Introduction: The development and growth of the dairy industry across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been historically driven by a combination of:(i) the domestic demand for fresh milk, butter and cheese from the urban population; (ii) the influence of skilled European immigrants with a dairy farming culture and; (iii) the suitability of the climate and lands for both feed and animal production (Gómez and Zubizarreta, 2013). With the growth of urban settlements, dairy farming also grew in order to provide a source of income and milk consumption for families. Many of the dairy industries in LAC were developed in areas suitable for farming ands areas close to the main cities which needed a daily supply of fresh milk. The LAC region produces 78,238 million kg of milk per year, accounting for 11.4% of total worldwide production (FAO, 2020). There are 39 countries that produce milk in LAC, with 13 of them accounting for 97% of the total LAC production and 4 of them (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico) representing 80% of total LAC milk production. For descriptive purposes, we will refer from here onwards to four sub-regions within the LAC region:North America (comprising Mexico), Central America and the Caribbean (comprising continental countries below Mexico and above Colombia plus the Caribbean countries), the Andean Region (comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela) and the Southern Cone (comprising Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay). The latter two sub-regions (Andean Region and Southern Cone) will be in some cases grouped as South America. In this chapter we present a succinct description of how milk is produced in the LAC region. Focus is placed on general dairy statistics, milk production systems, their characteristics and evolution, discussing trends and drivers. A brief outline of the economic and social context of the countries is also provided.