Costa Rica exports more software than bananas, a sign of its emerging status as back-office and call center hub.
A guide to outsourcing in Costa Rica.
- Overall Ranking: Emerging
- Average 2nd Year Programmer Salary: $10,000-$15,000
- Geopolitical Risk: Moderate
- English Proficency: Very Good
- Pros: Now exporting more software than bananas thanks to low costs, a bilingual workforce and political stability. Becoming a hub for call center and back-office outsourcing. Literacy rate 95%.
- Cons: Small labor pool. Government-owned telecom monopoly hampers IT industry growth. Showed improvement in A.T. Kearney’s offshoring attractiveness index in 2005, but still ranks below 19 other countries. Tax-free offers to foreign companies ruled illegal by WTO and must be phased out by 2009.
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