Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
Of the 33 countries in LAC, only three have an agricultural census produced in the last 5 years (FAO and UNDP, 2025)
62.7% of farms in LAC have five hectares or less of total area, while only 4.5% have more than 100 hectares (FAO and UNDP, 2025).
One third of the more than two billion hectares of land in LAC is used for agricultural purposes (FAO and UNDP, 2025).
14% of agricultural production comes from LAC, which is the largest net exporter of food in the world (FAO and UNDP, 2025).
55% of women entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean work in the informal sector, which limits their ability to grow in size and profits (ECLAC, 2024).
0.9% was the average annual growth rate of Latin America and the Caribbean between 2015 and 2024, less than half of the 2.0% recorded during the lost decade of the 1980s (ECLAC, 2024).
Three times more time is dedicated by women to unpaid domestic and care work compared to men, according to time use measurements in various LAC countries (ECLAC, 2024).
51.6% is the informal employment rate among the young population and 71.7% among people over 65 years of age, with a concentration of 69.8% in rural areas in LAC (ECLAC, 2024).
1.2% is the estimated average annual rate of job creation in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2015 and 2024 (ECLAC, 2024).
10% is the increase in digitalization that correlates with a 5.7% increase in multifactor productivity (ECLAC, 2024).
