Standardized Sovereign Debt Statistics for Latin America and the Caribbean: Analysis of Regional and Country Trends and Cross-Country Comparisons

This document analyzes gross and net public debt data for countries in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region up to December 2020. It provides a unique overview of the main characteristics of the regions debt and a comparative analysis of its most pressing risks (currency, maturity, rate, and credit). Its main purpose is to assess the changes in size and composition of debt for the region and to provide a comparative analysis of the diverse country cases that comprise it. 2020 was an atypical and pressing year in fiscal demands motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased financing needs and thus a potential to disrupt the characteristics of debt. Using debt data collected since 2006 by the IDBs LAC Debt Group, the analysis aims to contextualize the 2020 debt structure. It also analyzes LAC debt in the first year of the pandemic, examining its evolution between June 2020 and June 2021 and provides an overview of key variables for debt in LAC countries.