Current account balance in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Current account balance was -0.7% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Current account balance in Costa Rica, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded -0.7% for current account balance in 2025. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
The figure is up 23.1% on the previous year and up 80.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, current account balance in Costa Rica peaked at -0.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, -15.6%, in 1981.
That places Costa Rica 92nd out of 200 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Current account balance in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | -7.3% | — |
| 1978 | -10.3% | +40.4% |
| 1979 | -13.8% | +34.2% |
| 1980 | -13.7% | -0.7% |
| 1981 | -15.6% | +13.5% |
| 1982 | -10.2% | -34.4% |
| 1983 | -8.9% | -13.1% |
| 1984 | -4.1% | -53.6% |
| 1985 | -3.2% | -22.1% |
| 1986 | -1.8% | -43.7% |
| 1987 | -5.7% | +212.5% |
| 1988 | -3.9% | -31.6% |
| 1989 | -7.9% | +104.3% |
| 1990 | -7.4% | -6.0% |
| 1991 | -1.0% | -86.0% |
| 1992 | -4.3% | +314.2% |
| 1993 | -6.5% | +50.2% |
| 1994 | -2.2% | -65.7% |
| 1995 | -3.1% | +38.9% |
| 1996 | -2.3% | -27.0% |
| 1997 | -3.8% | +68.8% |
| 1998 | -3.8% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | -4.7% | +22.9% |
| 2000 | -4.6% | -2.5% |
| 2001 | -3.2% | -29.4% |
| 2002 | -5.2% | +61.2% |
| 2003 | -5.2% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | -3.6% | -30.4% |
| 2005 | -4.3% | +18.3% |
| 2006 | -4.1% | -3.7% |
| 2007 | -5.6% | +34.9% |
| 2008 | -8.4% | +50.3% |
| 2009 | -1.8% | -78.2% |
| 2010 | -3.2% | +76.8% |
| 2011 | -5.3% | +64.3% |
| 2012 | -5.1% | -3.6% |
| 2013 | -4.8% | -6.5% |
| 2014 | -4.7% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | -3.4% | -27.8% |
| 2016 | -2.1% | -37.2% |
| 2017 | -3.6% | +69.3% |
| 2018 | -3.0% | -17.5% |
| 2019 | -1.2% | -61.1% |
| 2020 | -1.0% | -14.2% |
| 2021 | -3.3% | +233.6% |
| 2022 | -2.6% | -21.5% |
| 2023 | -1.4% | -45.4% |
| 2024 | -0.9% | -39.0% |
| 2025 | -0.7% | -23.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | -10.5% | -13.8% | -7.3% | 3 |
| 1980s | -7.5% | -15.6% | -1.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | -3.9% | -7.4% | -1.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | -4.6% | -8.4% | -1.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | -3.6% | -5.3% | -1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.6% | -3.3% | -0.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More economy & growth data for Costa Rica
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.74 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 3.3 Percent per annum (2029)
- Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per capita 11,944 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 5.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.9379 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), per capita 18,730 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), annual growth rate 2.9 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), per unit of GDP 472.24 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), per capita 9.43 million current LCU per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 3.59 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is current account balance in Costa Rica?
- Current account balance in Costa Rica was -0.7% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest current account balance recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was -0.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest current account balance recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was -15.6% in 1981.
- How does Costa Rica rank for current account balance?
- Costa Rica ranks 92nd out of 200 countries with data for 2025.
- Is current account balance rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 80.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Current account balance (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Balance of current transactions (transactions in goods and services, earned income and transfer income) between residents and non-residents. The term current account balance is used in the external accounts and is expressed from the perspective of resident units. The term current external balance is used in the national accounts and is expressed from the perspective of the non-resident units, and therefore with the opposite sign. 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.