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Special Report: How to be small and successful in Latin America (ISSN 17414474)
The global role of small countries
Various analysts have noted that despite getting comparatively little coverage in the media, various small countries perform notably well in the global economy. Writing in the Singapore-based Straits Times Tommy Koh, an official at the ministry of foreign affairs, has argued that it is a mistake to equate size with success. Defining a small country as one with a population of less than 10m, he calculates that 14 out of the world’s 20 richest countries (using GDP per capita) are small. Small countries also account for 12 out of the global top 20 when ranked by HDI (the list includes Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, and Luxembourg). Small countries account for 13 of the 20 least corrupt countries in the world (as listed in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index or CPI). They account for 14 out of the top 20 when ranked for gender equality (using the UN’s Gender Inequality Index), and for eight out the 11 best educated countries in the world (based on a ranking by the World Economic Forum).
- Introduction
- The global role of small countries
- What is the evidence for faster growth?
- Panama background
- Panama’s political context
- The performance debate about Panama
- Costa Rica background
- Costa Rica’s political context
- The performance debate about Costa Rica
- Uruguay background
- Uruguay’s political context
- The performance debate about Uruguay
- The Competitiveness debate
- Doing business
- Corruption
- Conclusion