Which Country Is Known As The Switzerland Of Latin America?

The Republic of Uruguay is known as the Switzerland of Latin America; it is a country similar in size to Switzerland and is well known for the social benefits that the citizens of the country enjoy. Uruguay became independent from Portuguese rule in 1825 and since then has a long history of democratically elected governments which was briefly interrupted in the mid of the twentieth century when the military ruled the country.

Uruguay is primarily an agricultural country and most of the exports are from the agricultural sector though in recent times the country has modernized rapidly and now development of software and its export is one of the major industries of the country. The country has a tradition of governments with an emphasis on creating a welfare based society.

Uruguay was one of the first countries to introduce a minimum wage scale for workers in the agriculture sector and an eight hour work day. The country also has a high level of literacy, 98% of the population is literate. Also practices like slavery have never existed in Uruguay; the country was one of the first to introduce universal voting rights.

Costa Rica also gets called the Switzerland of Latin America.

Panama is also known as the Switzerland of Latin America thanks to the canal of Panama, strong banking structure and tax free zone (2nd largest in the world after Hong Kong)