Monthly Economic Activity Estimator

The Monthly Economic Activity Estimator is a high-frequency indicator from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Latin Macro Watch that provides a monthly approximation of a country's overall economic activity across Latin America and the Caribbean. It is commonly used as a proxy for GDP trends, offering timely signals ahead of official quarterly GDP releases, and is valuable for nowcasting, business-cycle monitoring, and short-term economic analysis.

Coverage

The series spans 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency, covering 1990 to 2026. Values are published as index numbers (including a 2023 = 100 base), year-to-date (YTD) measures, and seasonally adjusted figures, each available as period averages or end-of-period observations. Available transformations include 3-, 6-, and 12-month moving averages (MA3, MA6, MA12) plus month-over-month (MoM %), quarter-over-quarter (QoQ %), and year-over-year (YoY %) growth rates.

Sources

Data are compiled from national statistical offices and central banks, including INEGI - Mexico, INDEC - Argentina, the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) de Chile, and the Banco Central de Costa Rica, and standardized within Latin Macro Watch for cross-country comparability.

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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 Monthly Economic Activity Estimator measure? It provides a monthly approximation of a country's overall economic activity and is commonly used as a proxy for GDP trends, signaling momentum ahead of official quarterly GDP releases. How many countries and which time period are covered? The indicator covers 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean over the period 1990-2026, at annual, monthly, and quarterly frequency. What units and transformations are available? Values are available as index numbers (including a 2023 = 100 base), YTD measures, and seasonally adjusted figures, with MA3, MA6, MA12 moving averages and MoM %, QoQ %, and YoY % growth rates. Where does the data come from? The data are compiled from national statistical offices and central banks such as INEGI - Mexico, INDEC - Argentina, the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) de Chile, and the Banco Central de Costa Rica, then standardized within Latin Macro Watch. What is this indicator typically used for? Analysts, economists, and policymakers use it for nowcasting GDP, monitoring the business cycle, and tracking short-term economic momentum across the region. How do I cite this indicator? Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Monthly Economic Activity Estimator". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.