High-tech Costa Rica still has room for advancement.

According to a recent report by the Foro Económico Mundial (World Economic Forum), Costa Rica is the most technologically developed country in all of Central America. In addition, it is also the seventh most developed country in Latin America and the Caribbean, behind Mexico, Brazil, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Chile. (Chile is ranked number one in Latin America and the Caribbean.)

Before rating countries’ technological status, the organization evaluated important criteria such as technological product exports, legal framework, education system, countrywide Internet access, government agencies’ online presence, cell phone users, and the availability of working engineers and scientists. Though an individual ranking does not reflect on a country’s overall status, combining the above criteria allowed the World Economic Forum to build a comprehensive list of world technology leaders.

Of the ranked nations, Costa Rica’s highest mark was in exports of advanced technology, where it ranked #12. This is largely thanks to the country’s presence of leading tech giants, like Intel. In addition, Costa Rica ranked #30 in the security of Internet servers, #35 in the quality of education, #39 in available scientists and engineers, #89 for cellular phone usage, and #113 for the amount of time it takes to open a business. Though many of these rankings don’t seem to reflect the country’s techie reputation, one must consider that the study had Costa Rica stacked up against wealthy European countries, as well. In fact, Denmark ranks #1 overall on the Forum’s list.

According to the 2008 study, after taking into account all the above factors, Costa Rica ranks #60 among the 127 studied nations, one ranking below the 2007 study. To account for this small change, Jorge Woodbridge, Minister of Competition, said that Costa Rica remains very stable, but that in order to improve position, the country must beef up its secondary education, especially in technology and sciences. According to Woodbridge, part of the plan would also be to create incentives for the opening of further scientific and technology parks.

Currently, Costa Rica enjoys a strong position as a prime destination for call centers and near-shore outsourcing. Given the country’s proximity to the U.S. and Canada, the fact that it is in a similar time zone as North America, and its superb higher education, many companies choose to send work to Costa Rica.

Several high-tech companies have also come to the region because Free Zone Laws allow for tax holidays of 12-18 years, and several incentives are offered for reinvestment, which extends the tax-free period to 16-20 years. Furthermore, with a highly educated work force and above-average English fluency, Costa Rica offers investors and relocated businesses plenty of advantages. Among the companies to open branches in Costa Rica are Acer America, Baxter Healthcare, DCS Communications (Alcatel), Intel, Lucent Technologies, Panasonic, and many more.

Over the next years, Costa Rica will strive to improve its ranking and its quality of tech education. Hopefully, next year’s list will show higher marks, though as we all know, change takes time.

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Filed under: Business on April 10th, 2008