Internet use in Latin America - Statistics & Facts

Users and penetration

Brazil, the largest country in Latin America both by population and area, has the biggest online population in the region. As of January 2020, the South American country had over 150 million internet users, almost twofold that of second-ranked Mexico. In contrast, in terms of internet penetration, Brazil and Mexico don’t even make it to the top ten in the region. In 2020, Caribbean countries occupied seven out of the ten leading positions in internet penetration, with the Bahamas leading with a share of 85 percent.

Mobile internet and social media

In 2020, the average duration of internet usage in Latin America was forecast to surpass three hours per person per day, most of this time online being spent on mobile devices. One of the most popular online activities throughout the region is participating in social media. On average, 81 percent of internet users in Latin America were social network users. As of January 2020, Chile led the region, with the highest share of population actively using social media.

Online shopping

In line with global estimates, e-commerce in Latin America shows healthy projections. Retail e-commerce sales in the region amounted to more than 70 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, and this figure is forecast to keep rising in the next four years. That same year, the net revenue of MercadoLibre - one of the largest online retailers in the region – reached more than two billion U.S. dollars.

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