PANAMA  continues to lead the pack in Latin America with its economy   set to grow by 5.8 percent this year while Venezuela is in free fall.

According to forecasts by the  Business Observatory of Colombia’s University of Rosario,  the Bolivian economy will grow an estimated 4.6 percent,

The Dominican Republic will grow by 4.1 percent, followed by Haiti (3.2 percent), Paraguay (3.2 percent), Costa Rica (3.1 percent) and Honduras (2.9 percent).

The report also highlights that negative numbers are expected in Venezuela, where it is expected that the economy will shrink by 9.4 percent, Brazil (2.4 percent) and Ecuador (0.4 percent).

Report author Giovanni Reyes said that "the scenario in Venezuelan is characterized by increases in unemployment, inflation, drastic devaluation of its currency and shortages of basic goods."

In this sense, Reyes said that "in general the countries of the Caribbean basin are favored with the best growth rates for 2015."