The World Bank forecasts a growth of 4.5% for Panama this year and places the country among the fastest-growing economies in Latin America in 2019 and 2020.

By 2020 and 2021 an economic expansion of 4.6%. If the predictions are confirmed, the national economy would be picking up from the 3.7% registered in 2018.

To achieve this, however, a boost in economic activity will be necessary in the second half of the year, since in the first six months the domestic product Gross (GDP) grew 3% reports La Prensa.

This year, Panama would only be surpassed in the region by Dominica (9.6%) and Dominican Republic (5.3%), while the countries of Central America would have a lower performance, with Honduras growing 3.3%, Costa Rica 2% and Nicaragua registering a 5% decline in its economy. Meanwhile, the major economies of the region will have a slight growth or decrease. Brazil will grow 0.9%, Mexico 0.6%, while Argentina will decrease by 3.1%.

The limited activity will be reflected in the growth of the Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole, which will grow 0.8% in 2019 and will rebound to 1.8% in 2020.

"After the rapid growth derived from the high prices of raw materials in the first decade of the 21st century, the region is in a stage of low performance," said Martin Rama , chief economist at the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean.