Costa Rica is best for doing business

Costa Rica leads Central America and is 61st globally in the World Bank's 2018 Doing Business ranking, up one spot from last year.

Commercial regulations, property registry, protection of minority investors and administrative efficiency were positive factors for Costa Rica.

El Salvador moved up to second place in the region, going from the 95th spot to the 73rd worlwide, followed by Panama in 79th place overall.

Mexico is the top Latin American country, while Nicaragua is last.

Globally, New Zealand is considered as the most convenient place to do business, while Somalia is the worst.

Some of the factors evaluated in the study are the ease of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, and paying taxes (numbers in brackets indicate each country’s position in the global ranking).

1            Costa Rica (61)
2            El Salvador (73)
3            Panama (79)
4            Guatemala (97)
5            Honduras (115)
6            Nicaragua (131)