Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP was 5.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in Costa Rica, 1995–2024
Source: UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 5.8% for spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.5% on the previous year and down 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in Costa Rica peaked at 10.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 2020.
That places Costa Rica 61st out of 191 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6.6% | — |
| 1996 | 6.8% | +3.6% |
| 1997 | 6.8% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 7.6% | +11.3% |
| 1999 | 8.8% | +16.2% |
| 2000 | 10.9% | +23.1% |
| 2001 | 9.3% | -14.6% |
| 2002 | 8.6% | -7.0% |
| 2003 | 9.1% | +5.7% |
| 2004 | 9.4% | +3.5% |
| 2005 | 10.0% | +6.3% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | -9.2% |
| 2007 | 9.1% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 9.1% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 7.2% | -21.0% |
| 2010 | 6.4% | -10.6% |
| 2011 | 6.2% | -3.9% |
| 2012 | 5.9% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 6.2% | +6.0% |
| 2014 | 6.0% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 6.0% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 6.4% | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 6.2% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 6.5% | +4.8% |
| 2019 | 6.7% | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 2.3% | -65.2% |
| 2021 | 2.8% | +20.0% |
| 2022 | 5.7% | +103.0% |
| 2023 | 5.7% | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 5.8% | +2.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.3% | 6.6% | 8.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 9.2% | 7.2% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 5.9% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.5% | 2.3% | 5.8% | 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)
- Total reserves minus gold (current US$), annual growth rate 20.52 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total reserves minus gold (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.166 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Total reserves minus gold (current US$), per capita 3,316 current US$ per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) 5.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current US$), per 0.1401 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current US$), per 2,798 current US$ per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) 3.44 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU), per 70.55 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in Costa Rica?
- Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp in Costa Rica was 5.8% in 2024, according to UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 10.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 2020.
- How does Costa Rica rank for spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp?
- Costa Rica ranks 61st out of 191 countries with data for 2024.
- Is spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of gdp rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UN Tourism (2025); National statistical organizations and central banks, OECD national accounts, and World Bank staff estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Spending by international visitors while visiting a country as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Money received by the destination country from foreign visitors, including spending on accommodation, food, transport, entertainment, shopping, and fares paid to the country’s own airlines, as a share of, as a share of GDP.