UN agency says regional average GDP growth was just 0.9% between 2014 and 2024, urges countries to prioritise growth
SANTIAGO — July 13, 2026. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has issued a stark warning that the region is at risk of another “lost decade,” urging governments to urgently step up resource mobilisation to avoid falling into a prolonged low-growth trap.
According to ECLAC’s 2025 Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean, the region’s average annual GDP growth between 2014 and 2024 was a mere 0.9% – even lower than the levels recorded during the debt crisis of the 1980s. ECLAC projects regional economic growth of between 2.2% and 2.4% for 2025, with a further slowdown to between 2.2% and 2.3% in 2026. Should this forecast materialise, the region would register four consecutive years of low growth of around 2.3%. ECLAC Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs said that amid global uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, Latin American countries must “prioritise” economic growth. He noted that governments, regardless of their political leaning, must place a high priority on growth, and that Latin America must “restart economic growth from within,” rather than relying solely on improvements in global markets or commodity prices.
The report specifically highlighted that the Caribbean (excluding Guyana) faces an even bleaker outlook, with growth of only 1.8% and 1.7% projected for 2025 and 2026 respectively, weighed down by tourism volatility, high logistics costs, and climate vulnerability. ECLAC warned that without urgent action, Latin America and the Caribbean could face its third “lost decade” since the 1980s. The commission called on countries to strengthen productive development policies and promote a more inclusive and sustainable growth model. However, the outbreak of the Iran war in April 2026 has further intensified economic pressures on the region. ECLAC downgraded Brazil’s 2026 growth forecast to 2% in April, down from 2.3% in 2025. The Middle East conflict has pushed up energy and food prices, eroding household purchasing power and compressing already limited fiscal space.
Analysts point out that the root causes of the region’s prolonged growth weakness lie in low investment rates, sluggish productivity growth, infrastructure gaps, and fragile institutional capacity. ECLAC argues that the current low growth is not merely an economic problem but a development crisis.