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Ranked: Latin American Countries By Green Energy Use

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This graphic shows how much electricity production Latin American countries derive from green energy relative to fossil fuels

Ranked: Latin American Countries By Green Energy Use

The global push for increasing green energy use is well underway, as countries around the world are feeling pressure to revamp their climate-impacting practices.

But with different populations, energy use requirements, and access to natural resources, certain regions will have a more significant role to play. With a population of 664 million and an abundance of natural resources, Latin America (LatAm) is one such region.

How green is LatAm’s energy today? This graphic from Latinometrics charts countries’ electricity production from renewables relative to fossil fuels and highlights the significant disparities between certain nations.

Green Energy Use in Latin America

As of 2020, many LatAm countries actually produced 50% or more of their electricity from renewable sources including nuclear energy. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the outliers:

Paraguay

Hydropower is Paraguay’s primary renewable energy source, and plentiful. In fact, the country produces surplus electricity and exports the remainder to Argentina and Brazil. Altogether, 60% of Paraguay’s hydroelectric power is exported, contributing to 6% of its GDP.

The primary resource for this hydropower—the Itaipú Dam—sits between Paraguay and Brazil and is jointly owned by both. The dam is responsible for 79% of Paraguay’s total power capacity.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has been running on at least 98% renewable energy since 2014. Both within the Americas and on a global scale, the country’s green energy usage ranks extremely high, primarily driven by hydropower:

Costa Rica's Renewable Energy Sources% of Renewable Energy (2019)
Hydropower67.5%
Wind power17.0%
Geothermal power13.5%
Backup plants1.16%
Solar panels0.84%

But notably, Costa Rica’s volcanoes are also utilized as a source of geothermal power.

Mexico

Mexico ranks considerably lower on the green energy spectrum. The country produces 303 TWh (Terrawatt hours) of electricity a year, but over two-thirds comes from fossil fuel sources.

Lately, intense political discussions within Mexico have emerged regarding energy policies. The country has attractive solar energy potential, with some of the greatest levels of sunlight globally, but has yet to fully tap into this renewable source. Recent actions from the current administration is reversing prior decisions towards renewables and is prioritizing domestic coal production, whilst enabling anti-competitive practices for state-owned entities.

Based on current assessments by energy analysts, Mexico may see increases in carbon emissions in the decades to come.

Brazil

Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy and the 12th largest in the world, with a GDP of about $1.5 trillion. Its oil industry remains a crucial component of the economy and ranks 9th in the world by output—producing roughly 3.2 million barrels a day.

While this may suggest Brazil relies heavily on fossil fuels, the country’s electricity production from green energy actually ranks extremely high. Of Brazil’s 606 TWh of electricity produced per year, 86% comes from nuclear or renewable sources.

Given its size and strength, Brazil is positioned to act as a leader within the continent on the path to net-zero. In 2021, Brazil dedicated $12 billion in investments towards energy transitions, putting it in the top 10 countries by spending.

Argentina

Relative to its more green-energy friendly neighbors, Argentina is falling behind on its renewable energy efforts. It produces 135 TWh of electricity per year, but only around 30% comes from nuclear or renewable energy.

Extended periods of economic instability are a driving cause, which are constantly shifting the country’s priorities elsewhere. Some years ago, it launched the Argentina Renewable Energy Auction program to try and improve renewable electricity production by 2025, but many projects were scrapped due to financing issues.

However, southern Argentina is a particularly windy region within Latin America, making it a desirable spot for future wind power generation and investment.

How LatAm Compares on a Global Scale

More than a quarter of LatAm’s energy comes from renewable energy, double the global average.

While countries around the world are striving for renewable energy to make up half or more of electricity generation by 2050, nearly two-thirds of LatAm countries have already done so. Additionally, Paraguay is one of only seven countries in the world to derive 100% of its electricity production from green energy.

How will other countries by influenced by Latin America’s green energy leaders in the years to come, and how will the region’s green energy usage evolve?

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Agriculture

The World’s Top Cocoa Producing Countries

Here are the largest cocoa producing countries globally—from Côte d’Ivoire to Brazil—as cocoa prices hit record highs.

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This tree map graphic shows the world's biggest cocoa producers.

The World’s Top Cocoa Producing Countries

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

West Africa is home to the largest cocoa producing countries worldwide, with 3.9 million tonnes of production in 2022.

In fact, there are about one million farmers in Côte d’Ivoire supplying cocoa to key customers such as Nestlé, Mars, and Hershey. But the massive influence of this industry has led to significant forest loss to plant cocoa trees.

This graphic shows the leading producers of cocoa, based on data from the UN FAO.

Global Hotspots for Cocoa Production

Below, we break down the top cocoa producing countries as of 2022:

Country2022 Production, Tonnes
🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire2.2M
🇬🇭 Ghana1.1M
🇮🇩 Indonesia667K
🇪🇨 Ecuador337K
🇨🇲 Cameroon300K
🇳🇬 Nigeria280K
🇧🇷 Brazil274K
🇵🇪 Peru171K
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic76K
🌍 Other386K

With 2.2 million tonnes of cocoa in 2022, Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest producer, accounting for a third of the global total.

For many reasons, the cocoa trade in Côte d’Ivoire and Western Africa has been controversial. Often, farmers make about 5% of the retail price of a chocolate bar, and earn $1.20 each day. Adding to this, roughly a third of cocoa farms operate on forests that are meant to be protected.

As the third largest producer, Indonesia produced 667,000 tonnes of cocoa with the U.S., Malaysia, and Singapore as major importers. Overall, small-scale farmers produce 95% of cocoa in the country, but face several challenges such as low pay and unwanted impacts from climate change. Alongside aging trees in the country, these setbacks have led productivity to decline.

In South America, major producers include Ecuador and Brazil. In the early 1900s, Ecuador was the world’s largest cocoa producing country, however shifts in the global marketplace and crop disease led its position to fall. Today, the country is most known for its high-grade single-origin chocolate, with farms seen across the Amazon rainforest.

Altogether, global cocoa production reached 6.5 million tonnes, supported by strong demand. On average, the market has grown 3% annually over the last several decades.

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