Age of liberal democracy in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Age of liberal democracy was 37 years in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Age of liberal democracy in Costa Rica, 1989–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 37 years for age of liberal democracy in 2025. That is the highest value across all 37 years on record.
The figure is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 37.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, age of liberal democracy in Costa Rica peaked at 37 years in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1 years, in 1989.
That places Costa Rica 24th out of 47 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Age of liberal democracy in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 1 years | — |
| 1990 | 2 years | +100.0% |
| 1991 | 3 years | +50.0% |
| 1992 | 4 years | +33.3% |
| 1993 | 5 years | +25.0% |
| 1994 | 6 years | +20.0% |
| 1995 | 7 years | +16.7% |
| 1996 | 8 years | +14.3% |
| 1997 | 9 years | +12.5% |
| 1998 | 10 years | +11.1% |
| 1999 | 11 years | +10.0% |
| 2000 | 12 years | +9.1% |
| 2001 | 13 years | +8.3% |
| 2002 | 14 years | +7.7% |
| 2003 | 15 years | +7.1% |
| 2004 | 16 years | +6.7% |
| 2005 | 17 years | +6.2% |
| 2006 | 18 years | +5.9% |
| 2007 | 19 years | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 20 years | +5.3% |
| 2009 | 21 years | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 22 years | +4.8% |
| 2011 | 23 years | +4.5% |
| 2012 | 24 years | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 25 years | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 26 years | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 27 years | +3.8% |
| 2016 | 28 years | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 29 years | +3.6% |
| 2018 | 30 years | +3.4% |
| 2019 | 31 years | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 32 years | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 33 years | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 34 years | +3.0% |
| 2023 | 35 years | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 36 years | +2.9% |
| 2025 | 37 years | +2.8% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 37 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 45 years, 82% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 37 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11 years, 3.4× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Age of liberal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +100.0% | 1 years | 2 years |
| 1991 | +50.0% | 2 years | 3 years |
| 1992 | +33.3% | 3 years | 4 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1 years | 1 years | 1 years | 1 |
| 1990s | 6.5 years | 2 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.5 years | 12 years | 21 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.5 years | 22 years | 31 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.5 years | 32 years | 37 years | 6 |
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 liberal democracy in Costa Rica?
- Age of liberal democracy in Costa Rica was 37 years in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest age of liberal democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 37 years in 2025.
- What is the lowest age of liberal democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 years in 1989.
- How does Costa Rica rank for age of liberal democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 24th out of 47 countries with data for 2025.
- Is age of liberal democracy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.0%. 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 liberal democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of consecutive years in electoral democracy.