Costa Rica vs Guatemala
Two sovereigns, nine shared metrics, one spread gap.
Head to head
| Costa Rica | Guatemala | |
|---|---|---|
| BT-SFS score | 61.0 | 55.5 |
| Composite rating | BB | BB+ |
| Fiscal pillar | 43.6 | 65.2 |
| External pillar | 40.4 | 82.2 |
| Macro pillar | 80.0 | 71.6 |
| Institutions pillar | 87.5 | 4.2 |
| Benchmark bond | COSTAR 6.55 34 | GUATEM 6.6 36 |
| Spread over Treasuries | 118 bps | 153 bps |
| Yield to worst | 5.33% | 5.68% |
| Duration | 5.4y | 6.8y |
Metric by metric
| Metric | Costa Rica | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| Current account / GDP | -1.5% (43.8) | 3.2% (79.2) |
| International reserves, months of imports | 4.2 mo (37.8) | 7.4 mo (84.4) |
| General government debt / GDP | 61.1% (50.0) | 27.6% (93.8) |
| Interest expense / revenue | 31.7% (10.4) | 13.3% (47.9) |
| Primary balance / GDP | 0.9% (75.0) | -0.5% (52.1) |
| WGI institutional composite | 0.53 (87.5) | -0.94 (4.2) |
| Real GDP growth | 3.6% (61.5) | 3.9% (69.8) |
| GDP per capita, USD | $20,299 (77.1) | $6,810 (35.4) |
| Inflation stress | -0.4% (96.0) | 2.6% (100.0) |
Frequently asked questions
Who has stronger fundamentals, Costa Rica or Guatemala?
Costa Rica scores higher on the BT Sovereign Fundamentals Score: 61.0 (Costa Rica) vs 55.5 (Guatemala), a gap of 5.6 points.
Whose USD bonds trade wider, Costa Rica or Guatemala?
Guatemala trades wider: 118 bps (Costa Rica) vs 153 bps (Guatemala) over US Treasuries — a 35 bps gap on near-5-year USD benchmarks.
Related
- Costa Rica — full Costa Rica profile: pillars, metrics, history.
- Guatemala — full Guatemala profile: pillars, metrics, history.
- All sovereigns ranked on the Sovereign Signal hub.
- BT-SFS methodology paper — how the scores are built.