Competitiveness: Mexico, Argentina Improve
Brazil, Panama and Venezuela deteriorate their competitiveness.
BY LATINVEX STAFF
Mexico and Argentina improved their competitiveness, while Brazil suffered a decline, according to the latest Global Competitiveness Index from the World Economic Forum.
Overall, Latin America saw an improved competitiveness, according to a Latinvex analysis of the data.
However, the World Economic Forum warns that the region’s competitive environment remains frail.
“The region’s competitiveness remains fragile and could be further jeopardized by a number of factors including increased risk from trade protectionism in the United States; spillover of Venezuela’s economic and humanitarian crisis; policy uncertainty from elections in the region’s largest economies, and disruptions from natural disasters threatening the Caribbean,” it says. “Insecurity and weak institutions are two of the biggest challenges for most countries.”
The Dominican Republic saw the largest gains in its score, while Venezuela suffered most. Panama also was among the biggest losers, the latest Global Competitiveness Index from the World Economic Forum shows.
Latin America's Most Competitive 2018 |
||||||
RK |
Ch |
GRK |
Ch |
Country |
Score |
Ch |
1 |
Same |
33 |
Same |
Chile |
70.3 |
0.9 |
2 |
1 |
46 |
-2 |
Mexico |
64.6 |
0.5 |
3 |
4 |
53 |
-3 |
Uruguay |
62.7 |
|
4 |
-2 |
55 |
-1 |
Costa Rica |
62.1 |
0.4 |
5 |
Same |
60 |
-3 |
Colombia |
61.6 |
0.1 |
6 |
Same |
63 |
-3 |
Peru |
61.3 |
0.2 |
7 |
-4 |
64 |
-9 |
Panama |
61 |
-0.6 |
8 |
Same |
72 |
-3 |
Brazil |
59.5 |
-0.2 |
9 |
81 |
-2 |
Argentina |
57.5 |
0.1 | |
10 |
82 |
Dom. Rep. |
57.4 |
1.8 | ||
11 |
86 |
-3 |
Ecuador |
55.8 |
0.4 | |
12 |
95 |
1 |
Paraguay |
53.4 |
0.5 | |
13 |
96 |
-5 |
Guatemala |
53.4 |
-0.1 | |
14 |
98 |
El Salvador |
52.8 |
0.4 | ||
15 |
101 |
2 |
Honduras |
52.5 |
1.2 | |
16 |
104 |
-3 |
Nicaragua |
51.5 |
||
17 |
105 |
Bolivia |
51.4 |
|||
18 |
127 |
-10 |
Venezuela |
43.2 |
-1.9 | |
Average |
57.3 |
0.25 | ||||
Note: Bolivia not included in last year's ranking. |
||||||
Sources: World Economic Forum, Latinvex (LatAm rank, change) | ||||||
LRK=Latin America Rank. GRK=Global Rank |