Egalitarian Democracy Index in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Egalitarian Democracy Index was 0.762 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.762
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
11th
of 175 countries
All-time high
0.822
in 2012
All-time low
0.13
in 1918
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Egalitarian Democracy Index in Costa Rica, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for egalitarian democracy index in Costa Rica is 0.762, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, egalitarian democracy index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.822 in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.13, in 1918.
That places Costa Rica 11th out of 175 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Egalitarian Democracy Index in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.147 | — |
| 1901 | 0.141 | -4.1% |
| 1902 | 0.144 | +2.1% |
| 1903 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.144 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.147 | +2.1% |
| 1908 | 0.147 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.149 | +1.4% |
| 1910 | 0.151 | +1.3% |
| 1911 | 0.151 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.151 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.166 | +9.9% |
| 1914 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.166 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.131 | -21.1% |
| 1918 | 0.13 | -0.8% |
| 1919 | 0.135 | +3.8% |
| 1920 | 0.157 | +16.3% |
| 1921 | 0.167 | +6.4% |
| 1922 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.171 | +2.4% |
| 1925 | 0.171 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.171 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.171 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.171 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.171 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.17 | -0.6% |
| 1931 | 0.171 | +0.6% |
| 1932 | 0.173 | +1.2% |
| 1933 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.173 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.169 | -2.3% |
| 1937 | 0.169 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.169 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.169 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.174 | +3.0% |
| 1941 | 0.175 | +0.6% |
| 1942 | 0.175 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.175 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.194 | +10.9% |
| 1945 | 0.199 | +2.6% |
| 1946 | 0.2 | +0.5% |
| 1947 | 0.2 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.163 | -18.5% |
| 1949 | 0.235 | +44.2% |
| 1950 | 0.412 | +75.3% |
| 1951 | 0.42 | +1.9% |
| 1952 | 0.423 | +0.7% |
| 1953 | 0.477 | +12.8% |
| 1954 | 0.528 | +10.7% |
| 1955 | 0.533 | +0.9% |
| 1956 | 0.533 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.533 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.535 | +0.4% |
| 1959 | 0.54 | +0.9% |
| 1960 | 0.532 | -1.5% |
| 1961 | 0.532 | +0.0% |
| 1962 | 0.533 | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 0.533 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.533 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.533 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.55 | +3.2% |
| 1967 | 0.568 | +3.3% |
| 1968 | 0.568 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.568 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.583 | +2.6% |
| 1971 | 0.586 | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 0.586 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.592 | +1.0% |
| 1974 | 0.596 | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 0.644 | +8.1% |
| 1976 | 0.657 | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 0.657 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.674 | +2.6% |
| 1979 | 0.691 | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 0.711 | +2.9% |
| 1981 | 0.711 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.73 | +2.7% |
| 1983 | 0.732 | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 0.732 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.739 | +1.0% |
| 1986 | 0.74 | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 0.746 | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 0.754 | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 0.754 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.786 | +4.2% |
| 1991 | 0.787 | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 0.787 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.787 | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.787 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.787 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.78 | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.78 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.79 | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 0.795 | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 0.797 | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 0.798 | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 0.797 | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 0.799 | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 0.809 | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 0.811 | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 0.811 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.813 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 0.817 | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 0.817 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.822 | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 0.815 | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 0.813 | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 0.815 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 0.811 | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 0.808 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 0.798 | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 0.804 | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 0.803 | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 0.794 | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 0.767 | -3.4% |
| 2023 | 0.759 | -1.0% |
| 2024 | 0.762 | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 0.762 | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.762 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.671, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.762 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.394, 1.9× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Egalitarian Democracy 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | +75.3% | 0.235 | 0.412 |
| 1949 | +44.2% | 0.163 | 0.235 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.1451 | 0.141 | 0.149 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.1513 | 0.13 | 0.166 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.1684 | 0.157 | 0.171 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.1709 | 0.169 | 0.173 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.189 | 0.163 | 0.235 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.4934 | 0.412 | 0.54 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.545 | 0.532 | 0.568 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.6266 | 0.583 | 0.691 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7349 | 0.711 | 0.754 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7841 | 0.78 | 0.787 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.802 | 0.79 | 0.813 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.812 | 0.798 | 0.822 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7745 | 0.759 | 0.803 | 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 egalitarian democracy index in Costa Rica?
- Egalitarian democracy index in Costa Rica was 0.762 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest egalitarian democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.822 in 2012.
- What is the lowest egalitarian democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.13 in 1918.
- How does Costa Rica rank for egalitarian democracy index?
- Costa Rica ranks 11th out of 175 countries with data for 2025.
- Is egalitarian democracy index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.5%. 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 Egalitarian Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which the protection of rights, access to power, and distribution of resources is equal.