ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of was 34.7 % in 2025. ▬ Flat

Latest (2025)
34.7 %
Change on year
down 4.4%
World rank
29th
of 72 countries
All-time high
42.7 %
in 2020
All-time low
34.7 %
in 2025
Years of data
15
2011–2025

ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in Costa Rica, 2011–2025

0102030402011201820252011: 38.1 %2012: 36.9 %2013: 37.1 %2014: 39.4 %2015: 41 %2016: 38.8 %2017: 38.8 %2018: 40.6 %2019: 40.8 %2020: 42.7 %2021: 42.4 %2022: 39.8 %2023: 36.8 %2024: 36.3 %2025: 34.7 %

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 34.7 % for ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is down 4.4% on the previous year and down 15.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in Costa Rica peaked at 42.7 % in 2020 and was at its lowest, 34.7 %, in 2025.

That places Costa Rica 29th out of 72 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of employment, self-employed, rural areas — Value in Costa Rica, 2011 to 2025.
Year % Change
2011 38.1 %
2012 36.9 % -3.1%
2013 37.1 % +0.5%
2014 39.4 % +6.2%
2015 41 % +4.1%
2016 38.8 % -5.4%
2017 38.8 % +0.0%
2018 40.6 % +4.6%
2019 40.8 % +0.5%
2020 42.7 % +4.7%
2021 42.4 % -0.7%
2022 39.8 % -6.1%
2023 36.8 % -7.5%
2024 36.3 % -1.4%
2025 34.7 % -4.4%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 34.7 % is above the median for high income countries, which is 16 %, 2.2× the median. (34 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 34.7 % is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 44.5 %, 78% of the median. (11 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 39.06 % 36.9 % 41 % 9
2020s 38.78 % 34.7 % 42.7 % 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 26 Belize 39.3 % compare
  2. 27 Republic of Korea 38.5 % compare
  3. 27 Rwanda 38.5 % compare
  4. 30 Tunisia 34.5 % compare
  5. 31 Chile 32.6 % compare
  6. 32 Bosnia and Herzegovina 29.6 % compare

See the full ranking of 78 places →

More economy & growth data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in Costa Rica?
Ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of in Costa Rica was 34.7 % in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 42.7 % in 2020.
What is the lowest ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 34.7 % in 2025.
How does Costa Rica rank for ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of?
Costa Rica ranks 29th out of 72 countries with data for 2025.
Is ilostat - labour force survey — share of employment by status of rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of employment, self-employed, rural areas — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/ilostat-labour-force-survey-share-of-employment-by-status-of-employment-self-employed/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
ILOSTAT - Labour force survey — Share of employment by status of employment, self-employed, rural areas — Value
Unit
%
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
78 places, 1,460 data points, 1987–2025
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT Employment indicators domain focuses on indicators related to employment in agrifood systems and rural areas. The update is performed yearly, using data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) database that contains a rich set of indicators from a wide range of topics related to labour statistics. The indicators published in FAOSTAT are derived from the labour force statistics (LFS) and rural and urban labour markets (RURURB) databases of the ILOSTAT database.