Adolescence is the phase of life between childhood and adulthood, from ages 10 to 19. Although adolescence is often considered a healthy stage of life, it is associated with significant mortality, morbidity and injuries, largely due to causes that are preventable or treatable. This period is particularly critical because it is when behavioural patterns are stablished, either protective or harmful, increasing health risks in the short and long term (WHO, 2025[1]). The LAC region has the second highest adolescent mortality rates in the world, with approximately 106 million adolescents living in the region in 2022 (The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2022[2]).
In 2023, adolescence mortality rate was 2.3 deaths per 1 000 in the OECD, while the average across LAC countries was 5.8 (
Figure 3.9). Chile, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba and Costa Rica achieved rates of less than 4 deaths per 1 000 people aged from 10 to 19 years old. In contrast, mortality rates in Venezuela and Haiti reached 10.4 and 10.7 deaths per 1 000. While the Dominican Republic had the third highest under‑5 mortality rate, the country achieved adolescent mortality rates below the LAC average. While adolescent mortality has substantially declined by an average of 34.4% in LAC countries between 2010 and 2023, compared to the OECD reduction of 16.4%, progress has been unequal amongst countries. Countries such as Bahamas, El Salvador and Antigua and Barbuda reported a drop of over 35%, while in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines the rate increased by 30% and in Cuba by 16%.
There are wide gender disparities in adolescent mortality in the LAC region, with boys being 106% more likely to die than girls, compared with 73% in OECD countries in 2023. Across LAC countries, the average adolescent mortality rates were 1.4 per 1 000 amongst younger female adolescents, and 2.3 per 1 000 amongst older female adolescents (Figure 3.10). The highest rates for older adolescents were observed in Haiti, Guyana and Suriname with 4.7, 3.6 and 3.4 per 1 000, respectively. Haiti also has the highest rate of young adolescent mortality with 3.5 deaths per 1 000, followed by Honduras, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and El Salvador, with over 2 deaths per 1 000. Honduras, Grenada and El Salvador have older adolescent mortality rates below the LAC average of 2.3, but high young adolescent mortality. The differing mortality patterns between the two adolescent age groups suggest differentiated causes of death, where lower respiratory infections and congenital anomalies are more common in the first group, accidents and injuries, self-harm and interpersonal violence are leading causes in the second (WHO, 2024[3]).
Across LAC countries, older male adolescents are 193% more likely to die than younger male adolescents. Venezuela, Ecuador, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Haiti have the highest mortality rates among older adolescents, exceeding 8 deaths per 1 000 (Figure 3.10). Among younger male adolescents, the highest mortality rates, over 3 per 1 000 are observed in Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras and Grenada.
Adolescence represents a critical period for shaping health and well-being in adulthood; however, it remains under-represented in national policies. It is also during adolescence that sex differences emerge, with boys experiencing higher mortality from violence, drownings and road traffic injuries, and girls being more affected by suicide and maternal conditions caused by high adolescent birth rates. Interventions under the Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (AA-HA!) include school-based violence prevention programmes aimed at reducing interpersonal violence. They also consider adolescent-responsive sexual health services that remove stigma around contraception and improve skilled antenatal and childbirth care to reduce maternal mortality among adolescent girls (UNCF, 2022[4]).
