Colombia is a nation of about 52 million people, with the fourth-largest economy in Latin America (after Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina). It is positioned in the northwest corner of South America and connected to Central America, making it a hypothetical pivot point within the region between Mexico to the north, and the Andean and Atlantic nations to the south.

Colombia has attracted as much as $17 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in a year recently, placing it in the top three destinations within Spanish-speaking Latin America, along with Mexico and Chile. It is considered to be a dynamic place within this region of more than 600 million people. IDCA Research finds that opinion to be credible; Colombia's bond rating is one step below investment grade (ie, the highest non-investment-grade rating), with IDCA data showing this rating is slightly underrated.

IDCA's opinion is informed by the IDCA Digital Readiness Index, which integrates hundreds of parameters across four broad categories – Economy (including digital infrastructure), Environment (including sustainability), Social conditions, and Governance. Ratings are expressed on a 0-100 scale, and represent the relative readiness of nations – ie, how well is a nation progressing relative to its income levels and economic resources?

A snapshot of Colombia's Digital Readiness when compared to all of Latin America and to the world shows the following:

Colombia ranks in the upper one-third of all the nations of the world, and fifth within Latin America (trailing Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Brazil). Colombia's digital infrastructure is relatively strong by Latin American standards, and today faces a key opportunity to progress more quickly toward a developed-world standard. Its relatively massive use of hydropower gives it a renewable electricity grid percentage that's more than twice the world average. Its social and governance factors exceed the Latin American average.

An increased, sustained focus on building digital infrastructure, increasing Internet access and speed, and positioning Colombia as a regional, even global data center hub, would enable Colombia to emerge as a truly key Americas destination. It has the size and prospects to be highly consequential, quickly.