Economics
Low-Debt Guatemala Boasts It’s the ‘Germany of Central America’
- Nation’s debt levels among world’s lowest, providing stability
- Wealthier neighbor Costa Rica has been hit by bond sell-off
Men on motorcycles drive in the business district in Guatemala City.
Photographer: Saul Martinez/Bloomberg
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Guatemala is the “Germany of Central America” whose low debt burden makes it resilient to the turbulence roiling global markets, according to the central bank.
The nation’s Germanic-style hostility to debt has left it in good shape to weather potential shocks, according to the the bank’s vice-president Jose Alfredo Blanco. At 24 percent of gross domestic product, Guatemala’s public debt levels are among the lowest in the world.