SITUATION ANALYSIS IN THE REGION Economic and Social Trends

16. After years of stagnation, economic growth in the Region resumed: as of 2007, nearly onethird of the countries had growth rates in excess of 6%. The per capita gross national income (GNI) in the Region (2004 data) is among the highest in the world. While the average income in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is US$ 7,811, in some of its subregions—notably the Latin Caribbean, the Andean Area, and Central America—the values are 20, 40, and 65% lower, respectively. The per capita GNI of the richest countries is up to 23 times that of the poorest countries. Economic crises had a serious impact in 2002, especially in Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela, a situation that turned around in the majority of the countries by 2005. Notwithstanding economic growth, inequality in income distribution has increased. Income distribution in the Region (measured by the Gini coefficient) is one of the most unequal in the world and did not improve between 1990 (Gini of 0.383) and 2002 (Gini of 0.403). Inequalities drive poverty and are manifested in different segments of the population, such as households headed by women, certain ethnic groups, or rural populations. An estimated 41% of the population in LAC is poor and 17% is indigent.