Research Guides: Latin American &amp; Caribbean Studies: Data & Statistics

Regional Organizations

A selection of organizations in the region that may compile and report statistics and provide analysis. Look for a Topics/Issues menu, or a Publications menu.

Association of Caribbean States
The Association of Caribbean States is a product of the desire of the 35 Contracting States, Countries and Territories of the Greater Caribbean to enhance cooperation within the region, an initiative aimed at building upon obvious geographic proximity and well-documented historical linkages.
La Comisión Económica para América Latina (CEPAL)
CEPAL was founded to contribute to the economic development of Latin America and the Caribbean, coordinate actions aimed at its promotion and strengthen the economic relations of the countries among themselves and with the other nations of the world.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Regional statistics for the Caribbean.

National Statical Agencies

National governments may task an agency with the collection and reporting of countrywide statistics and data. However, data collected can change, may not always be published, and raw data and collection methods may not be accessible. Additionally, data may be only available in print format only. National libraries can be a good source of information.

Datasets

Most of the links below provide access to data. However, each organization also provides reports and analysis of the region as well, so it may be useful to peruse their websites for more synthesized or analytical reporting.

CEPALSTAT
CEPAL's gateway to statistical information collected, systematized, produced and published by their organization.
Inter-American Development Bank's Open Data
IADB’s Open Data portal that showcases socio-economic indicators for the Latin American and the Caribbean Region.

ICPSR This link opens in a new window
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) is a data archive of thousands of files of research in the social and behavioral sciences. It hosts specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.

IMF Data
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) publishes a range of time series data on IMF lending, exchange rates and other economic and financial indicators. Manuals, guides, and other material on statistical practices at the IMF, in member countries, and of the statistical community at large are also available.
Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP)
LAPOP, at Vanderbilt University, is the an academic institution carrying out surveys of public opinion in the Americas. LAPOP uses "gold standard" approaches and innovative methods to carry out targeted national surveys; conduct impact evaluation studies; and produce reports on individual attitudes, evaluations, and experiences. The AmericasBarometer survey is the only scientifically rigorous comparative survey that covers 34 nations including all of North, Central, and South America, as well as a significant number of countries in the Caribbean. Each year it publishes dozens of academic studies and policy-relevant papers.
Latinobarómetro: Opinión Pública Latinoamericana
Based in Chile, Latinobarómetro is an annual public opinion survey that surveys people in 18 Latin American countries. It researches the development of democracy and economies as well as societies, using indicators of opinion, attitudes, behavior and values.
Migration Data Portal
The Portal aims to serve as an access point to timely, comprehensive migration statistics and reliable information about migration data globally. The site is designed to help policy makers, national statistics officers, journalists and the general public interested in the field of migration to navigate the increasingly complex landscape of international migration data, currently scattered across different organisations and agencies.
OECD Data
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) data, retrievable by topic or country.
Pew Research Center's Global Indicators Database
Conducts public opinion surveys around the world on a broad array of subjects ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day. The Global Indicators Database contains data from over 600,000 interviews in 69 countries.

Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Database of public opinion polls containing the full text of hundreds of thousands of questions and responses from thousands of surveys conducted in 80 countries.
Access is limited to 4 simultaneous users.

UNdata
The United Nations branch that compiles international statistical resources compiled by the United Nations (UN) statistical system and other international agencies. The numerous databases or tables collectively known as "datamarts" contain over 60 million data points and cover a wide range of statistical themes including agriculture, crime, communication, development assistance, education, energy, environment, finance, gender, health, labour market, manufacturing, national accounts, population and migration, science and technology, tourism, transport and trade.
World Bank Open Data
Provides access to World Bank statistics and a variety of global development data. Tools include a catalog, an analysis and visualization tool, microdata and more.