Costa Rica vs Iceland: Full democracy
Costa Rica
1
in 2025
Iceland
1
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Iceland rank
1st
Full democracy over time
- Costa Rica
- Iceland
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 1 against 1 in Iceland, a difference of 0.
Across all 182 years both countries report, Iceland has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Iceland ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Iceland has averaged higher in every one of the 19 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Iceland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1910s | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | Iceland |
| 1920s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1930s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1940s | 0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | Iceland |
| 1950s | 0.1 | 1 | 0.9 | Iceland |
| 1960s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher full democracy, Costa Rica or Iceland?
- Costa Rica, at 1 against 1 in Iceland as of 2025.
- What is the difference in full democracy between Costa Rica and Iceland?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Iceland?
- 182 years are reported by both, from 1844 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Iceland rank globally for full democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Iceland ranks 1st of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Full democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies if a country is a full democracy using the extended Lexical Index of Electoral Democracy (LIED+).