ECLAC: Venezuela Leads Latin American Growth in 2025

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) highlights Venezuela's exceptional economic recovery, with the country—alongside Guyana—leading regional growth in 2025, within a continental context of moderate expansion and persistent structural challenges.

In a general economic panorama for Latin America and the Caribbean characterized by low and persistent growth, Venezuela emerges as a leader in projections for the coming year. According to the Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2025, presented this Tuesday by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Venezuelan economy grew by 6.5% in 2025, the highest rate in the region.

Exceptional Performance Highlighted

According to the report, the Bolivarian nation is one of the countries with the highest growth in the region in 2024 (8.5%) and 2025 (6.5%), significantly exceeding the regional average (2.3–2.4%). Although a slowdown is projected for 2026 (3%), it remains above the average.

ECLAC also notes that inflation in the country, characterized by its socialist project, has fallen by over 87% in one year, moving from hyperinflation to high but manageable inflation levels. This represents one of the most significant macroeconomic achievements in recent years, compared to the country's historical figures.

Regional Context of Stagnation

The organization maintained its forecast for regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expansion in 2025 at 2.4%, projecting 2.3% for 2026. This "sequence of four years with rates close to 2.3%" confirms, in ECLAC's words, that the region continues in "a low-growth trap." A context that makes Venezuela's projected performance more notable, followed in the ranking by Paraguay (5.5%), Argentina (4.3%), and Costa Rica (4%).

"The per capita GDP in the region today is slightly higher than it was 10 years ago, poverty reduction has stalled, and the trend towards reducing informality has also stopped," explained the executive secretary of the organization, Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs. Faced with this scenario, he advocated for "more ambitious productive development policies" combined with macroeconomic policies that mobilize resources for innovation and the creation of quality jobs.

A Diverse Economic Map

The report paints a diverse economic map with clear laggards. Behind the leaders, a group of Central American and Andean countries such as Guatemala (3.9%), Honduras (3.8%), Peru (3.2%), and Ecuador (3.2%) would show average performance. The largest economies in South America, Brazil and Chile, would grow moderately (2.5% each), as would Colombia (2.6%).

The standout exception in the Caribbean is Guyana, whose oil boom would deliver an estimated growth of 15.2% in 2025, though far below the extraordinary 43.6% recorded in 2024.