LatAm Is Climbing into the Middle Class

Some 63 million people in Latin America entered the middle class between 2001 and 2011, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. Now, nearly half the population of South America (47%) is living on at least $10 per day, while the percentage living on less than $2 per day dropped from 17% to 7% during the decade. Despite the progress, roughly 100 million people in Brazil, 75 million in Mexico, 30 million in Colombia, and more than 15 million in Argentina and Peru remain poor at a time when the commodities boom that added so much wealth has gone bust. As for service providers in the region, more people in the middle class will likely lead to rising salary expectations. But the positive ramifications — a healthier, more-educated, more-bilingual, more-tech-savvy workforce — means that this great news for Latin America is also great news for nearshore.