Over the past 20 years, Latin America has achieved a significant reduction in poverty, from 58% in 2003 to 30% in 2023. This decline of 28 percentage points marks one of the region’s most important social achievements.
The most notable progress was recorded in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the Dominican Republic. In these countries, the share of people living in poverty fell by 31 to 61 percentage points. These gains were made possible by improved access to education and healthcare, as well as effective social policy.
Of course, not all countries in the region showed such results. In Guatemala and Honduras, the figures remained virtually unchanged, while in Venezuela poverty actually increased. Even so, the overall trend remains encouraging: millions of people have been able to improve their quality of life and move out of deprivation. Latin America shows that with coordinated efforts from government, business and society, even deeply entrenched problems can be addressed effectively.
