Guatemala loses on: (1) minimum labor cost, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador pay maquila minimums 15-45% lower; (2) narrower and shorter tax incentives than Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua (only textiles + ICT under 29-89; 10 years with no extension against 15-20 renewable); 1.6% of GDP, a third of Costa Rica's or the Dominican Republic's in dollars; (4) logistics, the worst LPI in the group apart from Nicaragua (88/139), fragmented ports with no global operator; (5) rule of law and human capital, CPI 142/182, electrification 90.4% (second from last), mid-to-low English against Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica, homicides rising in the high group; (6) an oversold renewable grid (59.5%, fourth of six). The synthesis: Guatemala is Central America's macro bet and the weakest on micro-fundamentals, the opposite profile to Costa Rica.
Where does Guatemala lose against its regional competitors?
According to the cited documentsRegional benchmark
Sources
World Bank API WDI
World Bank API WDI
ECLAC Estadísticas del subsector eléctrico de los países del SICA, 2024
EF EF EPI 2025, fact sheets por país
InSight Crime 2025 Homicide Round-Up
