Latin American per capita growth languishes

Outlook

Predictably, Venezuela has shown the largest drop in GDP per capita in Latin America in the past five years, falling in the ranking from 12 in 2015 to 30. The two-thirds drop, from 10,568 dollars to 3,374, looks set to continue amid power cuts, sanctions and oil output that dropped by nearly 500,000 barrels per day in February alone.

While much less dramatic, other countries including Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, hurricane-hit Dominica and Suriname also saw falls in per capita GDP, while, despite exiting recession, Brazil's increased by only 122 dollars between 2015 and 2019.

Even countries with stronger per capita growth have seen little improvement in inequality.

Impacts

• Sluggish growth and social demands may prompt a rise in debt and debt/GDP ratios.
• Growth prospects look poor in much of the region this year given global uncertainties.
• Per capita GDP does not reflect wide disparities in income.
• Persistent commodity overdependence is undermining growth as prices remain subdued.