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Freedom of association index in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Freedom of association index was 0.922 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.922
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
4th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.944
in 2015
All-time low
0.523
in 1846
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Freedom of association index in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

00.20.40.60.81183819312025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 0.922 for freedom of association index in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of association index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.944 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.523, in 1846.

That places Costa Rica 4th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 188 years of available data.

Freedom of association index in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.541 —
1839 0.541 +0.0%
1840 0.541 +0.0%
1841 0.541 +0.0%
1842 0.541 +0.0%
1843 0.541 +0.0%
1844 0.544 +0.6%
1845 0.546 +0.4%
1846 0.523 -4.2%
1847 0.523 +0.0%
1848 0.523 +0.0%
1849 0.523 +0.0%
1850 0.523 +0.0%
1851 0.523 +0.0%
1852 0.523 +0.0%
1853 0.523 +0.0%
1854 0.523 +0.0%
1855 0.523 +0.0%
1856 0.523 +0.0%
1857 0.523 +0.0%
1858 0.523 +0.0%
1859 0.523 +0.0%
1860 0.523 +0.0%
1861 0.523 +0.0%
1862 0.523 +0.0%
1863 0.523 +0.0%
1864 0.523 +0.0%
1865 0.523 +0.0%
1866 0.523 +0.0%
1867 0.523 +0.0%
1868 0.523 +0.0%
1869 0.523 +0.0%
1870 0.523 +0.0%
1871 0.524 +0.2%
1872 0.526 +0.4%
1873 0.526 +0.0%
1874 0.526 +0.0%
1875 0.526 +0.0%
1876 0.526 +0.0%
1877 0.526 +0.0%
1878 0.526 +0.0%
1879 0.526 +0.0%
1880 0.527 +0.2%
1881 0.528 +0.2%
1882 0.528 +0.0%
1883 0.528 +0.0%
1884 0.528 +0.0%
1885 0.528 +0.0%
1886 0.528 +0.0%
1887 0.528 +0.0%
1888 0.528 +0.0%
1889 0.538 +1.9%
1890 0.595 +10.6%
1891 0.595 +0.0%
1892 0.564 -5.2%
1893 0.564 +0.0%
1894 0.587 +4.1%
1895 0.609 +3.7%
1896 0.644 +5.7%
1897 0.639 -0.8%
1898 0.558 -12.7%
1899 0.558 +0.0%
1900 0.558 +0.0%
1901 0.558 +0.0%
1902 0.558 +0.0%
1903 0.558 +0.0%
1904 0.558 +0.0%
1905 0.558 +0.0%
1906 0.558 +0.0%
1907 0.558 +0.0%
1908 0.558 +0.0%
1909 0.557 -0.2%
1910 0.556 -0.2%
1911 0.556 +0.0%
1912 0.556 +0.0%
1913 0.559 +0.5%
1914 0.604 +8.1%
1915 0.604 +0.0%
1916 0.604 +0.0%
1917 0.537 -11.1%
1918 0.529 -1.5%
1919 0.541 +2.3%
1920 0.606 +12.0%
1921 0.606 +0.0%
1922 0.606 +0.0%
1923 0.607 +0.2%
1924 0.615 +1.3%
1925 0.615 +0.0%
1926 0.615 +0.0%
1927 0.615 +0.0%
1928 0.615 +0.0%
1929 0.615 +0.0%
1930 0.611 -0.7%
1931 0.626 +2.5%
1932 0.626 +0.0%
1933 0.626 +0.0%
1934 0.626 +0.0%
1935 0.626 +0.0%
1936 0.588 -6.1%
1937 0.589 +0.2%
1938 0.589 +0.0%
1939 0.589 +0.0%
1940 0.566 -3.9%
1941 0.567 +0.2%
1942 0.567 +0.0%
1943 0.567 +0.0%
1944 0.566 -0.2%
1945 0.566 +0.0%
1946 0.566 +0.0%
1947 0.566 +0.0%
1948 0.561 -0.9%
1949 0.598 +6.6%
1950 0.672 +12.4%
1951 0.672 +0.0%
1952 0.672 +0.0%
1953 0.722 +7.4%
1954 0.745 +3.2%
1955 0.745 +0.0%
1956 0.745 +0.0%
1957 0.745 +0.0%
1958 0.746 +0.1%
1959 0.746 +0.0%
1960 0.746 +0.0%
1961 0.746 +0.0%
1962 0.737 -1.2%
1963 0.736 -0.1%
1964 0.736 +0.0%
1965 0.736 +0.0%
1966 0.744 +1.1%
1967 0.745 +0.1%
1968 0.745 +0.0%
1969 0.745 +0.0%
1970 0.757 +1.6%
1971 0.77 +1.7%
1972 0.77 +0.0%
1973 0.77 +0.0%
1974 0.772 +0.3%
1975 0.866 +12.2%
1976 0.887 +2.4%
1977 0.887 +0.0%
1978 0.91 +2.6%
1979 0.91 +0.0%
1980 0.914 +0.4%
1981 0.914 +0.0%
1982 0.926 +1.3%
1983 0.927 +0.1%
1984 0.927 +0.0%
1985 0.927 +0.0%
1986 0.922 -0.5%
1987 0.922 +0.0%
1988 0.936 +1.5%
1989 0.936 +0.0%
1990 0.941 +0.5%
1991 0.941 +0.0%
1992 0.941 +0.0%
1993 0.941 +0.0%
1994 0.94 -0.1%
1995 0.94 +0.0%
1996 0.94 +0.0%
1997 0.94 +0.0%
1998 0.942 +0.2%
1999 0.942 +0.0%
2000 0.942 +0.0%
2001 0.942 +0.0%
2002 0.94 -0.2%
2003 0.94 +0.0%
2004 0.94 +0.0%
2005 0.94 +0.0%
2006 0.942 +0.2%
2007 0.942 +0.0%
2008 0.942 +0.0%
2009 0.942 +0.0%
2010 0.942 +0.0%
2011 0.942 +0.0%
2012 0.942 +0.0%
2013 0.94 -0.2%
2014 0.943 +0.3%
2015 0.944 +0.1%
2016 0.936 -0.8%
2017 0.935 -0.1%
2018 0.929 -0.6%
2019 0.931 +0.2%
2020 0.931 +0.0%
2021 0.931 +0.0%
2022 0.92 -1.2%
2023 0.922 +0.2%
2024 0.922 +0.0%
2025 0.922 +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.541 0.541 0.541 2
1840s 0.5346 0.523 0.546 10
1850s 0.523 0.523 0.523 10
1860s 0.523 0.523 0.523 10
1870s 0.5255 0.523 0.526 10
1880s 0.5289 0.527 0.538 10
1890s 0.5913 0.558 0.644 10
1900s 0.5579 0.557 0.558 10
1910s 0.5646 0.529 0.604 10
1920s 0.6115 0.606 0.615 10
1930s 0.6096 0.588 0.626 10
1940s 0.569 0.561 0.598 10
1950s 0.721 0.672 0.746 10
1960s 0.7416 0.736 0.746 10
1970s 0.8299 0.757 0.91 10
1980s 0.9251 0.914 0.936 10
1990s 0.9408 0.94 0.942 10
2000s 0.9412 0.94 0.942 10
2010s 0.9384 0.929 0.944 10
2020s 0.9247 0.92 0.931 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 1 Sweden 0.931 compare
  2. 2 Denmark 0.929 compare
  3. 3 Japan 0.924 compare
  4. 5 Iceland 0.917 compare
  5. 5 Switzerland 0.917 compare
  6. 7 Norway 0.915 compare
  7. 7 Spain 0.915 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is freedom of association index in Costa Rica?
Freedom of association index in Costa Rica was 0.922 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of association index recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.944 in 2015.
What is the lowest freedom of association index recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.523 in 1846.
How does Costa Rica rank for freedom of association index?
Costa Rica ranks 4th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of association index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Freedom of association index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

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Freedom of association index in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 August 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-association-index/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Freedom of association index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,011 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed