From Data to Action: Learn How Latin American and Caribbean Governments Are Pursuing Better Governance

Latin America and the Caribbean are at a crossroads of environmental sustainability and inclusive development – and public governance plays a critical role in a fair green transition, especially given existing inequalities, limited fiscal capacity, and deteriorating public trust. How are public administrations in our region performing in these and other crucial areas for our economic and social development?

With this question in mind, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in coordination with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has published the fourth edition of the most comprehensive set of indicators about public management and governance at the global and regional level, the Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2024, a compilation of high-level data for policymakers, academics, non-governmental organizations and the public.

This fourth edition celebrates more than 10 years of the successful partnership between the IDB and the OCDE. Since the two institutions teamed up to launch the first study for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2014, the series has been downloaded more than half a million times from the websites of the two organizations. The massive online course launched by the IDB based on this series has had more than 70,000 participants registered.

Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2024 provides reliable and comparable indicators and statistics on governance and public management and their results in the region and compares it to OECD countries so governments in the region can better understand where the gaps are and benchmark themselves against each other and other developed nations.

The indicators show how our governments are performing in traditional areas such as public finances, public procurement, public employment and digital government, and also in emerging and cutting-edge areas of public administration such as gender budgeting, trust in institutions, satisfaction with public services, regulatory governance, green budgeting to address climate change, among others.

160 Indicators for More Than 20 Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean

This edition includes 160 indicators from more than 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries displayed in different types of visualizations to allow for easy comparison between countries and different timeframes. Each graphic has a link to the original data in excel that can be freely downloaded.

By offering policymakers and citizens the opportunity to analyze the results and impacts of public policies and to compare the performance of governments, this publication plays a fundamental role in policy dialogue to promote greater effectiveness in the public sector and contribute to the institutional strengthening in the region.

Most of the data in the report were collected from government officials via specifically designed surveys, who also provided evidence to validate their answers with other sources. Data are also drawn from other organizations such as the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Below we highlight some findings of the publication.

Public Trust in LAC Governments Remains Low

While trust it is not in itself a necessary outcome of democratic governance, a certain level of trust is required for governments to successfully carry out public sector reforms. On average, 36.3% of the population in the 16 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries with available data reported trusting their national government in 2022, which is 5.4 percentage points (p.p.) lower than in 2011 and 11 p.p. below the OECD average (47%).
Well-functioning public services improve productivity by providing essential education and healthcare, as well as a sound judicial system, all of which drive economic growth. On average, 66% of the population in LAC are satisfied with the education system in 2022, similar to the average for OECD countries (67%) in the same year. About half of the population in LAC countries were satisfied with the healthcare system (53%), whereas in OECD countries, most people (68%) reported being satisfied with the healthcare system in 2022. When it comes to being satisfied with the judicial system, only 38% of people in the LAC region reported confidence, far from the 56% from OECD countries.

LAC Governments Are Improving Governance Practices

Latin American and Caribbean countries are increasingly adopting more advanced practices to engage stakeholders in developing regulations. Out of 11 surveyed countries for this specific topic, 8 (or 73%) improved on their 2019 score in the index on stakeholder engagement for developing subordinate regulations. Mechanisms exist but must become more effective to ensure equal access, representation, and inclusiveness in public decisions.
Open government strategies to enhance the participation of women in public decision making in 15 countries of the region were reported, and 14 countries also promote youth participation. A large majority of the 13 surveyed countries for this specific topic in the region practice gender budgeting (or 77%), which aims to address gender disparities in policy and resource allocation, compared to 61% of OECD countries.
There is space to improve the green transition in the region. Five countries among the 12 surveyed use green budgeting to integrate climate and environmental considerations into decisions on taxes and public spending, 42% compared to 67% of OECD countries. Furthermore, only 4 countries, among 15 surveyed countries, align their long-term infrastructure plans with environmental or climate action plans, 27% compared to 73% of OECD countries.
Public procurement can be used to promote social objectives, sustainability, and environmental responsibility. In 2022, 16 of the 19 surveyed countries in LAC (or 84%) had central e-procurement systems and reported having policies or strategies in this area to pursue social objectives. Out of the 19 surveyed countries, 14 had a central government strategy to promote the participation of small and medium enterprises in public procurement (or 74%); however, only 9 had a strategy for green public procurement (or 47%).
In 2022, all 7 surveyed LAC countries had developed a national digital public infrastructure to deliver digital services, which included interoperability frameworks and, in 6 countries, shared networks, essential for government communication and data exchange.

Governments Are Taking Action to Improve Gender Equality and Diversity But More Needs to Be Done

Women’s representation in public management and politics has improved in LAC. The share of women in senior management positions in government in 2022 is slightly higher in the region (43%) than in the OECD countries (41%). However, progress in closing gender gaps in politics in the region is slow.
Age diversity among legislators can also contribute to more robust democratic systems, ensuring representation of all age demographics. In 2023, only 27% of parliamentarians were less than 40 years old on average in LAC countries, even though 48% of the population in the region is aged between 20 and 40 years. Younger legislators bring in the voices and perspectives of a generation that will inherit and shape the future and could balance intergenerational interests in the green transition.
Workforce diversity also extends to the inclusion of other under-represented groups, such as people with disabilities and indigenous peoples. Some LAC countries use tools to increase diversity and the participation of under-represented groups in their public sector recruitment processes. For instance, 10 out of 15 surveyed countries allow recruitment processes to be adjusted to accommodate medical conditions or disabilities, while 6 countries use communication strategies to specifically attract under-represented groups. In addition to these policies, 10 of 15 LAC countries (67%) set targets or quotas to include people with disabilities in public workforce, and 4 have targets for indigenous peoples.

Public Finances Are Improving

General government revenues in LAC countries averaged 31.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022 compared to 39.7% in OECD countries. This represents an increase between 2019 and 2022 of 1.1 percentage points (p.p.), exceeding pre-pandemic levels (from 30.4% of GDP in 2019), as economic activity rebounded, and commodity prices surged.
Average government expenditure per capita in the LAC region increased by 17.7% between 2019 and 2022 from USD 5 785 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2019 to USD 6 809 PPP in 2021, lower than the average OECD increase of 23.5%, from USD 19 928 PPP to USD 24 609 PPP.

Conclusion: We Need Better Governance to Achieve a Green Transition

Overall, the evidence laid out in this publication underlines how the region has made progress in several areas, including establishing participatory mechanisms and public integrity regulations, and addressing gender gaps in public sector. Nevertheless, the indicators show that the region also needs to improve in some key public governance capabilities to drive sustainable prosperity, and to achieve sustainable and inclusive goals.

More specifically, our region needs to improve public governance to achieve a green transition and respond to the social and economic impacts of a climate change. This means governments need to be more transparent and accountable for their decisions. They need to improve policymaking based on empirical evidence and be able to monitor and measure the impact of their policies.

Stronger institutions, good governance and the rule of law are at the heart of the IDB’s work to promote sustainable and equitable development in Latin America and the Caribbean countries. This study contributes to promote stronger public institutions by providing the most comprehensive set of indicators on public governance in the region. It allows governments to understand where gaps are and how big they are.

We hope this study will support the transparency, public dialogue, and effectiveness in public sector. We, at the IDB, are committed to these values and will continue to support the countries of the region in all of these areas.

Download the study: Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2024

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