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Distribution of Democracy Index in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Distribution of Democracy Index was 20 in 2018. ▲ Rising

Latest (2018)
20
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 168 countries
All-time high
20
in 1953
All-time low
6
in 1838
Years of data
181
1838–2018

Distribution of Democracy Index in Costa Rica, 1838–2018

5101520183819282018

Source: Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 20 for distribution of democracy index in 2018. That is the highest value across all 181 years on record.

The figure is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, distribution of democracy index in Costa Rica peaked at 20 in 1953 and was at its lowest, 6, in 1838.

That places Costa Rica 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 181 years of available data.

Distribution of Democracy Index in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 6 —
1839 6 +0.0%
1840 6 +0.0%
1841 6 +0.0%
1842 6 +0.0%
1843 6 +0.0%
1844 6 +0.0%
1845 6 +0.0%
1846 6 +0.0%
1847 6 +0.0%
1848 6 +0.0%
1849 6 +0.0%
1850 6 +0.0%
1851 6 +0.0%
1852 6 +0.0%
1853 6 +0.0%
1854 6 +0.0%
1855 6 +0.0%
1856 6 +0.0%
1857 6 +0.0%
1858 6 +0.0%
1859 6 +0.0%
1860 6 +0.0%
1861 6 +0.0%
1862 6 +0.0%
1863 6 +0.0%
1864 6 +0.0%
1865 6 +0.0%
1866 6 +0.0%
1867 6 +0.0%
1868 6 +0.0%
1869 6 +0.0%
1870 6 +0.0%
1871 6 +0.0%
1872 6 +0.0%
1873 6 +0.0%
1874 6 +0.0%
1875 6 +0.0%
1876 6 +0.0%
1877 6 +0.0%
1878 6 +0.0%
1879 6 +0.0%
1880 6 +0.0%
1881 6 +0.0%
1882 6 +0.0%
1883 6 +0.0%
1884 6 +0.0%
1885 11 +83.3%
1886 11 +0.0%
1887 11 +0.0%
1888 11 +0.0%
1889 11 +0.0%
1890 15 +36.4%
1891 15 +0.0%
1892 15 +0.0%
1893 15 +0.0%
1894 18 +20.0%
1895 18 +0.0%
1896 18 +0.0%
1897 18 +0.0%
1898 18 +0.0%
1899 18 +0.0%
1900 18 +0.0%
1901 18 +0.0%
1902 18 +0.0%
1903 18 +0.0%
1904 18 +0.0%
1905 18 +0.0%
1906 18 +0.0%
1907 18 +0.0%
1908 18 +0.0%
1909 18 +0.0%
1910 18 +0.0%
1911 18 +0.0%
1912 18 +0.0%
1913 18 +0.0%
1914 18 +0.0%
1915 18 +0.0%
1916 18 +0.0%
1917 7 -61.1%
1918 7 +0.0%
1919 7 +0.0%
1920 15 +114.3%
1921 15 +0.0%
1922 15 +0.0%
1923 15 +0.0%
1924 15 +0.0%
1925 15 +0.0%
1926 15 +0.0%
1927 15 +0.0%
1928 15 +0.0%
1929 15 +0.0%
1930 15 +0.0%
1931 15 +0.0%
1932 15 +0.0%
1933 15 +0.0%
1934 15 +0.0%
1935 15 +0.0%
1936 15 +0.0%
1937 15 +0.0%
1938 15 +0.0%
1939 15 +0.0%
1940 15 +0.0%
1941 15 +0.0%
1942 15 +0.0%
1943 15 +0.0%
1944 15 +0.0%
1945 15 +0.0%
1946 15 +0.0%
1947 15 +0.0%
1948 14 -6.7%
1949 19 +35.7%
1950 19 +0.0%
1951 19 +0.0%
1952 19 +0.0%
1953 20 +5.3%
1954 20 +0.0%
1955 20 +0.0%
1956 20 +0.0%
1957 20 +0.0%
1958 20 +0.0%
1959 20 +0.0%
1960 20 +0.0%
1961 20 +0.0%
1962 20 +0.0%
1963 20 +0.0%
1964 20 +0.0%
1965 20 +0.0%
1966 20 +0.0%
1967 20 +0.0%
1968 20 +0.0%
1969 20 +0.0%
1970 20 +0.0%
1971 20 +0.0%
1972 20 +0.0%
1973 20 +0.0%
1974 20 +0.0%
1975 20 +0.0%
1976 20 +0.0%
1977 20 +0.0%
1978 20 +0.0%
1979 20 +0.0%
1980 20 +0.0%
1981 20 +0.0%
1982 20 +0.0%
1983 20 +0.0%
1984 20 +0.0%
1985 20 +0.0%
1986 20 +0.0%
1987 20 +0.0%
1988 20 +0.0%
1989 20 +0.0%
1990 20 +0.0%
1991 20 +0.0%
1992 20 +0.0%
1993 20 +0.0%
1994 20 +0.0%
1995 20 +0.0%
1996 20 +0.0%
1997 20 +0.0%
1998 20 +0.0%
1999 20 +0.0%
2000 20 +0.0%
2001 20 +0.0%
2002 20 +0.0%
2003 20 +0.0%
2004 20 +0.0%
2005 20 +0.0%
2006 20 +0.0%
2007 20 +0.0%
2008 20 +0.0%
2009 20 +0.0%
2010 20 +0.0%
2011 20 +0.0%
2012 20 +0.0%
2013 20 +0.0%
2014 20 +0.0%
2015 20 +0.0%
2016 20 +0.0%
2017 20 +0.0%
2018 20 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 20 is above the median for high income countries, which is 20, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 20 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 18, 1.1× the median. (24 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 6 6 6 2
1840s 6 6 6 10
1850s 6 6 6 10
1860s 6 6 6 10
1870s 6 6 6 10
1880s 8.5 6 11 10
1890s 16.8 15 18 10
1900s 18 18 18 10
1910s 14.7 7 18 10
1920s 15 15 15 10
1930s 15 15 15 10
1940s 15.3 14 19 10
1950s 19.7 19 20 10
1960s 20 20 20 10
1970s 20 20 20 10
1980s 20 20 20 10
1990s 20 20 20 10
2000s 20 20 20 10
2010s 20 20 20 9

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 1 Australia 20 compare
  2. 1 Austria 20 compare
  3. 1 Canada 20 compare
  4. 1 Cape Verde 20 compare
  5. 1 Chile 20 compare
  6. 1 Cyprus 20 compare
  7. 1 Denmark 20 compare
  8. 1 Finland 20 compare
  9. 1 France 20 compare
  10. 1 Germany 20 compare
  11. 1 Greece 20 compare
  12. 1 Hungary 20 compare
  13. 1 Ireland 20 compare
  14. 1 Italy 20 compare
  15. 1 Japan 20 compare
  16. 1 Lithuania 20 compare
  17. 1 Luxembourg 20 compare
  18. 1 Mauritius 20 compare
  19. 1 Mongolia 20 compare
  20. 1 Netherlands 20 compare
  21. 1 New Zealand 20 compare
  22. 1 Norway 20 compare
  23. 1 Poland 20 compare
  24. 1 Portugal 20 compare
  25. 1 Slovakia 20 compare
  26. 1 Slovenia 20 compare
  27. 1 Spain 20 compare
  28. 1 Sweden 20 compare
  29. 1 Switzerland 20 compare
  30. 1 Taiwan 20 compare
  31. 1 Uruguay 20 compare

See the full ranking of 168 places →

More social development data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is distribution of democracy index in Costa Rica?
Distribution of democracy index in Costa Rica was 20 in 2018, according to Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest distribution of democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 20 in 1953.
What is the lowest distribution of democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 6 in 1838.
How does Costa Rica rank for distribution of democracy index?
Costa Rica ranks 1st out of 168 countries with data for 2018.
Is distribution of democracy index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
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 Distribution of Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Distribution of Democracy Index in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/distribution-democracy-index-polity/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Distribution of Democracy Index
Source
Polity 5 (2020) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
168 places, 18,366 data points, 1800–2018
Last refreshed

It combines information on the extent to which open, multi-party, and competitive elections choose a chief executive who faces comprehensive institutional constraints, and political participation is competitive. It ranges from 0 to 20 (fully democratic).