Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures changes in the overall price level of a fixed basket of goods and services typically purchased by households — such as food, housing, transportation and healthcare — and is a flagship inflation series in the Latin Macro Watch dataset of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). It is the most widely used gauge of inflation and the cost of living, though the basket composition and methodology vary across countries. The series supports economists, central bankers, journalists and policymakers tracking inflation across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Coverage

Data are available for 26 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency, spanning 1990 to 2026. Values are reported as index levels, including a 2023 = 100 base, and on a year-to-date basis, with period-average and end-of-period variants. Available transformations include month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth rates.

Sources

Figures are compiled from national statistical institutes and central banks, including INDEC - Argentina, INEGI - Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) de Chile, the Banco de la República de Colombia and the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, among other agencies in the region.

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Format	CSV
Language	en
Country	Argentina Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Belize Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia El Salvador Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Panama Uruguay Venezuela Barbados Paraguay Peru Suriname
Data notes	What does the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure? It measures changes in the overall price level of a fixed basket of goods and services typically purchased by households, such as food, housing, transportation and healthcare. It is the most widely used indicator of inflation and the cost of living. How many countries and which periods are covered? The indicator covers 26 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, with data spanning 1990 to 2026 at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency. What units and transformations are available? Values are reported as index levels, including a 2023 = 100 base, and year-to-date, with period-average and end-of-period variants. Transformations include MoM, QoQ and YoY growth rates, which are commonly used to compute inflation. Where does the data come from? The data are compiled from national statistical institutes and central banks, including INDEC - Argentina, INEGI - Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) de Chile and the Banco de la República de Colombia. What is this indicator typically used for? It is used to measure inflation, deflate nominal series, index wages and contracts, and guide monetary policy across Latin American and Caribbean economies. Are there methodological caveats for some countries? Yes. For Argentina, the headline CPI covers the urban population across six regions and excludes rural areas; for the 2007–2016 period of intervened INDEC statistics, official figures are replaced with alternative inflation estimates to bridge the break. How do I cite this indicator? Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Consumer Price Index (CPI)." data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.