Panama leads in competitiveness

Stability and good infrastructure attract businesses to invest in Panama. Costa Rica finished in second place.

Panama's biggest advantage is its advanced infrastructure. The Canal, airports and roads attract foreign investors, who in addition like Panama for having a dollarized economy.

Macroeconomic stability, along with strong growth rates and increasing access of Panamanians to new technologies, are other factors, which help position the country as the region's leader in competitiveness.

Costa Rica, the second on the list, is known for security, democracy and transparency.

Chile finished first overall in the ranking.

The study, which uses ten indicators to compare the level of competitiveness among 18 Latin American countries, was conducted between July and August of this year by the Aden Business School.

The numbers represent the position of the region’s countries in the Latin American ranking.

1. Panama 2
2. Costa Rica 5
3. El Salvador 10
4. Guatemala 12
5. Honduras 13
6. Nicaragua 16