Costa Rica leads economic freedom

Number one in the region and number five in Latin America are Costa Rica’s grades when it comes to economic freedom, according to the 2014 Economic Freedom index, published this week by the Heritage Foundation.

Worldwide, Costa Rica placed 56th, which puts it the group of so-called moderately free countries, along with El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala.

The economies of Nicaragua and Honduras were classified as "mostly unfree".

Hong Kong leads the world ranking, while North Korea finished last among the 178 countries in the index.

The right of the individual to work and to own property, are two pillars of the analysis.

Rules on taxes, labor mobility and commercial competition, among others, enter into the calculation of the degree of economic freedom (figures in parentheses indicate the position of the Central American countries in world rankings).

1. Costa Rica (56)
2. El Salvador (59)
3. Panama (71)
4. Guatemala (83)
5. Nicaragua (102)
6. Honduras (112)