By: Staff Writer
September 1, 2026
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in a recently published report said the Latin American and Caribbean region is undergoing rapid demographic change that is impacting the society and the environment.
The report, “Impacts of Demographic Change in Latin America and the Caribbean Public Policy Challenges and Options,” notes that changes in the population age structure and the shift towards increasingly aged societies are being driven primarily by the historic decline in fertility and rising life expectancy. “Population ageing affects many areas of public policy and gives rise to, among other effects, the end of the demographic dividend, a slowdown in labour force growth, and a significant increase in demand for pensions, healthcare and long-term care services.”
The document emphasizes that demographic transition is redefining key conditions for development, planning and education, as well as for the sustainability of social protection, health and care systems.
“In regional context of unprecedented declines in fertility and population ageing, persistent inequality and weak social cohesion, efforts must be made to develop public policies that respond to the new demographic realities of Latin America and the Caribbean and can address the challenges involved in building more productive, inclusive and sustainable societies, leaving no one behind,” stated the executive secretary of ECLAC.
The report also said: “At the same time, the region faces serious development challenges, and countries find themselves, to varying degrees, in three development traps: low capacity for growth; high inequality, low social mobility and weak social cohesion, rooted in factors such as structural heterogeneity, low growth, shortcomings in education and vocational training, gender inequalities, weak job creation, regressive tax systems and significant weaknesses in social policies; and low institutional capacities and ineffective governance.”
These development traps are hindering progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Also among the report’s most relevant findings, it highlights the global fertility rate, which reached replacement level in 2015 and was 1.8 children per woman in 2024, meaning Latin America and the Caribbean had the third-lowest fertility rate in the world. However, its adolescent fertility rate (50 births per 1,000 women aged 15–19), reflects education gaps and socioeconomic and territorial inequalities that leave the population in a situation of greater poverty.
Population ageing represents the most radical change to the region’s demographic structure. By 2050, people aged 60 and over are expected to account for 25 percent of the total population (approximately 182 million people). A parallel process known as the “ageing of ageing” is also in effect, wherein the population aged 80 and over is experiencing even more accelerated growth than the rest of the age group. This, together with a preponderance of women and higher levels of dependency in this group, increases demand with regard to pensions, health, care and specialised support services.