So you’ve decided to start nearshoring employees in Latin America. You’re in good company.
According to a 2022 report by HR, payroll, and compliance provider, Deel, LATAM was the fastest growing region globally for remote work hires by major companies. LATAM engineering salaries are typically 30-50% lower compared to the U.S., allowing enterprises to save big on hiring.
Many nations also boast explosively growing economies along with rising education levels, English ability, and training in skills like IT.
But not all countries in Latin America offer the same types of labor. Latin America is home to many cultures with distinct employment practices, educational standards, and salaries. You might want to go to Argentina to hire an outsourced HR team but choose Peru if you’re looking for AI engineers.
To clear things up a bit for you, we’ve created a high-level reference table to give you a feel for the differences between some major hubs for hiring remote workers. Then we’ll discuss each one in more depth below.
Content Overview
Our Rankings of Major Nations in Latin America for Nearshore Outsourcing
What Criteria Are You Using to Rank Countries For Outsourcing?
- Minimum Wage - Data was sourced from countreconomy.com. While we list the minimum wage below, it’s important to note that expectations for salaries from foreign businesses are usually significantly higher. You’ll likely want to select from the well-educated English-speaking part of the population. We wouldn’t recommend dipping below $1,500 per month in most of these countries if you want to stay competitive.
- Percent of Labor Force With a Higher Degree – This is according to the most recent results from the World Bank. Most of these results were last recorded in 2017.
- Number of International Schools – All data is sourced from inteachers.net.
- % of Population Using the Internet – This is Based on internet usage as a percent of the population from World Bank data.
- Top Remote Skills – Some information is based on this report by CTF Assets which is based on data on 100 countries drawn from Coursera’s registered learner base. We also used our own research for Argentina and Brazil—Lupa Recruiter for Costa Rica.
- Ease of Doing Business – This information all comes from a 2021 World Bank database derived from the World Bank’s summation of each nation’s “business-friendly regulations.” It’s worth noting that the World Bank ended collecting this data after 2021. A score of 1 is the easiest (Singapore) and 190 is the hardest (Somalia).
Now let’s break down this table a bit.
Best Country For Psychology, General IT, and Value: Argentina
Argentina is currently one of the best-educated countries south of the equator (most go to school for free) with a high volume of students today graduating with degrees in programming and psychology. Most psychology programs in the country train students for roles in human resources as well.
And while it lacks the English proficiency of other nations, that gap is starting to close.
With the recent election of libertarian candidate, Javier Milei at the end of 2023, many project that Argentina will become much easier to do business in in the future. Until now it has had a reputation of difficulty and high taxes.
The average salary in Argentina is roughly $200 per month ($2,400/year), however many programmers working for companies abroad expect at least the $1,000-$1,500 ($18,000/year) range up to $96,000/year.
And while technically Argentinians must legally earn in pesos, most are accustomed to receiving salaries in dollars that are pegged to the current exchange rate. This is due to massive inflation that causes their local currency to fall drastically within days.
Argentina is one of the top nations where enterprises are looking to hire abroad today.
Skilled Mobile Developers in Argentina
Argentina reportedly scored high on Coursera’s 2021 Global Skill index for mobile development. Many of its leading schools currently provide majors for information technology and data science as well.
Due to the unstable economy, there has been a massive drive among young Argentinians to
work for foreign businesses as developers due to the higher salary.
Best Country For Java and Frontend Development: Brazil
Brazil is a leading software outsourcing destination in LATAM and is the country with the highest population. Brazilians are increasingly well-educated and are currently living in one of the fastest-growing (and largest) economies on the planet.
In 2022, Brazil’s software industry earned over $10 billion in revenue. It also hosts 13,000 startup companies and 16 tech unicorns. In fact, 65% of Fortune 500 companies have operations in Brazil.
However, Brazilian salaries are starting to scale up drastically along with the cost of living and education in metro areas. Sources say an experienced developer in a major metro area may expect more than $4,000/month.
Brazil boasts over 6.18 million fluent English speakers. It’s important to remember, however, that Brazil's national language is Portuguese so you’ll have some difficulty finding workers with high Spanish fluency.
Java and Frontend Developers in Brazil
Brazil is well-known to many as the nation with the most Java and fourth for front-end developers. They reportedly produce 46,000 IT graduates every year.
Best Country For Cybersecurity and Digital Marketing: Costa Rica
Costa Rica is probably one of the fastest-modernizing regions in Latin America and has long been considered a primary target for outsourcing.
This small nation sandwiched between Panama and Nicaragua has several thriving tech hubs that attract top talent and foster innovation. Its economy has tripled in size in recent years and leads LATAM both in IT service exports and value-added services.
Costa Rica’s capital, San Jose, hosts numerous tech enterprises and R&D centers for industry giants like Microsoft, IBM, and Intel. Heredia hosts Amazon, Cisco, and Procter & Gamble.
Due to its large and active tourism industry, as well as close ties to Europe, Costa Rica has spent years developing its local English level.
For years it was one of the fastest growing nations south of the equator. However, in recent reports from the OECD, it lacks the salaries and jobs necessary to sustain its current economy. This has made the local population clamor to work for more lucrative outsourced roles.
Cybersecurity and Digital Marketing Professionals in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is known specifically for its:
- Software development and engineering
- Cybersecurity
- Customer service
- Digital marketing
Best Country for Machine Learning, Data Analysis, and Education Level: Peru
For the past decade, Peru has outpaced much of Latin America in terms of economic development (although it has slowed somewhat post-pandemic).
Not only is the government building new Science and Technology Parks (STPs) across the country, but Peru has one of the highest early entrepreneurship rates in LATAM at 22%.
While it has suffered some issues with political instability for much of its recent history, it’s an increasingly popular place for hiring programmers.
Machine Learning Experts in Peru
Peru has the number one most educated engineering talent pool in LATAM, with nearly 30% holding tertiary degrees. This is largely due to this country’s extensive network of tech institutions called UTECs (University of Technology and Engineering).
According to research by some talent networks (cited above), Peru is likely the country in LATAM most equipped for sourcing experts in machine learning and LLMs.
Best for Python/C, English, Mobile Development, and #2 For Ease of Business: Mexico
Mexico is likely the region of Latin America most primed for business with the US and Canada. Enterprises from the north have been establishing factories and southern
headquarters in the region for decades now. There’s also quite a bit of cultural crossover between the US and Mexico today.
In addition to having the most educated engineers in LATAM, Mexico boasts a talent pool of 225,000 IT workers. As well as a more advanced level of English.
Python and C/C++ Developers in Mexico
Mexican developers have some of the finest coding skills in the world. In one ranking, it took second for best developers and number one in Python and C/C++ programming. Mexican software engineers are also known for their first-rate data analysis and mobile development skills.
Best Country For IT, Ease of Doing Business: Colombia
Colombia is the fourth-largest economy in Latin America with the third-largest population. While many Latin American countries have only one or two major cities where you can commonly find a sizable well-educated workforce, Colombia has five major commercial hubs.
However, much of Colombia’s economy is still informal, though in 2020 it made pledges to enhance worker rights through working-hour caps and stronger protections for union activists. It also deals with a degree of political instability.
IT Professionals in Colombia
Sources claim Colombia today possesses over 150,000 IT professionals. The salary range for the average Python developer in Colombia is also about $65,000-$96,000 per year compared to $175,000-$195,000 in the U.S.
How to Start Searching for Nearshore Outsourced Employees in LATAM
Do you want to start hiring remote workers in any of the above countries but aren’t sure where to start?
While Latin America offers some of the best nearshore talent at the greatest value today, it’s a tough environment to navigate. As we mentioned earlier, each nation possesses distinct hiring laws and considerations for payroll, taxes, legal entities, and more. Plus, it’s hard to connect to quality employees purely through the internet.
If you can’t afford to waste time navigating red tape but want to tap into this growing talent hub, you might want to try TECLA's nearshore staff augmentation service. We help fast-growing businesses like yours quickly search and hire highly-trained workers throughout Latin America.
And we don’t just source talent. We also provide:
- Seamless Onboarding: TECLA's expertise ensures that the onboarding process is smooth, reducing the time from hiring to productivity.
- Legal and Payment Handling: While TECLA isn't an EOR, its staff augmentation service takes care of the nitty-gritty in hiring, legal, and payments, letting businesses stay focused on their main operations without getting tangled up in administrative hassles.
- https://www.tecla.io/companies/nearshore-staff-augmentation: With a profound knowledge of the Latin American talent market, TECLA offers insights and guidance, ensuring businesses can make informed decisions and tap into Argentina's rich talent pool.
Ready to start working with highly skilled developers right away? Get an instant quote on our website or fill out our easy form (it’ll only take five minutes) telling us who you’d like to hire. We’ll get back to you immediately and let you know how we can help!
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