Regional Brief

The World Bank Group serves 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a region of great variety. The region is home to 525 million people, who speak Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and some 400 indigenous languages. Three-quarters of the region’s people live in and around cities, making it the most urbanized region in the developing world. Natural resources and agriculture are nevertheless important to the region’s economies. Despite immense resources and dynamic societies, deep poverty and gaping inequality persist in the region.