Mexico leads other countries in Latin America with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of 7,450 U.S. dollars a year, Economy Minister Sergio Garcia de Alba said in a statement Sunday.

That is much more than Chile's 6,200 dollars a year, Costa Rica's 4,530 dollars, Argentina's 4,510 dollars, Brazil's 4,300 dollars and Colombia's 2,440 dollars.

The minister said manufacturing and training brought by foreign investment had made Mexico the most competitive economy in the region, which he described as the foundation for Mexico's economic and social development.

However, Mexico still needs structural reform, investment in human capital and technological innovation, to boost its productivity and competitivity.

This "would give us better added value in our products, allowing us to find new niches and strengthen our economy," he said.

In 2005, Mexico exported products worth 175 billion dollars, 10.6 percent more than a year earlier. In January and February, the Mexican exports grew 22.9 percent over the same period a year before, he added.

The statement also said that Mexico drew about 17.8 billion dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2005, beating the figure of 15.5 billion dollars invested in Brazil, which had been the leader of FDI recipients in Latin America until last year.

Brazil said earlier that it had outgrown Mexico to become Latin America's largest economy with a GDP worth about 800 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua