Judicial Corruption Score in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Judicial Corruption Score was 1.41 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
1.41
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
43rd
of 176 countries
All-time high
1.41
in 2015
All-time low
0.744
in 1838
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Judicial Corruption Score in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

00.511.5183819312025

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

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 1.41 for judicial corruption score in 2025. That is the highest value across all 188 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, judicial corruption score in Costa Rica peaked at 1.41 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.744, in 1838.

Costa Rica ranks 43rd 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.

Judicial Corruption Score in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Judicial Corruption Score in Costa Rica, 1838 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1838 0.744
1839 0.744 +0.0%
1840 0.744 +0.0%
1841 0.744 +0.0%
1842 0.744 +0.0%
1843 0.744 +0.0%
1844 0.744 +0.0%
1845 0.744 +0.0%
1846 0.744 +0.0%
1847 0.744 +0.0%
1848 0.744 +0.0%
1849 0.744 +0.0%
1850 0.744 +0.0%
1851 0.744 +0.0%
1852 0.744 +0.0%
1853 0.744 +0.0%
1854 0.744 +0.0%
1855 0.744 +0.0%
1856 0.744 +0.0%
1857 0.744 +0.0%
1858 0.744 +0.0%
1859 0.744 +0.0%
1860 0.744 +0.0%
1861 0.744 +0.0%
1862 0.744 +0.0%
1863 0.744 +0.0%
1864 0.744 +0.0%
1865 0.744 +0.0%
1866 0.744 +0.0%
1867 0.744 +0.0%
1868 0.744 +0.0%
1869 0.744 +0.0%
1870 0.744 +0.0%
1871 0.744 +0.0%
1872 0.744 +0.0%
1873 0.744 +0.0%
1874 0.744 +0.0%
1875 0.744 +0.0%
1876 0.744 +0.0%
1877 0.744 +0.0%
1878 0.744 +0.0%
1879 0.744 +0.0%
1880 0.744 +0.0%
1881 0.744 +0.0%
1882 0.744 +0.0%
1883 0.744 +0.0%
1884 0.744 +0.0%
1885 0.744 +0.0%
1886 0.744 +0.0%
1887 0.744 +0.0%
1888 0.744 +0.0%
1889 0.744 +0.0%
1890 0.744 +0.0%
1891 0.744 +0.0%
1892 0.744 +0.0%
1893 0.744 +0.0%
1894 0.744 +0.0%
1895 0.744 +0.0%
1896 0.744 +0.0%
1897 0.744 +0.0%
1898 0.744 +0.0%
1899 0.744 +0.0%
1900 0.744 +0.0%
1901 0.744 +0.0%
1902 0.744 +0.0%
1903 0.744 +0.0%
1904 0.744 +0.0%
1905 0.744 +0.0%
1906 0.744 +0.0%
1907 0.744 +0.0%
1908 0.744 +0.0%
1909 0.744 +0.0%
1910 0.744 +0.0%
1911 0.744 +0.0%
1912 0.744 +0.0%
1913 0.744 +0.0%
1914 0.744 +0.0%
1915 0.744 +0.0%
1916 0.744 +0.0%
1917 0.744 +0.0%
1918 0.744 +0.0%
1919 0.744 +0.0%
1920 0.744 +0.0%
1921 0.744 +0.0%
1922 0.744 +0.0%
1923 0.744 +0.0%
1924 0.744 +0.0%
1925 0.744 +0.0%
1926 0.744 +0.0%
1927 0.744 +0.0%
1928 0.744 +0.0%
1929 0.744 +0.0%
1930 0.744 +0.0%
1931 0.744 +0.0%
1932 0.744 +0.0%
1933 0.744 +0.0%
1934 0.744 +0.0%
1935 0.744 +0.0%
1936 0.744 +0.0%
1937 0.744 +0.0%
1938 0.744 +0.0%
1939 0.744 +0.0%
1940 0.744 +0.0%
1941 0.744 +0.0%
1942 0.744 +0.0%
1943 0.744 +0.0%
1944 0.744 +0.0%
1945 0.744 +0.0%
1946 0.744 +0.0%
1947 0.744 +0.0%
1948 0.744 +0.0%
1949 0.744 +0.0%
1950 0.744 +0.0%
1951 0.744 +0.0%
1952 0.744 +0.0%
1953 0.744 +0.0%
1954 0.744 +0.0%
1955 0.744 +0.0%
1956 0.744 +0.0%
1957 0.744 +0.0%
1958 0.744 +0.0%
1959 0.744 +0.0%
1960 0.744 +0.0%
1961 0.744 +0.0%
1962 0.744 +0.0%
1963 0.744 +0.0%
1964 0.744 +0.0%
1965 0.744 +0.0%
1966 0.744 +0.0%
1967 0.744 +0.0%
1968 0.744 +0.0%
1969 0.744 +0.0%
1970 0.744 +0.0%
1971 0.744 +0.0%
1972 0.744 +0.0%
1973 0.744 +0.0%
1974 0.744 +0.0%
1975 0.744 +0.0%
1976 0.744 +0.0%
1977 0.744 +0.0%
1978 0.744 +0.0%
1979 0.744 +0.0%
1980 0.744 +0.0%
1981 0.744 +0.0%
1982 0.744 +0.0%
1983 0.744 +0.0%
1984 0.744 +0.0%
1985 0.744 +0.0%
1986 0.744 +0.0%
1987 0.744 +0.0%
1988 0.744 +0.0%
1989 0.744 +0.0%
1990 0.744 +0.0%
1991 0.744 +0.0%
1992 0.744 +0.0%
1993 0.744 +0.0%
1994 0.744 +0.0%
1995 1.32 +77.4%
1996 1.32 +0.0%
1997 1.32 +0.0%
1998 1.32 +0.0%
1999 1.32 +0.0%
2000 1.32 +0.0%
2001 1.32 +0.0%
2002 1.32 +0.0%
2003 1.32 +0.0%
2004 1.32 +0.0%
2005 1.32 +0.0%
2006 1.32 +0.0%
2007 1.32 +0.0%
2008 1.32 +0.0%
2009 1.32 +0.0%
2010 1.32 +0.0%
2011 1.38 +4.6%
2012 1.32 -4.4%
2013 1.32 +0.0%
2014 1.32 +0.0%
2015 1.41 +7.0%
2016 1.41 +0.0%
2017 1.41 +0.0%
2018 1.41 +0.0%
2019 1.41 +0.0%
2020 1.41 +0.0%
2021 1.41 +0.0%
2022 1.41 +0.0%
2023 1.41 +0.0%
2024 1.41 +0.0%
2025 1.41 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 1.41 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.71, 83% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 1.41 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.213, 6.6× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.744 0.744 0.744 2
1840s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1850s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1860s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1870s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1880s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1890s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1900s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1910s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1920s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1930s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1940s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1950s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1960s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1970s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1980s 0.744 0.744 0.744 10
1990s 1.03 0.744 1.32 10
2000s 1.32 1.32 1.32 10
2010s 1.37 1.32 1.41 10
2020s 1.41 1.41 1.41 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 40 Maldives 1.51 compare
  2. 41 Eswatini 1.5 compare
  3. 42 Cyprus 1.46 compare
  4. 44 Georgia 1.39 compare
  5. 45 Trinidad and Tobago 1.38 compare
  6. 46 Botswana 1.36 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 judicial corruption score in Costa Rica?
Judicial corruption score in Costa Rica was 1.41 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest judicial corruption score recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 1.41 in 2015.
What is the lowest judicial corruption score recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.744 in 1838.
How does Costa Rica rank for judicial corruption score?
Costa Rica ranks 43rd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is judicial corruption score 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 V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Judicial Corruption Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Judicial Corruption Score in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/judicial-corruption-score/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Judicial Corruption Score
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 25,711 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of how often individuals or businesses make undocumented extra payments or bribes to obtain a favorable judicial decision, or speed up or delay the process. Higher scores mean less corruption. A score of 0 is approximately the average across all countries and years.