Latin American Economic Outlook 2025

Abbreviations and acronyms

ACCA	Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
ADB	Asian Development Bank
AEC	ASEAN Economic Community
AECID	Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo)
AEGEA	Brazilian Sanitation Company (Empresa Brasileira de Saneamento)
AFD	French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement)
AI	Artificial Intelligence
AIDDATA	AidData Research Lab
AISBL	International Non-Profit Association (Association Internationale Sans But Lucratif)
ALADI	Latin American Integration Association (Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración)
ALIDE	Latin American Association of Development Financing Institutions (Asociación Latinoamericana de Instituciones Financieras para el Desarrollo)
ANDE	National Development Agency of Uruguay (Agencia Nacional de Desarrollo de Uruguay)
ANII	National Agency for Research and Innovation of Uruguay (Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación de Uruguay)
APEX-BRAZIL	Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Agência Brasileira de Promoção de Comércio e Investimentos)
API	Application programming interface
AR(1)	Autoregressive model of order 1
AR5	Fifth Assessment Report (of the IPCC)
ASEAN	Association of Southeast Asian Nations
B2B	Business to business
B2C	Business to consumer
BANCOMEXT	National Bank of Foreign Trade of Mexico (Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior de México)
BANDEX	National Export Bank of the Dominican Republic (Banco Nacional de las Exportaciones de la República Dominicana)
BIOTECSUR	MERCOSUR Biotechnology Platform (Plataforma Biotecnológica del MERCOSUR)
BITs	Bilateral investment treaties
BNCR	Costa Rica’s National Bank (Banco Nacional de Costa Rica)
BNDES	Brazilian Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social)
BRI	Belt and Road Initiative
BROU	Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay (Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay)
CABEI	Central American Bank for Economic Integration
CACM	Central American Common Market
CAF	Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean
CAN	Comunidad Andina
CARICOM	Caribbean Community
CBI	Climate Bonds Initiative
CCRs	Command and control regulations
CEI-RD	Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic (Centro de Exportación e Inversión de la República Dominicana)
CELAC	Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños)
CEMBI	Corporate Emerging Market Bond Index
CFIA	Cooperation and Facilitation Investment Agreement
CH4	Methane
CIT	Corporate income tax
CMS	Content management system
CO2	Carbon dioxide
CONACYT	National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de México)
CORFO	Production Development Corporation of Chile (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile)
CRM	Customer relationship management
CRS	Creditor Reporting System
CSR	Corporate social responsibility
CTA	Call to action
DEI	Diversity, equity and inclusion
DFI	Development finance institution
DR-CAFTA	Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement
EAP	East Asia and the Pacific
EATR	Effective average tax rate
EBIA	Brazilian AI Strategy (Estratégia Brasileira de Inteligência Artificial)
EDGAR	Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research
EDI	Electronic Data Interchange
EFSD+	European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus
EM-DAT	Emergency Events Database
EMBIG	Emerging Markets Bond Index Global
EMBRAPII	Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovação Industrial)
EMTR	Effective marginal tax rate
EPA	Economic partnership agreement
ERP	Enterprise resource planning
ESG	Environmental, social and governance
ETR	Effective tax rate
EU	European Union
EUIPO	European Union Intellectual Property Office
EUR	Euro
F-GASES	Fluorinated gases
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization
FDI	Foreign direct investment
FE	Fixed effects
FINEP	Funding Agency for Studies and Projects of Brazil (Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos de Brasil)
FIPYME	Mexican Support Fund for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Fondo de Apoyo para la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa de México)
FOGAPE	Guarantee Fund for Small Entrepreneurs of Chile (Fondo de Garantía para Pequeños Empresarios de Chile)
FTA	Free trade agreement
G20	Group of Twenty
GAFA	Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon
GAM	Greater Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica (Gran Área Metropolitana de Costa Rica)
GDP	Gross domestic product
GDPR	General Data Protection Regulation
GGBI	Global Green Bond Initiative
GGIA	Global Gateway Investment Agenda
GHG	Greenhouse gas
GIZ	German Agency for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)
GMT	Global minimum effective corporate tax rate
GNI	Gross national income
GPDP	Green productive development policies
GSSS	Green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked (bonds)
GSSSB	Green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked and blue (bonds)
GVCs	Global value chains
GWP-100	Global warming potential over 100 years
H2-DRI	Hydrogen in direct reduced iron production
HHI	Herfindahl-Hirschman Index
HP	Hodrick Prescott
HR	Human resources
HS92	Harmonised System 1992
IADB/IDB	Inter-American Development Bank
IBIS	Information-based instruments
ICT	Information and communications technology
IEA	International Energy Agency
IFAC	International Federation of Accountants
IIAS	International Investment Agreements
IICA	Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
IIF	Institute of International Finance
ILO	International Labour Organization
IMF	International Monetary Fund
IMMEX	Manufacturing, Maquiladora and Export Services Industry of Mexico (Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación de México)
INA	National Learning Institute of Costa Rica (Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje de Costa Rica)
INFOTEP	National Institute for Technical and Vocational Training of the Dominican Republic (Instituto Nacional de Formación Técnico Profesional de la República Dominicana)
IOT	Internet of Things
IPCC	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPO	Initial Public Offering
IR	International relations
IRA	Inflation Reduction Act
ISIC	International Standard Industrial Classification
ISIC REV3/SIC REV3	International Standard Industrial Classification, Revision 3
ITID	Investment Tax Incentives Database
KIIbIH	Key Indicators of Informality based on Individuals and their Households (database)
KPI	Key performance indicator
LAC	Latin America and the Caribbean
LAFTA	Latin American Free Trade Area
LEO	Latin America Economic Outlook
LMICs	Low- and middle-income countries
M&A	Mergers and acquisitions
MBIs	Market-based instruments
MDB	Multilateral development bank
MEF	Ministry of Economy and Finance of Paraguay (Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas de Paraguay)
MENA	Middle East and North Africa
MERCOSUR	Southern Common Market (Mercado Común del Sur)
MESCYT	Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Dominican Republic (Ministerio de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología de la República Dominicana)
MICITT	Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications of Costa Rica (Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones de Costa Rica)
MINCIENCIAS	Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación de Colombia)
MINTIC	Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies of Colombia (Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones de Colombia)
MSMEs	Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
MT	Megatonnes
MVA	Manufacturing value added
N2O	Nitrous oxide
NAFIN	National Development Bank of Mexico (Nacional Financiera de México)
NCRES	Non-conventional renewable energy sources
NDB	National development bank
NDC	Nationally Determined Contribution
NDP	National development plan
NERC	North American Electric Reliability Corporation
NGOs	Non-governmental organisations
NIM	Net interest margin
NPS	Net promoter score
NTBS	Non-tariff barriers
ODA	Official development assistance
OEC	Observatory of Economic Complexity
OECD	Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OISS	Ibero-American Social Security Organisation (Organización Iberoamericana de Seguridad Social)
OLADE	Latin American Energy Organization
OOF	Other official flows
PAC	Growth Acceleration Programme of Brazil (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento do Brasil)
PAHO	Pan American Health Organization
PAIs	Productive articulation initiatives
PDB	Public development bank
PDPs	Productive development policies
PIT	Personal income tax
PM10	Particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter
PM2.5	Particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter
pp	Percentage points
PPIAF	Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility
PPP	Purchasing power parity
PPPs	Public-private partnerships
PROCHILE	Export Promotion Agency of Chile (Agencia de Promoción de Exportaciones de Chile)
PROCOLOMBIA	National Agency for Exports, Tourism and Investment of Colombia (Agencia nacional de promoción del turismo, la inversión extranjera, las exportaciones no minero energéticas y la imagen del país de Colombia)
PROCOMER	Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (Promotora del Comercio Exterior de Costa Rica)
PRODOMINICANA	Export and Investment Promotion Center of the Dominican Republic (Centro de Promoción de Exportaciones e Inversiones de la República Dominicana)
PROMÉXICO	Agency for Trade and Investment Promotion of Mexico (Agencia de promoción del comercio y la inversión de México)
PROMIPYME	National Council for the Promotion and Support of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of the Dominican Republic (Consejo Nacional de Promoción y Apoyo a la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa de la República Dominicana)
R&D	Research and development
RCA	Revealed comparative advantage
RCEP	Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
ROA	Return on assets
ROI	Return on Investment
Ruta N	Innovation and Business Center of Colombia
RVCs	Regional value chains
SAS	South Asia
SBD	Development Banking System of Costa Rica (Sistema de Banca para el Desarrollo de Costa Rica)
SDGs	Sustainable Development Goals
SEBRAE	Micro and Small Business Support Service of Brazil (Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas)
SELA	Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe)
SENA	National Training Service of Colombia (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje de Colombia)
SENAI	National Industrial Training Service of Brazil (Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial do Brasil)
SEPYME	Secretariat for Small and Medium Enterprises of Argentina (Secretaría de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa de Argentina)
SERCOTEC	Technical Cooperation Service of Chile (Servicio de Cooperación Técnica de Chile)
SEZ	Special Economic Zone
SICA	Central American Integration System (Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana)
SIEPAC	Electric Interconnection System of the Central American Countries (Sistema de Interconexión Eléctrica de los Países de América Central)
SIESUR	Southern Cone Energy Integration System (Sistema de Integración Energética del Cono Sur)
SIFA	Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement
SINEA	Andean Electrical Interconnection System (Sistema de Interconexión Eléctrica Andina)
SLBs	Sustainability-linked bonds
SMEs	Small and medium-sized enterprises
SPOs	Secondary public offerings
SSA	Sub-Saharan Africa
STEM	Science, technology, engineering and mathematics
STI	Science, technology and innovation
TFIs	Trade Facilitation Indicators
TFP	Total factor productivity
TIPs	Treaties with investment provisions
TOPP	Technical, operational, political and prospective (capabilities)
TOSSD	Total Official Support for Sustainable Development
TVET	Technical and vocational education and training
UI	User interface
UN	United Nations
UN COMTRADE	United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database
UN ECLAC	United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
UNASUR	Union of South American Nations (Unión de Naciones Suramericanas)
UNCTAD	United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNECE	United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNHCR	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNIDO	United Nations Industrial Development Organization
US CHIPS Act	United States Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act
USA	United States
USD	United States dollar
USMCA	United States-Mexico-Canada AgreementF
UX	User experience
UXD	User experience design
VAT	Value-added tax
VC	Venture capital
WBG	World Bank Group
WEF	World Economic Forum
WITS	World Integrated Trade Solution (database/platform)
WMO	World Meteorological Organization
WTO	World Trade Organization