Costa Rica

The life expectancy in Costa Rica for both men and women is comparable to a developed country and it also has one of the best health care systems in Latin America. Nevertheless, the universal health system can be overly bureaucratic, resulting in waiting lists and relatively low levels (compared to other developed countries) of doctors and trained staff. Medicine is easily accessible in the country. Costa Rica maintains an outward-looking economic policy, and the government gives tax exemptions to firms willing to invest in the country: the pharmaceutical company GSK has taken advantage of this. Ordinarily, tariffs on medicine are levied at 2.4%.