ECLAC projects the highest growth in Latin America for Venezuela in 2026: 6.5%
On October 22 the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) updated its projections and kept Venezuela's expected GDP growth for 2026 at 6.5%, the highest in the region. For Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole it forecasts 2.0%.
Three times the regional average. The projection for Venezuela has held since April 2026 and is three times the regional average. Next come Panama, Paraguay and El Salvador, at 4.5% each, and the Dominican Republic, at 4.4%.
ECLAC lowered the regional forecast from 2.2% to 2.0% on geopolitical tensions, logistics disruptions and less predictable trade policy. For 2027 it keeps 2.5% for the region.
6.5% for Venezuela against 2.0% for Latin America and the Caribbean.
What lies behind the figure
ECLAC estimates that the Venezuelan economy grew 8.9% in 2025, according to its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean published in August. The 2026 projection builds on that base.
For investors, the figure is an independent reference from a United Nations body. It confirms what this site presents in Why Venezuela: an economy with installed capacity that is producing again.
