Statizoid

Age of electoral democracy (V-Dem) in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Age of electoral democracy (V-Dem) was 76 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
76 years
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
20th
of 111 countries
All-time high
76 years
in 2025
All-time low
1 years
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Age of electoral democracy in Costa Rica, 1950–2025

020406080195019872025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 76 years for age of electoral democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 15.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, age of electoral democracy in Costa Rica peaked at 76 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1950.

That places Costa Rica 20th out of 111 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 (V-Dem) in Costa Rica, year by year

Year years Change
1950 1 years —
1951 2 years +100.0%
1952 3 years +50.0%
1953 4 years +33.3%
1954 5 years +25.0%
1955 6 years +20.0%
1956 7 years +16.7%
1957 8 years +14.3%
1958 9 years +12.5%
1959 10 years +11.1%
1960 11 years +10.0%
1961 12 years +9.1%
1962 13 years +8.3%
1963 14 years +7.7%
1964 15 years +7.1%
1965 16 years +6.7%
1966 17 years +6.2%
1967 18 years +5.9%
1968 19 years +5.6%
1969 20 years +5.3%
1970 21 years +5.0%
1971 22 years +4.8%
1972 23 years +4.5%
1973 24 years +4.3%
1974 25 years +4.2%
1975 26 years +4.0%
1976 27 years +3.8%
1977 28 years +3.7%
1978 29 years +3.6%
1979 30 years +3.4%
1980 31 years +3.3%
1981 32 years +3.2%
1982 33 years +3.1%
1983 34 years +3.0%
1984 35 years +2.9%
1985 36 years +2.9%
1986 37 years +2.8%
1987 38 years +2.7%
1988 39 years +2.6%
1989 40 years +2.6%
1990 41 years +2.5%
1991 42 years +2.4%
1992 43 years +2.4%
1993 44 years +2.3%
1994 45 years +2.3%
1995 46 years +2.2%
1996 47 years +2.2%
1997 48 years +2.1%
1998 49 years +2.1%
1999 50 years +2.0%
2000 51 years +2.0%
2001 52 years +2.0%
2002 53 years +1.9%
2003 54 years +1.9%
2004 55 years +1.9%
2005 56 years +1.8%
2006 57 years +1.8%
2007 58 years +1.8%
2008 59 years +1.7%
2009 60 years +1.7%
2010 61 years +1.7%
2011 62 years +1.6%
2012 63 years +1.6%
2013 64 years +1.6%
2014 65 years +1.6%
2015 66 years +1.5%
2016 67 years +1.5%
2017 68 years +1.5%
2018 69 years +1.5%
2019 70 years +1.4%
2020 71 years +1.4%
2021 72 years +1.4%
2022 73 years +1.4%
2023 74 years +1.4%
2024 75 years +1.4%
2025 76 years +1.3%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 76 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 63.5 years, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 76 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 35 years, 2.2× the median. (23 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Age of electoral democracy (V-Dem) 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
1951 +100.0% 1 years 2 years
1952 +50.0% 2 years 3 years
1953 +33.3% 3 years 4 years
1954 +25.0% 4 years 5 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 5.5 years 1 years 10 years 10
1960s 15.5 years 11 years 20 years 10
1970s 25.5 years 21 years 30 years 10
1980s 35.5 years 31 years 40 years 10
1990s 45.5 years 41 years 50 years 10
2000s 55.5 years 51 years 60 years 10
2010s 65.5 years 61 years 70 years 10
2020s 73.5 years 71 years 76 years 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 17 France 79 years compare
  2. 17 Italy 79 years compare
  3. 19 Israel 77 years compare
  4. 21 Japan 74 years compare
  5. 22 Barbados 66 years compare
  6. 23 Trinidad and Tobago 64 years compare

See the full ranking of 111 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 76 years in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest age of electoral democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 76 years in 2025.
What is the lowest age of electoral democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1950.
How does Costa Rica rank for age of electoral democracy?
Costa Rica ranks 20th out of 111 countries with data for 2025.
Is age of electoral democracy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (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 V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/age-of-electoral-democracy/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Age of electoral democracy
Unit
years
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
111 places, 5,296 data points, 1849–2025
Last refreshed

Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.