Trade union density in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Trade union density was 22.4 Percentage of employees in 2024. β–² Rising

Latest (2024)
22.4 Percentage of employees
Change on year
down 1.3%
World rank
11th
of 31 countries
All-time high
23 Percentage of employees
in 2020
All-time low
11.5 Percentage of employees
in 2007
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Trade union density in Costa Rica, 1990–2024

05101520251990200720241990: 20.3 Percentage of employees1991: 20.9 Percentage of employees1992: 20.1 Percentage of employees1993: 18.8 Percentage of employees1994: 18.8 Percentage of employees1995: 18.9 Percentage of employees1996: 18.5 Percentage of employees1997: 16.1 Percentage of employees1998: 13.2 Percentage of employees1999: 15.3 Percentage of employees2000: 14.3 Percentage of employees2001: 13.5 Percentage of employees2002: 14.3 Percentage of employees2003: 14.5 Percentage of employees2004: 13.9 Percentage of employees2005: 13.3 Percentage of employees2006: 12.9 Percentage of employees2007: 11.5 Percentage of employees2008: 12 Percentage of employees2009: 13 Percentage of employees2010: 12.9 Percentage of employees2011: 13.4 Percentage of employees2012: 13.1 Percentage of employees2013: 13.7 Percentage of employees2014: 12.4 Percentage of employees2015: 18.6 Percentage of employees2016: 19.3 Percentage of employees2017: 19.3 Percentage of employees2018: 19.4 Percentage of employees2019: 20.5 Percentage of employees2020: 23 Percentage of employees2021: 21.8 Percentage of employees2022: 21 Percentage of employees2023: 22.7 Percentage of employees2024: 22.4 Percentage of employees

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of employees.

Analysis

In 2024, trade union density in Costa Rica stood at 22.4 Percentage of employees.

The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and up 80.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, trade union density in Costa Rica peaked at 23 Percentage of employees in 2020 and was at its lowest, 11.5 Percentage of employees, in 2007.

That places Costa Rica 11th out of 31 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 18.09 Percentage of employees 13.2 Percentage of employees 20.9 Percentage of employees 10
2000s 13.32 Percentage of employees 11.5 Percentage of employees 14.5 Percentage of employees 10
2010s 16.26 Percentage of employees 12.4 Percentage of employees 20.5 Percentage of employees 10
2020s 22.18 Percentage of employees 21 Percentage of employees 23 Percentage of employees 5

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 8 Luxembourg 29.7 Percentage of employees compare
  2. 9 Canada 28.3 Percentage of employees compare
  3. 10 Israel 27.2 Percentage of employees compare
  4. 12 Ireland 22.2 Percentage of employees compare
  5. 13 United Kingdom 22 Percentage of employees compare
  6. 14 New Zealand 20.3 Percentage of employees compare

See the full ranking of 40 places β†’

More economy & growth data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is trade union density in Costa Rica?
Trade union density in Costa Rica was 22.4 Percentage of employees in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest trade union density recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 23 Percentage of employees in 2020.
What is the lowest trade union density recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 11.5 Percentage of employees in 2007.
How does Costa Rica rank for trade union density?
Costa Rica ranks 11th out of 31 countries with data for 2024.
Is trade union density rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 80.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Trade union density. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV Β· JSON β€” 35 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).

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Trade union density in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/trade-union-density/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Trade union density
Unit
Percentage of employees
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
40 places, 1,820 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm