United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 45 member States (20 in Latin America, 13 in the Caribbean and 12 from outside the region), and 13 associate members which are various non-independent territories, associated island countries and a commonwealth in the Caribbean. ECLAC publishes statistics covering the countries of the region and makes cooperative agreements with nonprofit institutions. ECLAC's headquarters is in Santiago, Chile.