin American literature with [[magic realism]], though other important writers of the period such as the Peruvian [[Mario Vargas Llosa]] and [[Carlos Fuentes]] do not fit so easily within this framework. Arguably, the Boom's culmination was [[Augusto Roa Bastos]]'s monumental ''Yo, el supremo'' (1974). In the wake of the Boom, influential precursors such as [[Juan Rulfo]], [[Alejo Carpentier]], and above all [[Jorge Luis Borges]] were also rediscovered.

Contemporary literature in the region is vibrant and varied, ranging from the best-selling [[Paulo Coelho]] and [[Isabel Allende]] to the more avant-garde and critically acclaimed work of writers such as [[Diamela Eltit]], [[Giannina Braschi]], [[Ricardo Piglia]], or [[Roberto Bolaño]]. There has also been considerable attention paid to the genre of [[Testimony#Literature|testimonio]], texts produced in collaboration with [[Subaltern (postcolonialism)|subaltern]] subjects such as [[Rigoberta Menchú]]. Finally, a new breed of chroniclers is represented by the more journalistic [[Carlos Monsiváis]] and Pedro Lemebel.

The region boasts six [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize winners]]: in addition to the two Chilean poets [[Gabriela Mistral]] (1945) and [[Pablo Neruda]] (1971), there is also the Guatemalan novelist [[Miguel Ángel Asturias]] (1967), the Colombian writer [[Gabriel García Márquez]] (1982), the Mexican poet and essayist [[Octavio Paz]] (1990), and the Peruvian novelist [[Mario Vargas Llosa]] (2010).

===Music and dance===
{{See also|Music of Latin America|Latin pop|Latin dance}}
[[File:Salsa en Cali.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Salsa (dance)|Salsa]] dancing in [[Cali]], Colombia]]

Latin America has produced many successful worldwide artists in terms of recorded global music sales. Among the most successful have been [[Juan Gabriel]] (Mexico), the only Latin American musician to have sold over 200&nbsp;million records worldwide,<ref>{{cite web|title=Juan Gabriel, superstar Mexican singer, dies at 66|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-juan-gabriel-20160828-snap-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 28, 2016|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530071725/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-juan-gabriel-20160828-snap-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Gloria Estefan]] (Cuba), [[Carlos Santana]], [[Luis Miguel]] (Mexico), who all have sold over 90&nbsp;million records, and [[Shakira]] (Colombia) and [[Vicente Fernández]] (Mexico) with over 50&nbsp;million records sold worldwide. [[Enrique Iglesias]], although not a Latin American, has also contributed for the success of Latin music.

Other notable successful mainstream acts through the years include [[RBD]], [[Celia Cruz]], [[Soda Stereo]], [[Thalía]], [[Ricky Martin]], [[Maná]], [[Marc Anthony]], [[Ricardo Arjona]], [[Selena]], and [[Menudo (band)|Menudo]].

Latin Caribbean music, such as [[Merengue (music)|merengue]], [[Bachata (music)|bachata]], [[Salsa music|salsa]], and more recently [[reggaeton]], from countries such as the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Panama, has been strongly influenced by African rhythms and melodies.<ref>{{cite web|first=Christopher|last=Washburne|publisher=University of Salsa|title=Clave: The African Roots of Salsa|access-date=May 23, 2006|url=http://www.planetsalsa.com/university_of_salsa/clave/clave_roots.htm|archive-date=May 7, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507215444/http://www.planetsalsa.com/university_of_salsa/clave/clave_roots.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|publisher=Caravan Music|title=Guide to Latin Music|url=http://www.caravanmusic.com/GuideLatinMusic.htm|access-date=May 23, 2006|archive-date=May 6, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506015313/http://www.caravanmusic.com/GuideLatinMusic.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Jarabe Tapatío.jpg|thumb|Traditional Mexican dance [[Jarabe Tapatío]]]]
Another well-known Latin American musical genre includes the [[Argentine tango|Argentine]] and [[Uruguayan tango]] (with [[Carlos Gardel]] as the greatest exponent), as well as the distinct [[nuevo tango]], a fusion of tango, [[acoustic music|acoustic]] and [[electronic music]] popularized by [[bandoneón]] virtuoso [[Ástor Piazzolla]]. [[Samba]], North American [[jazz]], [[European classical music]] and [[choro]] combined to form ''[[bossa nova]]'' in Brazil, popularized by guitarist [[João Gilberto]] with singer [[Astrud Gilberto]] and [[jazz piano|pianist]] [[Antonio Carlos Jobim]].

Other influential Latin American sounds include the Colombian [[cumbia]] and [[vallenato]], the Chilean [[cueca]], the Ecuadorian [[Bolero (Spanish dance)|boleros]] and [[rockoleras]], the Honduran [[punta]], the Mexican [[ranchera]] and the [[mariachi]], which is the epitome of Mexican soul, the Nicaraguan [[palo de Mayo]], the Peruvian [[marinera]] and [[tondero]], the Uruguayan [[candombe]] and the various styles of music from pre-Columbian traditions that are widespread in the [[Andean world|Andean region]].

[[File:Carmen Miranda in That Night in Rio (1941).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Brazilian singer [[Carmen Miranda]] helped popularize [[samba]] internationally.]]

The classical composer [[Heitor Villa-Lobos]] (1887–1959) worked on the recording of Native musical traditions within his homeland of Brazil. The traditions of his homeland heavily influenced his classical works.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Leadership Medica|title=Heitor Villa-Lobos|access-date=May 23, 2006|url=http://www.cesil.com/0998/enbass09.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060811081605/http://www.cesil.com/0998/enbass09.htm|archive-date=August 11, 2006}}</ref> Also notable is the recent work of the Cuban [[Leo Brouwer]], Uruguayan-American [[Miguel del Águila]], guitar works of the Venezuelan [[Antonio Lauro]] and the Paraguayan [[Agustín Barrios]]. Latin America has also produced world-class classical performers such as the Chilean pianist [[Claudio Arrau]], Brazilian pianist [[Nelson Freire]] and the Argentine pianist and conductor [[Daniel Barenboim]]. Brazilian opera soprano [[Bidu Sayão]], one of Brazil's most famous musicians, was a leading artist of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 to 1952.

[[File:Dmitry_Vasin_Sagdiana_Hamzina.jpg|thumb|upright|A couple dances [[Tango (dance)|tango]] in Buenos Aires, Argentina.]]

Arguably, the main contribution to music entered through folklore, where the true soul of the Latin American and Caribbean countries is expressed. Musicians such as [[Yma Súmac]], [[Chabuca Granda]], [[Atahualpa Yupanqui]], [[Violeta Parra]], [[Víctor Jara]], [[Jorge Cafrune]], [[Facundo Cabral]], [[Mercedes Sosa]], [[Jorge Negrete]], [[Luiz Gonzaga]], [[Caetano Veloso]], [[Susana Baca]], [[Chavela Vargas]], [[Simon Diaz]], [[Julio Jaramillo]], [[Toto la Momposina]], [[Gilberto Gil]], [[Maria Bethânia]], [[Nana Caymmi]], [[Nara Leão]], [[Gal Costa]], [[Ney Matogrosso]] as well as musical ensembles such as [[Inti Illimani]] and [[Los Kjarkas]] are magnificent examples of the heights that this soul can reach.

[[Latin pop]], including many forms of rock, is popular in Latin America today (see [[Spanish language rock and roll]]).<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Michigan Daily|title=Latin music returns to America with wave of new pop starlets|url=http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1999/sep/09-28-99/arts/arts6.html|access-date=May 23, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050830190254/http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1999/sep/09-28-99/arts/arts6.html|archive-date=August 30, 2005}}</ref> A few examples are [[Café Tacuba]], [[Soda Stereo]], [[Maná]], [[Los Fabulosos Cadillacs]], [[Rita Lee]], [[Mutantes]], [[Secos e Molhados]] [[Legião Urbana]], [[Titãs]], [[Paralamas do Sucesso]], [[Cazuza]], [[Barão Vermelho]], [[Skank (band)|Skank]], [[Miranda!]], [[CSS (band)|Cansei de Ser Sexy or CSS]], and Bajo Fondo.

More recently, reggaeton, which blends Jamaican reggae and dancehall with Latin America genres such as [[Bomba (Puerto Rico)|bomba]] and [[plena]], as well as [[hip-hop]], is becoming more popular, in spite of the controversy surrounding its lyrics, dance steps ([[Perreo]]) and music videos. It has become very popular among populations with a "migrant culture" influence&nbsp;– both Latino populations in the United States, such as southern Florida and New York City, and parts of Latin America where migration to the United States is common, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Mexico.<ref>{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Daddy Yankee leads the reggaeton charge|access-date=May 23, 2006|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/daddy-yankee-leads-reggaeton-charge-wbna9410287|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525114307/http://www.today.com/popculture/daddy-yankee-leads-reggaeton-charge-wbna9410287|url-status=live}}</ref>

===World Heritage Sites===
The following is a list of the twelve countries with the most [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s in Latin America.<ref name="list">[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list World Heritage List] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314170923/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list |date=March 14, 2021 }}, UNESCO World Heritage Sites official sites.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Country !! Natural sites !! Cultural sites !! Mixed sites  !! Total sites
|-
|| {{flagu|Mexico}} || 6 || 28 || 1 || 35
|-
|| {{flagu|Brazil}} || 7 || 14 || 0|| 21
|-
|| {{flagu|Peru}} || 2 || 9 || 2 || 13
|-
|| {{flagu|Argentina}} || 5 || 6 || 0 || 11
|-
|| {{flagu|Cuba}} || 2 || 7 || 0 || 9
|-
|| {{flagu|Colombia}} || 2 || 6 || 1 || 9
|-
|| {{flagu|Bolivia}} || 1 || 6 || 0 || 7
|-
|| {{flagu|Chile}} || 0  || 6 || 0 ||  6
|-
|| {{flagu|Panama}} || 3 || 2 || 0 || 5
|-
|| {{flagu|Ecuador}} || 2 || 3 || 0 || 5
|-
|| {{flagu|Guatemala}} || 0 || 2 || 1 || 3
|-
|{{flagu|Uruguay}}
|0
|2
|0
|2
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Latin America}}
<!-- {{Wikipedia-Books}} -->
<!-- {{Main|Outline of Latin America|Index of Latin America-related articles}} -->
<!-- * [[Bibliography of Latin America]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Americas (terminology)]]
* [[Anglo-America]]
* [[Dutch America]]
* [[Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly]]
* [[French America]]
* [[Hispanic America]]
* [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]]
* [[Ibero-America]]
* [[Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance]]
* [[Latin America and the Caribbean]]
* [[Latin America and the League of Nations]]
* [[Latin America–United States relations]]
* [[Latin American integration]]
* [[Latin American studies]]
* [[Latin American Studies Association]]
* [[Latin Americans]]
* [[List of Latin Americans]]
* [[Mesoamerica]]
* [[Organization of American States]]
* [[Pan-American Conference]]s
* [[Pan-Americanism]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Kamen |first=Henry |title=Spain 1469–1714: A Society of Conflict |publisher=Pearson Longman |year=2005 |isbn=978-0582067233 |location=London and New York}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Parker
 |first=Geoffrey
 |author-link=Geoffrey Parker (historian)
 |title=Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II
 |publisher=Yale University Press
 |year=2014
 |isbn=978-0300196535
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Reid
 |first=Michael
 |title=Forgotten Continent: A History of the New Latin America
 |publisher=Yale University Press
 |year=2017
 |isbn=978-0300224658
}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons and category|Latin America|Latin America}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.iadb.org/en/topics/education/education-initiative-in-latin-america,6887.html IDB Education Initiative] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113141600/http://www.iadb.org/en/topics/education/education-initiative-in-latin-america,6887.html |date=November 13, 2017 }}
* [https://lacli.info/ Latin American, Caribbean, Latinx, and Iberian Free Online Resources (LACLI)]
* [http://www1.lanic.utexas.edu/ Latin American Network Information Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224222810/http://lanic.utexas.edu/ |date=December 24, 2007 }}
* [http://ladb.unm.edu/ Latin America Data Base] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719054102/http://ladb.unm.edu/ |date=July 19, 2019 }}
* [http://www.wola.org/ Washington Office on Latin America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116125035/https://www.wola.org/ |date=January 16, 2021 }}
* [http://www.coha.org/ Council on Hemispheric Affairs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091121074246/http://www.coha.org/ |date=November 21, 2009 }}
* [http://codigosdebarras.net/ Codigos De Barra] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907185735/http://www.codigosdebarras.net/ |date=September 7, 2015 }}
* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20080908155853/http%3A//www.infolatam.com/ |title=Infolatam. Information and analysis of Latin America |date=September 8, 2008}}
* [http://www.fao.org/farmingsystems/FarmingMaps/LAC/09/LC/index.html Map of Land Cover: Latin America and Caribbean (FAO)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001095642/http://www.fao.org/farmingsystems/FarmingMaps/LAC/09/LC/index.html |date=October 1, 2008 }}
* [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090323/dangl Lessons From Latin America] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310163750/http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090323/dangl |date=March 10, 2009 }} by Benjamin Dangl, ''The Nation'', March 4, 2009
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624120221/http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/?q=en%2Fnode%2F4318 |title=Keeping Latin America on the World News Agenda – Interview with Michael Reid of ''The Economist'' |date=June 24, 2010}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20121214185340/http://www.csupomona.edu/~jmvadi/454/The%20Cold%20War.html |title=Cold War in Latin America, CSU Pomona University |date=December 14, 2012}}
* [http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/lais/cold-war-resources.html Latin America Cold War Resources, Yale University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117164825/http://www.yale.edu/macmillan/lais/cold-war-resources.html |date=January 17, 2012 }}
* [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~jidoming/images/jid_uslatin.PDF Latin America Cold War, Harvard University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309153730/http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~jidoming/images/jid_uslatin.PDF |date=March 9, 2012 }}
* [http://larc.ucalgary.ca/ Latin American Research Centre, University of Calgary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128230157/http://larc.ucalgary.ca/ |date=January 28, 2013 }}

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