Skip to main content

ECLAC Updates Economic, Social and Environmental Indicators in a New Edition of the Statistical Yearbook

Available in EnglishEspañol
4 January 2012|Press Release

Publication provides facts, for example, on the decline in fertility and increase in unemployment among women.

(4 January 2012) The Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2011 produced by ECLAC, which updates the statistical series of economic, social and environmental indicators in the region, is available on the Internet today.

The annual publication, one of the most important produced by this regional commission of the United Nations, includes an extensive collection of information in the region and is a reference for those who wish to access statistical data that are comparable between countries and over time.

For example, evidence can be drawn from the tables in the Yearbook on the marked decline which has been observed in fertility in Latin America. It also shows the growing unemployment among women compared to that of men.

There is also important data which can be used for understanding the regional economic situation, as well as the increasing proportion of raw goods being exported by the countries in the region, primarily due to the increase in prices over the past five years.

The Statistical Yearbook produced by ECLAC shows one of the key working areas of the Organization, which is processing, collecting, organizing and disseminating basic information on social, economic and environmental indicators and statistics in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, in addition to collecting and publishing methods and international recommendations on statistics.

The Statistical Yearbook 2011 is similar to previous editions in that it is divided into four chapters:

  • Demographic and social issues, such as population, employment, gender, education and health.
  • Economic statistics relating to prices, international trade, balance-of-payments and national accounts.
  • Information relating to the environment and natural resources, organized into areas including biota, water, forests, energy and environmental management, among others.
  • Methodological issues, such as the source of the data, their definition and coverage.

Most of the information comes directly from National Statistical Offices, Central Banks and other official organizations. For this reason, ECLAC invites the users to use the sources and technical notes which are available in this publication.

The chapter on environmental statistics also provides information from international and national sources. The advantages of international sources include greater geographical coverage, increased time series and better comparability.

More statistical information on Latin America and the Caribbean is available at the CEPALSTAT website, which contains a series of thematic databases which are updated periodically and cover a variety of issues (social, national accounts, the environment, gender affairs, productive activities, and external trade, among others).

The complete document in PDF format and the Excel tables in the Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2011 are available on the ECLAC website.

Any queries should be addressed to the ECLAC Public Information and Web Services Section. E-mail: dpisantiago@cepal.org ; Telephone: (56 2) 210 2040.

Follow us on: Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.