UNITED NATIONS ECLAC – LATAM & Caribbean preliminary numbers / information, refreshed as of July 2021.

South America

Following states are all members of the United Nations^[5] and current or former members of the Union of South American Nations.^[6]

Flag	Map	English short and formal names, and ISO code[7][8][9]	Domestic short and formal names [7][8]	Capital [9][10][11]	Population [12]	Area [13]
		Argentina Argentine Republic ARG	Spanish: Argentina — República Argentina	Buenos Aires Spanish: Ciudad de Buenos Aires	44,361,150	2,780,400 km2 (1,073,518 sq mi)
		Bolivia Plurinational State of Bolivia BOL	Spanish: Bolivia — Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia Quechua: Buliwya Aymara: Wuliwya	Sucre (official) and La Paz (seat of government)Spanish: Sucre[n 1]	11,353,142	1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi)
		Brazil Federative Republic of Brazil BRA	Portuguese: Brasil — República Federativa do Brasil	Brasília Portuguese: Brasília	209,469,323	8,514,877 km2 (3,287,612 sq mi)
		Chile [n 2] Republic of Chile CHL	Spanish: Chile — República de Chile	Santiago[n 3] Spanish: Santiago	18,729,160	756,102 km2 (291,933 sq mi)
		Colombia Republic of Colombia COL	Spanish: Colombia — República de Colombia	Bogotá / Santa Fe de Bogotá Spanish: Bogotá	49,661,048	1,138,910 km2 (439,736 sq mi)
		Ecuador Republic of Ecuador ECU	Spanish: Ecuador — República del Ecuador Quechua: Ikwadur	Quito Spanish: Quito	17,084,358	283,561 km2 (109,484 sq mi)
		Guyana Co-operative Republic of Guyana GUY	English: Guyana — Co-operative Republic of Guyana	Georgetown English: Georgetown	779,006	214,969 km2 (83,000 sq mi)
		Paraguay Republic of Paraguay PRY	Spanish: Paraguay — República del Paraguay Guarani: Paraguai — Tetã Paraguai	Asunción Spanish: Asunción	6,956,066	406,752 km2 (157,048 sq mi)
		Peru Republic of Peru PER	Spanish: Perú — República del Perú Quechua: Piruw Aymara: Piruw	Lima Spanish: Lima	31,989,260	1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi)
		Suriname Republic of Suriname SUR	Dutch: Suriname — Republiek Suriname	Paramaribo Dutch: Paramaribo	575,990	163,820 km2 (63,251 sq mi)
		Uruguay Eastern Republic of Uruguay[n 4] URY	Spanish: Uruguay — República Oriental del Uruguay	Montevideo Spanish: Montevideo	3,449,285	176,215 km2 (68,037 sq mi)
		Venezuela Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela VEN	Spanish: Venezuela — República Bolivariana de Venezuela	Caracas Spanish: Caracas	28,887,118	912,050 km2 (352,144 sq mi)

Central America

The Caribbean

• Aruba
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Cayman Islands (U.K.)
• Curaçao (Netherlands)
• Dominican Republic
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Dominica
  • Grenada
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Sint Maarten
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos

The Caribbean is a diverse region with significant economic potential and growth opportunities. Gross National Income (GNI) per capita varies from around US$800 to over US$30,000 and most countries rely primarily on tourism, while some on commodity exports.

With its stunning scenery and vibrant cultures, the Caribbean is one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Sustainable use of ocean resources, known as the “blue economy,” offers potential for economic diversification, while preserving the region’s environment, as well as further development of other sectors with potential for growth.

Many small economies, including those that are tourism-dependent, were maintaining a positive growth rate prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Caribbean has been badly impacted by the near halt in tourism. The Caribbean economy contracted an estimated 8.6% in 2020, and by 12.6% excluding Guyana. Many jobs are affected, and a recent high frequency phone survey in one of the Caribbean small states suggests that poverty headcounts are rising, though the magnitude and duration of this increase will depend on the pace of economic recovery. The progression of the pandemic and vaccination efforts will have a major impact on the speed and scope of recovery.

Caribbean countries are extremely vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Extreme weather events are common – the region experienced nine hurricanes at Category 3 and above in 2019-2020, and a record number of named storms in the 2020 hurricane season.  When a hurricane strikes, it can wipe out more than the entire annual GDP of a small island and it is often the poorest that suffer the most. Major hurricanes include Irma and Maria in 2017, and Dorian in 2019. In April 2021, the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has required mass evacuations, and is having widespread impacts on the country’s people, infrastructure, and economy.

Building fiscal and financial resilience and investing in preparedness – be it physical, health-related, or social safety nets – are critical to reducing the large human and economic costs caused by climate change.  to the Caribbean also aims to develop new sources of economic growth and high productivity jobs, which will require investing in people and climate adaptation, improving the investment climate and connectivity, and safeguarding the environment.

Last Updated: Apr 22, 2021