Costa Rica vs El Salvador: Expense

Costa Rica
28.6%
in 2023
El Salvador
27.9%
in 2023
Costa Rica rank
64th
El Salvador rank
67th

Expense over time

  • Costa Rica
  • El Salvador
0102030197319982023

How they compare

Costa Rica currently reports 28.6% against 27.9% in El Salvador, a difference of 0.7%.

The two have swapped places 8 times across 26 shared years of data; in 1998 it was Costa Rica ahead.

Costa Rica ranks 64th and El Salvador ranks 67th of 157 countries.

Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Costa Rica El Salvador Difference Ahead
1990s 21.6% 13.1% 8.5% Costa Rica
2000s 22.7% 20.7% 2.0% Costa Rica
2010s 26.9% 23.8% 3.1% Costa Rica
2020s 29.7% 29.7% 0.0% Costa Rica

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher expense, Costa Rica or El Salvador?
Costa Rica, at 28.6% against 27.9% in El Salvador as of 2023.
What is the difference in expense between Costa Rica and El Salvador?
0.7%, with Costa Rica ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and El Salvador?
26 years are reported by both, from 1998 to 2023.
How do Costa Rica and El Salvador rank globally for expense?
Costa Rica ranks 64th and El Salvador ranks 67th of 157 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as Expense (% of GDP). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Costa Rica vs El Salvador: Expense. Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/expense-percent-of-gdp/costa-rica/el-salvador/

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About this data

Indicator
Expense (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
183 places, 5,211 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed

Expense is a decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.