Ready to do business: Costa Rica and Panama

Information and networking are vital to doing business successfully, which is why Costa Rica and Panama are Central America’s leaders in helping local businesses.

In both cases, the private sector has effective access to information, including data from both local and foreign markets, as well as tools such as trade agreements with other countries.

Costa Rica in addition has various programs, which foster the development of science, technology and innovation.

For its part, Panama's high rate of foreign investment creates resources, which the state uses to build infrastructure, while the financial sector invests in training and technology.

Last in the regional ranking were Honduras and Nicaragua, where low levels of skill lead to poor flows of information, according to the second Networks for Prosperity Report of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Of the 132 nations included in the report, the first three places went to Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark, while Nepal and Burundi cam last (numbers in parenthesis correspond to each country’s position in the global ranking).

1. Costa Rica (44)
2. Panama (45)
3. Guatemala (75)
4. El Salvador (76)
5. Honduras (86)
6. Nicaragua (122)