Latin America Software Outsourcing Statistics: Talent, Exports, and Market Evidence

These Latin America software outsourcing statistics bring together evidence on digital-services exports, developer compensation, technology employment and startup activity. Each section identifies the source, observation year and scope of the figures, with GSC's country-level compensation analysis presented alongside existing published research.

The trade measures cover Latin America and the Caribbean and extend beyond software outsourcing. The compensation and workforce tables cover selected countries and city markets.

Last reviewed: September 18, 2026. Suggested citation: GlobalSoftwareCompanies, “Latin America Software Outsourcing Statistics: Talent, Exports, and Market Evidence,” reviewed September 18, 2026. Cite GSC for its compensation analysis.

Digital services export statistics

Published in September 2026 by the IDB, World Bank, and WTO Secretariat, Digital Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean: Connecting Markets, Powering Growth compares the region's digitally delivered exports in 2005 and 2024.

Source: IDB–World Bank–WTO Secretariat, full report, published September 2026.

Computer services includes software implementation, data processing, and database services, while the wider export measure also covers finance and consulting, among other services that can be delivered remotely. Neither measure isolates software-outsourcing revenue. For context on software delivery models, see nearshore software development.

The two panels retain separate units and scales: export value in USD billions and computer-services share of those exports. Both cover Latin America and the Caribbean; neither measures software-outsourcing revenue.

Developer compensation statistics

GSC analyzed responses from people in software-development roles in the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 to produce the rounded medians below, which measure annual total compensation in USD. Respondents chose to take part in the survey. Peru and Uruguay have small samples and need particular caution.

Attribution: GSC analysis of the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025; public references are the survey methodology and the work and compensation questions. Annual total compensation includes salary, bonuses, and perks before taxes and deductions. Stack Overflow converted responses to USD using exchange rates from June 25, 2025.

Because respondents differ in seniority, role, and employer type, the country medians cannot establish what the same engineer would earn in each market or what a supplier would charge for that person's work. For country detail, see software developer salaries in Brazil and software engineer salaries in Colombia.

For guidance on a specific role, see software developer salaries in Latin America.

Technology workforce statistics

CBRE's Scoring Tech Talent 2025 Latin America release reports 2024 employment for eleven markets. The nine selected below measure technology occupations across industries, a broader group than software developers.

Source: CBRE Scoring Tech Talent 2025 Latin America release, with the underlying Figure 39. Individual observations only; the source's own regional total is inconsistent with its rows and is excluded here.

These are CBRE's market labels. Their exact administrative boundaries haven't been established for this article. For additional city context, see Chile technology hubs. Comparisons with other reports depend on the area covered: two sources can use the same city name while measuring different geographic areas.

The same nine CBRE market observations are ordered by reported workforce size. These counts cover technology occupations across industries and do not measure the number of developers available to hire.

Startup ecosystem statistics

LAVCA's 2026 Startup Ecosystem Insights groups cities by startup activity and separately ranks selected cities by venture-deal count. Its data runs through June 30, 2026.

• Main startup hubs: São Paulo Metro, Mexico City Metro, Santiago Metro, Bogotá Metro, and Buenos Aires Metro (printed p. 9 / PDF page 10).

• Montevideo's venture-deal rank: seventh among the selected cities for 2025 (printed p. 11 / PDF page 12).

These measures describe venture-backed startup and funding activity. They don't measure workforce size, engineering quality, or available delivery capacity. The tech hubs in Latin America profiles add institutions, company examples, and working-hour comparisons.

Methodology and limitations

The figures retain each source's population, period, and unit. GSC's compensation analysis is identified separately from the published trade, workforce, and startup observations.

Each compensation median describes respondents in one country; it is not a regional average or a census of developers. Summing the workforce rows would not produce a comprehensive regional developer count because the selection covers only nine city markets and includes technology occupations outside software development.

Multiplying the rounded computer-services share by digitally delivered exports would still produce a broader service category, so it cannot supply a revenue total specifically for outsourced software development.

These answers address the scope of the figures and their use in software-sourcing research.