Exports and imports of high technology, the quality of its workforce, as well as strides in research, ecological sustainability, increases in new business, and advances in registering trademarks and patents are some of the reasons cited for Costa Rica’s rise of 21 positions on the Index, taking #38 in the world this year.
The Index uses 84 indicators to rank the performance of 142 countries in their abilities to foster innovation, such as infrastructure, human capital, business sophistication, and the production of knowledge and technology.
“Many of the new businesses created in the country are in areas that have to do with the ‘new economy,’ such as medical devices, high technology, software and digital animation, hence the country scores very well […] While we still have major problems to solve, there are areas in which we are the global benchmark,” says Alexander Mora, president of the Chamber of Information and Communication Technology.
Minister of Science and Technology, Alejandro Cruz, said that a 17% increase in enrollments for higher education put Costa Rica in a better position in terms of human capital and research. “The improvement in the rate of innovation is a clear sign that Costa Rica is moving to become a fully integrated knowledge-based economy with international markets,” Cruz said.
Both Cruz and Mora said that it is important to solve problems in accessing investment capital, further expand the workforce in the sciences and engineering, remove obstacles in new business creation, and to continue investments in education and telecommunications if Costa Rica hopes to maintain its position.