ECLAC---4 Sept. 2006---The 2005 edition of the Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean is now available on the ECLAC website. The yearbook is one of the annual flagship reports of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The bilingual (English-Spanish) document is posted at the following link. Another version with Excel charts can also be seen at this link.

ECLAC has been producing and compiling statistical information on the countries of the region for the past 40 years in order to support activities for cooperation in the areas of economic and social development.

The 2005 edition of the Statistical Yearbook reflects changes in the demand for information on economic and social realities and growing interest in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The first section of the document covers social and demographic information, with special attention to gender dimensions. The second section contains basic economic indicators, including trade, balance of payments and national accounts. The third section responds to the growing concern by the regional and international community for information on sustainable development, and presents available data on natural resources and the environment. The final section looks at the methodological aspects of data collection, definition and coverage.

This year's new format ensures the continued relevancy of the Yearbook, which has been published annually since 1973.

The print and PDF versions of the document contain a limited selection of tables on Latin America and the Caribbean as a region. The online version includes an expanded collection of tables with more detailed information on the current economic and social situation of each country, plus historical trends.

The online version of the Yearbook will be also available soon free of charge from the Data Base Portal of ECLAC's Statistics and Economic Projections Division (www.cepal.org/deype).