Latin America More Globalized

The index of 18 countries looks at six factors that measure a country's links with the outside world:

• Exports of goods and services as a percent of GDP.
• Imports of goods and services as a percent of GDP.
• Foreign direct investment as a percent of GDP.
• Tourism receipts as a percent of GDP.
• Remittances as a percent of GDP.
• Internet penetration.

The Latin Globalization Index - the most extensive of its kind - aims at measuring how the region overall and each country individually fares when it comes to globalization. By measuring as a percent of GDP rather than by real numbers, the index reveals the impact of key globalization benchmarks on a nation's economy.

Panama once again stands out as the most globalized country in Latin America, followed by Costa Rica. However, Nicaragua has now replaced Honduras as the third-most globalized country in Latin America, while Chile has jumped two spots to a fourth place on the ranking. In fact, Nicaragua posted the strongest improvement (2.73 points) of all the countries, while Honduras saw the worst decline (2.50 points).

All in all, Latin America boosted its score by 0.23 percentage points to an average of 10.44 points. A clear majority -- 13 -- of the 18 countries in this year's index improved their scores, while only five saw declines. 

BRAZIL AND MEXICO

Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, became more globalized, boosting its score by 0.30 points. However, it still ranks at the bottom compared to the rest of Latin America. Its export of goods and services last year only accounted for 14.7 percent of its GDP, while imports equal 10.6 percent. In both cases, that's the lowest of any...

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Keywords: ALBA, Andean Community, CAFTA, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mercosur, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela