The World Bank predicts that by the end of this year Panama and the Dominican Republic will be the economies of the region that will grow the most, and the countries that will report the lowest increases in their production will be Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

After the region’s economies were considerably affected in 2020 by the sanitary crisis generated by the Covid-19 outbreak, the outlook of international organizations for 2021 is encouraging.

Growth forecasts for Latin American economies prepared by the World Bank and published in March 2021, indicate that Panama will grow 9.9% at the end of the year, the Dominican Republic 5.5%, Honduras 4.5% and El Salvador 4.1%.

Guatemala is expected to increase its Gross Domestic Product by 3.6%, Costa Rica’s economy will grow by 2.6% and Nicaragua could increase its production by 0.9%.

Check out the “System for monitoring markets and the economic situation in Central American countries“, prepared by CentralAmericaData.

According to the World Bank “… the sharp contraction caused by the pandemic last year had enormous economic and social costs. The unemployment rate in general increased and poverty soared, although in some countries the massive use of social transfers did much to cushion the social impact of the crisis.”

For the international organization, the Covid-19 crisis will have a long-term impact on the economies of the region. Lower levels of learning and employment are likely to reduce future incomes, while the high level of public and private indebtedness may cause stress in the financial sector and slow the recovery.

Despite these challenges, there are positive areas. International trade in goods remained at a relatively good level, despite the sharp drop in trade in services, particularly tourism. Most commodity prices are higher than before the Covid-19 crisis, partly thanks to China’s early recovery.  This is a good thing for exporters of agricultural and mining products. Remittances to the region are up compared to the pre-pandemic period, a very important issue for several Caribbean and Central American countries, according to an official document. Download full report.

Stay Safe!!