J. G. Navarro
Research expert covering advertising and marketing with a focus on South America
Advertising and marketing in Central America – statistics & facts
Highly diverse, comparably small, and increasingly digital: The Central American advertising market is a grower and a shower. Between 2019 and 2024, Central America's ad revenues grew by over 40 percent, exceeding an estimated 1.57 billion U.S. dollars in the latter year. That annual figure was forecast to expand even further in the following years, exceeding two billion dollars by the end of the decade. Seven sovereign countries form the region sandwiched between Mexico and South America and neighbored by the Caribbean to its east. Guatemala, Panama, and Costa Rica enjoyed the highest gross domestic products (GDPs) in Central America as of 2022. Their results collectively amounted to nearly three times the combined GDPs of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Belize.
However, the podium changes when it comes to the leading Central American markets by ad spending. According to 2024 projections, Costa Rica – still the region's most stable economy – takes the lead, followed by Panama and Guatemala. Differently from several countries across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), this subregion is very digitized. In 2024, the internet's estimated share in Central America's ad spending reached almost two-thirds, leaving TV with less than 14 percent of the total.
However, the podium changes when it comes to the leading Central American markets by ad spending. According to 2024 projections, Costa Rica – still the region's most stable economy – takes the lead, followed by Panama and Guatemala. Differently from several countries across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), this subregion is very digitized. In 2024, the internet's estimated share in Central America's ad spending reached almost two-thirds, leaving TV with less than 14 percent of the total.
