Transport services in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Transport services was 5.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Transport services in Costa Rica, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of service exports, BoP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for transport services in Costa Rica is 5.6%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 8.3% on the previous year and down 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in Costa Rica peaked at 27.1% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 5.3%, in 2017.
That places Costa Rica 155th out of 198 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Transport services in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of service exports, BoP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 27.1% | — |
| 1978 | 19.9% | -26.7% |
| 1979 | 21.2% | +6.6% |
| 1980 | 24.9% | +17.4% |
| 1981 | 19.5% | -21.6% |
| 1982 | 23.5% | +20.5% |
| 1983 | 21.3% | -9.4% |
| 1984 | 22.2% | +4.1% |
| 1985 | 18.0% | -18.7% |
| 1986 | 17.9% | -0.5% |
| 1987 | 16.9% | -5.6% |
| 1988 | 16.9% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 16.1% | -4.6% |
| 1990 | 15.6% | -3.4% |
| 1991 | 15.2% | -2.4% |
| 1992 | 15.9% | +4.2% |
| 1993 | 14.2% | -10.4% |
| 1994 | 14.4% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 11.9% | -17.4% |
| 1996 | 11.3% | -4.9% |
| 1997 | 13.1% | +15.3% |
| 1998 | 9.7% | -26.2% |
| 1999 | 6.9% | -28.3% |
| 2000 | 12.6% | +81.8% |
| 2001 | 12.3% | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 11.2% | -8.7% |
| 2003 | 10.4% | -6.8% |
| 2004 | 9.2% | -12.3% |
| 2005 | 8.8% | -4.3% |
| 2006 | 8.8% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 9.0% | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 9.6% | +7.4% |
| 2009 | 9.6% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 8.1% | -15.8% |
| 2011 | 8.4% | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 8.7% | +3.9% |
| 2013 | 7.8% | -10.6% |
| 2014 | 6.1% | -21.1% |
| 2015 | 6.4% | +5.0% |
| 2016 | 5.9% | -8.6% |
| 2017 | 5.3% | -10.3% |
| 2018 | 8.7% | +65.0% |
| 2019 | 8.5% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 6.3% | -25.5% |
| 2021 | 5.4% | -14.6% |
| 2022 | 6.7% | +24.8% |
| 2023 | 6.4% | -4.8% |
| 2024 | 6.1% | -4.4% |
| 2025 | 5.6% | -8.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 5.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 14.7%, 38% of the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 5.6% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 7.4%, 76% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Transport services in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +81.8% | 6.9% | 12.6% |
| 2018 | +65.0% | 5.3% | 8.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 22.7% | 19.9% | 27.1% | 3 |
| 1980s | 19.7% | 16.1% | 24.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.8% | 6.9% | 15.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.1% | 8.8% | 12.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.4% | 5.3% | 8.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.1% | 5.4% | 6.7% | 6 |
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)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 466.29 million BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0045 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 90.49 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 5.59 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 3.39 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0543 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 1,084 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 20.52 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in Costa Rica?
- Transport services in Costa Rica was 5.6% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest transport services recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 27.1% in 1977.
- What is the lowest transport services recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.3% in 2017.
- How does Costa Rica rank for transport services?
- Costa Rica ranks 155th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is transport services rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Transport services (% of service exports, BoP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Transport services covers the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are services provided by residents to non-residents.