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Freedom of Expression Index in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Freedom of Expression Index was 0.915 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.915
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
22nd
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.965
in 2010
All-time low
0.323
in 1838
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Freedom of Expression Index in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

0.40.60.81183819312025

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

Analysis

In 2025, freedom of expression index in Costa Rica stood at 0.915.

The figure is down 4.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, freedom of expression index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.965 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.323, in 1838.

Costa Rica ranks 22nd of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Freedom of Expression Index in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.323 —
1839 0.323 +0.0%
1840 0.323 +0.0%
1841 0.323 +0.0%
1842 0.463 +43.3%
1843 0.619 +33.7%
1844 0.619 +0.0%
1845 0.619 +0.0%
1846 0.619 +0.0%
1847 0.619 +0.0%
1848 0.619 +0.0%
1849 0.555 -10.3%
1850 0.555 +0.0%
1851 0.555 +0.0%
1852 0.555 +0.0%
1853 0.555 +0.0%
1854 0.555 +0.0%
1855 0.555 +0.0%
1856 0.555 +0.0%
1857 0.555 +0.0%
1858 0.555 +0.0%
1859 0.691 +24.5%
1860 0.691 +0.0%
1861 0.691 +0.0%
1862 0.691 +0.0%
1863 0.691 +0.0%
1864 0.691 +0.0%
1865 0.691 +0.0%
1866 0.691 +0.0%
1867 0.691 +0.0%
1868 0.691 +0.0%
1869 0.691 +0.0%
1870 0.623 -9.8%
1871 0.576 -7.5%
1872 0.576 +0.0%
1873 0.576 +0.0%
1874 0.576 +0.0%
1875 0.576 +0.0%
1876 0.576 +0.0%
1877 0.576 +0.0%
1878 0.576 +0.0%
1879 0.576 +0.0%
1880 0.576 +0.0%
1881 0.576 +0.0%
1882 0.668 +16.0%
1883 0.689 +3.1%
1884 0.689 +0.0%
1885 0.689 +0.0%
1886 0.689 +0.0%
1887 0.689 +0.0%
1888 0.689 +0.0%
1889 0.689 +0.0%
1890 0.689 +0.0%
1891 0.689 +0.0%
1892 0.689 +0.0%
1893 0.689 +0.0%
1894 0.689 +0.0%
1895 0.689 +0.0%
1896 0.689 +0.0%
1897 0.689 +0.0%
1898 0.689 +0.0%
1899 0.689 +0.0%
1900 0.689 +0.0%
1901 0.689 +0.0%
1902 0.713 +3.5%
1903 0.713 +0.0%
1904 0.713 +0.0%
1905 0.713 +0.0%
1906 0.713 +0.0%
1907 0.713 +0.0%
1908 0.713 +0.0%
1909 0.713 +0.0%
1910 0.713 +0.0%
1911 0.713 +0.0%
1912 0.713 +0.0%
1913 0.713 +0.0%
1914 0.713 +0.0%
1915 0.713 +0.0%
1916 0.713 +0.0%
1917 0.637 -10.7%
1918 0.628 -1.4%
1919 0.628 +0.0%
1920 0.709 +12.9%
1921 0.709 +0.0%
1922 0.709 +0.0%
1923 0.709 +0.0%
1924 0.709 +0.0%
1925 0.709 +0.0%
1926 0.709 +0.0%
1927 0.709 +0.0%
1928 0.709 +0.0%
1929 0.708 -0.1%
1930 0.708 +0.0%
1931 0.708 +0.0%
1932 0.708 +0.0%
1933 0.708 +0.0%
1934 0.708 +0.0%
1935 0.708 +0.0%
1936 0.708 +0.0%
1937 0.708 +0.0%
1938 0.708 +0.0%
1939 0.708 +0.0%
1940 0.679 -4.1%
1941 0.681 +0.3%
1942 0.681 +0.0%
1943 0.681 +0.0%
1944 0.681 +0.0%
1945 0.679 -0.3%
1946 0.679 +0.0%
1947 0.679 +0.0%
1948 0.55 -19.0%
1949 0.636 +15.6%
1950 0.882 +38.7%
1951 0.882 +0.0%
1952 0.888 +0.7%
1953 0.907 +2.1%
1954 0.911 +0.4%
1955 0.911 +0.0%
1956 0.911 +0.0%
1957 0.911 +0.0%
1958 0.911 +0.0%
1959 0.931 +2.2%
1960 0.908 -2.5%
1961 0.908 +0.0%
1962 0.908 +0.0%
1963 0.908 +0.0%
1964 0.908 +0.0%
1965 0.908 +0.0%
1966 0.908 +0.0%
1967 0.908 +0.0%
1968 0.908 +0.0%
1969 0.908 +0.0%
1970 0.917 +1.0%
1971 0.917 +0.0%
1972 0.917 +0.0%
1973 0.917 +0.0%
1974 0.917 +0.0%
1975 0.923 +0.7%
1976 0.923 +0.0%
1977 0.927 +0.4%
1978 0.927 +0.0%
1979 0.927 +0.0%
1980 0.962 +3.8%
1981 0.962 +0.0%
1982 0.962 +0.0%
1983 0.962 +0.0%
1984 0.962 +0.0%
1985 0.962 +0.0%
1986 0.962 +0.0%
1987 0.962 +0.0%
1988 0.962 +0.0%
1989 0.962 +0.0%
1990 0.962 +0.0%
1991 0.962 +0.0%
1992 0.962 +0.0%
1993 0.962 +0.0%
1994 0.962 +0.0%
1995 0.962 +0.0%
1996 0.962 +0.0%
1997 0.962 +0.0%
1998 0.962 +0.0%
1999 0.962 +0.0%
2000 0.963 +0.1%
2001 0.963 +0.0%
2002 0.963 +0.0%
2003 0.963 +0.0%
2004 0.961 -0.2%
2005 0.961 +0.0%
2006 0.961 +0.0%
2007 0.963 +0.2%
2008 0.963 +0.0%
2009 0.963 +0.0%
2010 0.965 +0.2%
2011 0.965 +0.0%
2012 0.965 +0.0%
2013 0.963 -0.2%
2014 0.956 -0.7%
2015 0.955 -0.1%
2016 0.957 +0.2%
2017 0.948 -0.9%
2018 0.944 -0.4%
2019 0.948 +0.4%
2020 0.952 +0.4%
2021 0.948 -0.4%
2022 0.924 -2.5%
2023 0.915 -1.0%
2024 0.915 +0.0%
2025 0.915 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.915 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.874, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.915 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.81, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.323 0.323 0.323 2
1840s 0.5378 0.323 0.619 10
1850s 0.5686 0.555 0.691 10
1860s 0.691 0.691 0.691 10
1870s 0.5807 0.576 0.623 10
1880s 0.6643 0.576 0.689 10
1890s 0.689 0.689 0.689 10
1900s 0.7082 0.689 0.713 10
1910s 0.6884 0.628 0.713 10
1920s 0.7089 0.708 0.709 10
1930s 0.708 0.708 0.708 10
1940s 0.6626 0.55 0.681 10
1950s 0.9045 0.882 0.931 10
1960s 0.908 0.908 0.908 10
1970s 0.9212 0.917 0.927 10
1980s 0.962 0.962 0.962 10
1990s 0.962 0.962 0.962 10
2000s 0.9624 0.961 0.963 10
2010s 0.9566 0.944 0.965 10
2020s 0.9282 0.915 0.952 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 19 Austria 0.918 compare
  2. 20 Lithuania 0.917 compare
  3. 20 Poland 0.917 compare
  4. 22 Australia 0.915 compare
  5. 24 Germany 0.914 compare
  6. 25 Barbados 0.911 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 expression index in Costa Rica?
Freedom of expression index in Costa Rica was 0.915 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest freedom of expression index recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.965 in 2010.
What is the lowest freedom of expression index recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.323 in 1838.
How does Costa Rica rank for freedom of expression index?
Costa Rica ranks 22nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is freedom of expression index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
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 Freedom of Expression Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 188 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.

All correlations →

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Freedom of Expression Index in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 07 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/freedom-of-expression-index/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Freedom of Expression Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,035 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which people can discuss political matters at home and in the public sphere, the press, and media are free and can present different political perspectives, and the freedom of academic and cultural expression.