Share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure was 21.3% in 2023. ▬ Flat
Share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure in Costa Rica, 2017–2023
Source: USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure in Costa Rica stood at 21.3%. That is the lowest value across all 7 years on record.
That represents a change of down 31.4% on the previous year and down 17.6% over ten years.
That places Costa Rica 55th out of 104 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 25.8% | — |
| 2018 | 25.7% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 30.6% | +19.1% |
| 2020 | 32.2% | +5.2% |
| 2021 | 31.6% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 31.1% | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 21.3% | -31.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 27.4% | 25.7% | 30.6% | 3 |
| 2020s | 29.0% | 21.3% | 32.2% | 4 |
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)
- Services, value added (constant LCU), per capita 6.79 million constant LCU per person (2025)
- GDP deflator (base year varies by country), annual growth rate -0.5353 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current US$), annual growth 6.81 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.9247 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current US$), per capita 18,466 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current LCU), annual growth 4.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current LCU), per unit of GDP 465.57 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross value added at basic prices (GVA) (current LCU), per capita 9.30 million current LCU per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure in Costa Rica?
- Share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure in Costa Rica was 21.3% in 2023, according to USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 32.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.3% in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure?
- Costa Rica ranks 55th out of 104 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from USDA Economic Research Service (2022); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2023); USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of expenditure spent on food vs. total consumer expenditure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of consumer expenditures that are spent on food. This only includes food eaten at home, and does not include alcoholic beverages and tobacco.