Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita was 18.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
18.9%
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
131st
of 151 countries
All-time high
27.2%
in 1987
All-time low
11.9%
in 1958
Years of data
69
1956–2024
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita in Costa Rica, 1956–2024
Source: International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica is 18.9%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 2.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica peaked at 27.2% in 1987 and was at its lowest, 11.9%, in 1958.
That places Costa Rica 131st out of 151 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 69 years of available data.
Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | 12.7% | — |
| 1957 | 12.0% | -5.4% |
| 1958 | 11.9% | -0.6% |
| 1959 | 12.1% | +1.2% |
| 1960 | 12.5% | +3.6% |
| 1961 | 13.2% | +5.6% |
| 1962 | 14.0% | +5.7% |
| 1963 | 13.3% | -4.4% |
| 1964 | 13.5% | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 13.8% | +1.8% |
| 1966 | 14.3% | +3.7% |
| 1967 | 14.7% | +3.1% |
| 1968 | 13.8% | -6.0% |
| 1969 | 14.5% | +5.1% |
| 1970 | 14.9% | +2.7% |
| 1971 | 17.5% | +16.9% |
| 1972 | 17.2% | -1.5% |
| 1973 | 18.4% | +6.6% |
| 1974 | 18.3% | -0.4% |
| 1975 | 19.1% | +4.8% |
| 1976 | 20.1% | +4.8% |
| 1977 | 19.3% | -3.7% |
| 1978 | 23.2% | +20.0% |
| 1979 | 24.9% | +7.3% |
| 1980 | 25.0% | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 21.0% | -16.2% |
| 1982 | 18.4% | -12.4% |
| 1983 | 23.6% | +28.1% |
| 1984 | 22.8% | -3.2% |
| 1985 | 21.8% | -4.6% |
| 1986 | 26.4% | +21.2% |
| 1987 | 27.2% | +3.0% |
| 1988 | 24.5% | -9.9% |
| 1989 | 26.1% | +6.5% |
| 1990 | 25.6% | -1.8% |
| 1991 | 19.5% | -23.8% |
| 1992 | 18.8% | -3.8% |
| 1993 | 20.5% | +9.2% |
| 1994 | 16.7% | -18.5% |
| 1995 | 16.1% | -3.7% |
| 1996 | 16.2% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 14.9% | -7.7% |
| 1998 | 14.7% | -1.4% |
| 1999 | 14.3% | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 16.9% | +17.8% |
| 2001 | 17.3% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 18.6% | +7.4% |
| 2003 | 17.6% | -5.3% |
| 2004 | 17.0% | -3.2% |
| 2005 | 15.9% | -6.6% |
| 2006 | 15.2% | -4.6% |
| 2007 | 14.6% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 15.2% | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 16.7% | +9.7% |
| 2010 | 18.0% | +8.3% |
| 2011 | 17.2% | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 17.3% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 18.5% | +6.8% |
| 2014 | 18.4% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 18.8% | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 18.8% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 19.2% | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 18.9% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 21.7% | +14.8% |
| 2020 | 22.3% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 20.8% | -6.8% |
| 2022 | 19.2% | -7.6% |
| 2023 | 18.5% | -3.5% |
| 2024 | 18.9% | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 12.2% | 11.9% | 12.7% | 4 |
| 1960s | 13.8% | 12.5% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 19.3% | 14.9% | 24.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 23.7% | 18.4% | 27.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.7% | 14.3% | 25.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.5% | 14.6% | 18.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.7% | 17.2% | 21.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.9% | 18.5% | 22.3% | 5 |
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 government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica?
- Government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica was 18.9% in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 27.2% in 1987.
- What is the lowest government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.9% in 1958.
- How does Costa Rica rank for government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Costa Rica ranks 131st out of 151 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending as share of gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending as share of GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 69 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.