While the US and Asia-Pacific regions may be considered leaders in data center investments and capacity, Latin American nations and cities have been quietly building out capacity over the last year or so. The region faces real challenges, including grid capacity constraints, a lack of skilled labor, and less demand than other regions, but governments are working hard to attract digital infrastructure investment through legislative and regulatory changes.
Latin America, namely the four cities of São Paulo, Querétaro, Santiago, and Bogotá, has become the fastest growing market for data center investment, with an inventory growth rate higher than the rest of the world, despite being far smaller in overall capacity, according to CBRE’s Global Data Center Trends 2026 report.
Inventory across the region grew 41.3 percent between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, surpassing the four biggest markets in North America, which grew 33 percent. The region also beat Europe and Asia-Pacific, where inventory grew 18.9 percent and 13.4 percent respectively. Altogether São Paulo, Querétaro, Santiago, and Bogotá now hold 1,045 MW of inventory, roughly 306 MW of which came online in the last year.
Net absorption, which measures how much occupied capacity grew over the period, including new capacity filled plus any existing empty space that found a tenant, less anything vacated, reveals an interesting contrast.
Bogotá, Colombia, was the weakest of the four cities. Inventory sat unchanged at 44.3 MW and net absorption was just 1.1 MW, reflecting subdued leasing momentum driven by domestic enterprise demand rather than hyperscale activity. Rent per 250 to 500 kW ranges from US$ 150 to US$ 230. Colombia’s free trade agreements and macroeconomic stability may draw incremental interest from international technology firms, but near-term demand remains modest and enterprise-led.
The strongest growth was in Querétaro, Mexico, where large hyperscale and AI deployments pushed inventory up 450.2 percent to 298.2 MW from roughly 54 MW. Net absorption reached 213.0 MW and vacancy rose to 10.6 percent from 0.9 percent as hyperscale supply outpaced absorption. Build out projects do, however, have to contend with limited electrical grid capacity, forcing developers to build their own energy supplies or work with local utilities. That scarcity likely contributes to rents of US$ 250 to US$ 270 per kW, the highest in the region. A lack of skilled labor may also make build outs tougher. Even so, the city’s growth is impressive, and its location makes it attractive to investors as a gateway for cloud deployments.
Santiago recorded the region’s lowest vacancy rate at 3.3 percent. Inventory grew 12 percent to 165.8 MW, of which 5.4 MW is available, and rents of US$ 190 to US$ 210 reflect that tight supply. But Chile’s economy is small, at US$ 357.4 billion in 2025 according to the World Bank, limiting demand from local enterprise users and leaving the market reliant on regional and international hyperscale deployments.
São Paulo, Brazil, remains the regional leader, with inventory growing 8.9 percent to 536.7 MW. Available supply clocks in at 51.5 MW alongside a 9.6 percent vacancy rate, and rents of US$ 130 to US$ 190 are among the lowest in the CBRE report. The market’s net absorption, says CBRE, was driven by hyperscale cloud providers scaling their footprints in Brazil, while continued subsea cable investment and rising AI and cloud adoption in the country’s private and public sectors are listed as opportunities. Power procurement remains a challenge, as does currency volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Beyond the big four, CBRE’s report flags several markets gaining relevance. Montevideo, Uruguay leads as an attractive investment target, thanks to a political and regulatory environment CBRE describes as more stable than Argentina’s and an established free trade zone framework. Paraguay’s abundant hydroelectric power and agreeable regulatory environment are drawing investors, while Buenos Aires’ large enterprise technology base and strong connectivity position it for development as macroeconomic conditions stabilize.
Latin America may not be the largest market in the world, but by all accounts it’s growing. Mordor Intelligence reports that by 2031, the data center construction market in Latin America will be worth US$ 8.96 billion, growing from an estimated US$ 6.05 billion in 2026 on the back of accelerated demand for AI and cloud services, as well as hyperscale buildouts from the likes of AWS, Microsoft, Google.