A recent article in the prestigious Latin Business Chronicle (LBC) lists Panama as a “Latin America Star.” The tiny bi-coastal nation tops this year’s GDP Outlook Index, released by the LBC this month.
The LBC report says: Panama will grow more than any other
country in Latin America over the 2011 to 2015 period. With a projected average
growth of 6.6% over five years, Panama will likely beat the Latin America
average of 4%. Forecasters say Panama’s GDP should grow approximately 6.2% in
2011, rising to 6.7% in 2012.
The index, which takes into account the latest forecasts
from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), lists the Dominican Republic and
Peru in the number two and number three spots, respectively. Meanwhile, the
U.S. and the European Union rank below Latin America’s average, with projected
growth rates of 2.7% and 2%, respectively.
It is perhaps not surprising that the LBC says Venezuela
will see the lowest growth in the 2011 to 2015 period, with an average of 1.1%
GDP growth over the next five years. According to the index, this year
Venezuela will actually experience a decline of just over 1%, growing a mere
0.5% in 2012. Ecuador and Guatemala ranked as the second-worst and third-worst,
respectively, with projected five-year growth of just 2.1% and 3.1% on average.
This year Panama has topped a plethora of indexes,
ranking number two in International Living’s Retirement Index. Released in the
September issue of International Living magazine, the Retirement Index ranks
Panama the number one country in the world in its “special benefits for
retirees” category. Forbes concurs, apparently, as it listed Panama among its
“Top 12 Retirement Havens” this year, as well (havens were not listed in any
particular order).
Best of 2010: Panama Highlights
Watchdog organization Freedom House ranked Panama one of
the “freest” countries in Latin America. The independent organization’s annual
“Freedom in the World” report rates countries on a scale of 1-7. Panama’s
combined political rights and civil freedom score is 1.5, representing a high
level of freedom. (In the report, 1 represents the highest level of liberty and
7 represents the lowest).
For the first time ever, Panama earned an
investment-grade credit rating from Fitch Ratings. The international ratings
agency upgraded Panama’s long-term foreign currency and local currency Issuer
Default Ratings (IDR), short-term foreign currency IDR, and country ceiling
rating. Fitch said the new ratings reflected a sustained improvement in public
finances, low debt, and recent tax reforms.
The Latin Business Chronicle’s annual Latin Business
Index ranked Panama number one in the region for doing business. Panama gained
the top spot thanks to improvements in a variety of categories, including
economic freedom, competitiveness, and technology. An LBC article detailing the
report says: “Panama is now the only country that is among the top five in all
our five main categories.” In addition to this ranking, Panama continued to be
the most globalized country in the region, as per the LBC’s latest Latin
Globalization Index.
AARP The Magazine chose the highland town of Boquete as
one of the top five places in the world to retire (places were not listed in
any particular order). “Imagine waking up under sunny skies in a Latin American
paradise,” says the AARP website, which fingers Panama as “a smart choice for
retirees who want it all—in a country that really wants them.”