Asia and Latin America has the largest population of the four regions the IsDB operates in. In 2016 this was 38.8%, or 683 million people, with Indonesia (261 million), Pakistan (189 million) and Bangladesh (163 million) the most populous member countries.
Of the nine IsDB member countries in this region, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are the only low-income countries. The remainder are middle-income or high-income (Brunei). In 2016 the region had a per capita income of US$8,265*.
The short-term challenges of the countries in this region range from sustaining growth momentum and strengthening fiscal and financial stability, to managing capital outflows, achieving food security and reducing income inequality.
In the medium- to longer-term they must promote higher and more inclusive growth, build infrastructure to boost productivity, address the risk of climate change and environmental crisis, and promote the development of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
Out of the total IDB Group financing (US$130.8 billion) since inception to the end of Q3 2017, US$38.3 billion has gone to the Asia and Latin America region. The majority of net approvals have mainly been in the energy sector. The region includes two of the top five IDBG beneficiaries: Bangladesh (14.9%) and Pakistan (8.9%).
*Adjusted by purchasing power parity (PPP)