In the 2019 Global Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua fell back in the ranking, while Honduras registered no changes and the Dominican Republic was the only country that improved.
According to the report by the World Economic Forum, during 2019 Costa Rica ranked 62 out of 141 countries. It was followed by Panama at box 66, the Dominican Republic at 78, Guatemala at 98, Honduras at 101, El Salvador at 103 and Nicaragua at 109.
From November 21st to 23rd, a regional event will be held in the country's capital to discuss issues related to competitiveness, innovation, territorial development and cluster management.
The 11th Latin American Congress of Clusters (CLAC) of the TCI Network will be held at the end of this month, on the topic "Leadership for innovation and competitiveness in Latin America: territorial development strategies based on Clusters."
The nation's most important industry sees its presence in the market threatened by the increasing loss of competitiveness of the Costa Rican economy.
From a press release by the Costa Rican Chamber of Food Industry (CACIA):
Mediocrity in Competitiveness Issues Suffocates Food Industry
• Costa Rica is ranked 97th among 148 countries in terms of infrastructure and 129 in the number of procedures required to start a business, according to world rankings.
Corruption, insecurity and political instability are the main factors preventing the country from making progress.
This was revealed by the competitiveness ranking report prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF), in which the country fell three places ranking 111 out of the 148 countries evaluated.
"... Honduras seems held back in the 12 indicators assessed by the institution, but some factors stand out such as ease of financing, bank stability, trade openness, technology transfer and a high rate of school enrollment at primary level," noted an article in Laprensa. hn.
Entrepreneurs from different sectors have come together in pursuit of projects and initiatives to generate greater productivity through innovation.
This is the "Privy Council on Competitiveness, an entity created and funded by the Guatemalan private sector, specifically for corporate donors under the framework of the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (Cacif) and the Foundation for Development of Guatemala (Fundesa) are working on the Initiative: Lets Improve Guatemala," said Fanny D. Estrada in her article in Prensalibre.com.
Panama leads in Central America (49th in the global list), followed by Costa Rica (61), Guatemala (84), Honduras (86), El Salvador (91), and Nicaragua (115).
Chile (position 31), Puerto Rico (position 35), Barbados (position 42) and Panama (position 49) are the only four economies in Latin America and the Caribbean ranked among the top 50 in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2010 - 2011
The World Economic Forum rankings for Central America are: Panama 53, followed by Costa Rica 56, Guatemala 78, El Salvador 82, Honduras 91 and Nicaragua 112.
Chile (30), Puerto Rico (41) and Barbados (43) are the only three economies from Latin American and the Caribbean with rankings in the top 50. The region's next most competitive economies according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) are Panama (53), Costa Rica (56) and Brazil (58).
Infrastructure deficiencies, lack of investments in renewable energy and uncertainty are some of the worries of entrepreneurs. This reduces competitiveness and the attraction of investment, they say.
The demands were presented by a group of businessmen that participated in the Second Competitiveness Summit (FCA) that was celebrated in Atlanta, United States.