The Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) dominate a list ranking the top 30 global offshoring locations.
Analyst group Gartner assessed 30 countries for their suitability for offshoring to help sourcing managers who are "daunted" by the task of choosing the right location.
The Bric countries are well represented but India is singled out as setting the pace around offshore services.
Ian Marriott, research VP at Gartner, said companies have different criteria when considering their offshoring options and Gartner used 10 criteria to judge each country: cost, cultural compatibility, data and intellectual property security and privacy, educational system, government support, global and legal maturity, infrastructure, labor pool, language and political and economic environment.
China is India's closest rival in Asia-Pacific in terms of scale but is held back by language issues.
In the Americas, Canada was named top country in seven of the 10 categories including language, although Latin American countries are singled out as being viable options due to the prevalence of Spanish.
In terms of political and economic environment, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam all fare poorly.
Marriott said another 35 countries were also considered and have demonstrated initial activities aimed at establishing themselves as viable offshoring locations.
Next year, Gartner forecasts global spending on offshore services will increase by 60 percent in Europe and 40 percent in the United States.
To see a full list of the top 30 countries click through to page two.
Tim Ferguson of Silicon.com reported from London.
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