Age of democracy in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Age of democracy was 70 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2018)
70 years
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
18th
of 110 countries
All-time high
70 years
in 2018
All-time low
1 years
in 1894
Years of data
93
1894–2018
Age of democracy in Costa Rica, 1894–2018
Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, age of democracy in Costa Rica stood at 70 years. That is the highest value across all 93 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of democracy in Costa Rica peaked at 70 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1894.
That places Costa Rica 18th out of 110 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of democracy in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1894 | 1 years | — |
| 1895 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1896 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1897 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1898 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1899 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1900 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1901 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1902 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1903 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1904 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1905 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1906 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1907 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1908 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1909 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1910 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1911 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1912 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1913 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1914 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1915 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1916 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1949 | 1 years | -95.7% |
| 1950 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1951 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1952 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1953 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1954 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1955 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1956 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1957 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1958 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1959 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 1960 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 1961 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 1962 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 1963 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 1964 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 1965 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 1966 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 1967 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 1968 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 1969 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 1970 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 1971 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 1972 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 1973 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 1974 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 1976 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 1977 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 1978 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 1979 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 1980 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 1982 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 1983 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 37 years | +2.8% |
| 1986 | 38 years | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 39 years | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 40 years | +2.6% |
| 1989 | 41 years | +2.5% |
| 1990 | 42 years | +2.4% |
| 1991 | 43 years | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 44 years | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 45 years | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 46 years | +2.2% |
| 1995 | 47 years | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 48 years | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 49 years | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 50 years | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 51 years | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 52 years | +2.0% |
| 2001 | 53 years | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 54 years | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 55 years | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 56 years | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 57 years | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 58 years | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 59 years | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 60 years | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 61 years | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 62 years | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 63 years | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 64 years | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 65 years | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 66 years | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 67 years | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 68 years | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 69 years | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 70 years | +1.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 70 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 44 years, 1.6× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 70 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 30 years, 2.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of democracy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | -95.7% | 23 years | 1 years |
| 1895 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1950 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1896 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1951 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1897 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 3.5 years | 1 years | 6 years | 6 |
| 1900s | 11.5 years | 7 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 1910s | 20 years | 17 years | 23 years | 7 |
| 1940s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 1950s | 6.5 years | 2 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 16.5 years | 12 years | 21 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 26.5 years | 22 years | 31 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 36.5 years | 32 years | 41 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.5 years | 42 years | 51 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 56.5 years | 52 years | 61 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 66 years | 62 years | 70 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More social development data for Costa Rica
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 36,395 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 367 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0071 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is age of democracy in Costa Rica?
- Age of democracy in Costa Rica was 70 years in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 70 years in 2018.
- What is the lowest age of democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1894.
- How does Costa Rica rank for age of democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 18th out of 110 countries with data for 2018.
- Is age of democracy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 93 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in a democracy.