Costa Rica leads in economic freedom

When it comes to economic freedom, Costa Rica is number one in Central America and 51st in the world, says the Heritage Foundation.

El Salvador is second in the region, while Honduras is last.

Of the six Central American countries, all except Nicaragua and Honduras are in the category "mostly free", one level below "free", and above those which are "moderately free," "mostly unfree " or "repressed ".

Hong Kong is first in the world, while North Korea is last.

Rule of law, size of government, regulatory efficiency and open markets are some of the aspects considered for the study, which includes 165 countries (numbers refer to position in the world ranking).

1. Costa Rica (51)
2. El Salvador (62)
3. Panamá (68)
4. Guatemala (87)
5. Nicaragua (108)
6. Honduras (116)