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Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) was 77 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
77 years
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
17th
of 144 countries
All-time high
77 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 1949
Years of data
77
1949–2025

Age of electoral democracy in Costa Rica, 1949–2025

020406080194919872025

Source: Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 77 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 77 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 14.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Costa Rica peaked at 77 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1949.

That places Costa Rica 17th out of 144 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) in Costa Rica, year by year

Year years Change
1949 1 years —
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%
2019 71 years +1.4%
2020 72 years +1.4%
2021 73 years +1.4%
2022 74 years +1.4%
2023 75 years +1.4%
2024 76 years +1.3%
2025 77 years +1.3%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 77 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 57 years, 1.4× the median. (54 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 77 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 41 years, 1.9× the median. (33 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Age of electoral democracy (Lexical Index) 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.

YearChange FromTo
1950 +100.0% 1 years 2 years
1951 +50.0% 2 years 3 years
1952 +33.3% 3 years 4 years
1953 +25.0% 4 years 5 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
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 66.5 years 62 years 71 years 10
2020s 74.5 years 72 years 77 years 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 16 Malta 79 years compare
  2. 17 Belgium 77 years compare
  3. 17 Israel 77 years compare
  4. 20 India 76 years compare

See the full ranking of 144 places →

More social development data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is age of electoral democracy in Costa Rica?
Age of electoral democracy in Costa Rica was 77 years in 2025, according to Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 77 years in 2025.
What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1949.
How does Costa Rica rank for age of electoral democracy?
Costa Rica ranks 17th out of 144 countries with data for 2025.
Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Age of electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Age of electoral democracy in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/age-of-electoral-democracy-lexical/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Age of electoral democracy
Unit
years
Source
Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
144 places, 6,588 data points, 1893–2025
Last refreshed

Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.