Costa Rica is the region’s most competitive economy

Costa Rica in 55th place leads the region in the World Economic Forum's latest edition of the Global Competitiveness Report.

Panama, ranked 64th, is the only other Central American economy in the top half of the ranking of 137 countries.

Nicaragua in 104th place is last in the isthmus.

Chile at number 33 leads competitiveness in Latin America.

The United States is first in the ranking, while Yemen is last.

The study analyzes competitiveness on the basis of 12 pillars, including infrastructure, health, higher education, technological readiness, and market size (numbers in brackets indicate each country’s global position).

1 Costa Rica (55)

2 Panama (64)

3 Guatemala (96)

4 El Salvador (98)

5 Honduras (101)

6 Nicaragua (104)