Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean2024 is a joint publication by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, the OECD Development Centre, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN - ECLAC), the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with financial support from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). It presents detailed, internationally comparable data on tax revenues for 27 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) economies, four of which are OECD members.

Between 2021 and 2022, tax-to-GDP ratios increased in more than three quarters of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), while the average tax-to-GDP ratio for the LAC region rose by 0.3 percentage points (p.p.) to 21.5%, still slightly below its pre-pandemic level (21.6%). The increase in the regional average was driven by corporate income tax (CIT) amid higher profits by oil companies, although this was partially offset by a decline in revenue from excises, due to lower demand as well as the adoption of a range of policy measures by countries to mitigate the impact of energy and food inflation on households and firms.

After a strong rebound in 2021 from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic the previous year, growth slowed in many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2022. External conditions were less favourable, public transfers were rolled back, monetary policy tightened and the effects of the reopening of economies dissipated (OECD et al., 2023[1]). Challenging socioeconomic conditions persisted, as poverty and extreme poverty in the region remained above pre‑pandemic levels and inflation further eroded purchasing power. In 2022, 29% of the population was in poverty and 11.2% in extreme poverty in the LAC region (OECD et al., 2023[1]).

Global energy markets were marked by significant volatility in 2022. Prices for oil and natural gas surged in the first half of the year due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent application of economic sanctions on the Russian Federation by the European Union and the United States. In March, benchmark prices leapt for most energy products, including month-on-month increases of 56% for natural gas in Europe (or 592% year-on-year) and 21% for Brent crude oil (or 77% year-on-year). Prices remained high for the remainder of the first half of the year because of additional policy measures, constrained production (especially in OPEC+ countries) and a reordering of energy trade. Members of the European Union adopted a plan to reduce natural gas imports from the Russian Federation by two-thirds by the end of 2023. Additionally, in March, the United States banned imports of Russian oil, liquified natural gas (LNG), and coal.

The tax burden is a crucial variable for public policies, defined as the amount of financial resources – as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) – that a country raises through taxes and contributions to public social security arrangements to finance public spending. However, other sources of public revenues and alternative configurations of the basic functions of the State exist in different countries, which could affect the comparability of tax burden indicators.

In all of the following tables a (..) indicates not available. The main series in this volume cover the years 1990 to 2022.

In all of the following tables a (“..”) indicates not available. The main series in this volume cover the years 1990 to 2022.

Revenues of Latin American, Caribbean and OECD countries have been attributed to the different levels of government according to the revised guidelines set out in the final version of the 2008 System of National Accounts (SNA). Under this, revenues are generally attributed to the level of government that exercises the authority to impose the tax or has the final discretion to set and vary the tax rate.

References in this OECD Interpretative Guide to Sections or Parts of “this Report” refer to OECD (2023), Revenue Statistics 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris.