The Report also highlights that, in the face of this already fragile and unfavorable panorama, the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic induced rapid deteriorations in the labor markets and in the income level of the population, with consequent increases in unemployment and poverty.

The countries, which already had limited fiscal room for maneuver as a result of high deficits, had to resort to even greater public borrowing to finance the interventions needed to deal with the health crisis.

Moreover, in the context of the celebration of the Bicentennial of the Independence of most of these nations, the "Sixth State of the Region Report" finds Central America in the midst of the worst crisis in decades.

The recent performance of the region and the Dominican Republic shows a complex panorama. The Isthmus achieved some improvements, but they were very specific and insufficient to reverse the historical lags and the deterioration of recent years in various areas, especially in political and institutional matters.

In addition, the current health crisis was analyzed, which includes both the impacts on sustainable human development in the region and the measures adopted by governments and regional institutions to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.                                    

The Sixth State of the Region Report 2021 is sponsored by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the European Union (EU) Centroamérica y el Programa Estado (PEN) which belongs to the Consejo Nacional de Rectores (CONARE). This information and research platform constitutes a system for monitoring the challenges of sustainable human development and the evolution of regional integration.