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.

Judicial Corruption Score in Costa Rica

Name: Judicial Corruption Score in Costa Rica
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

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

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.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	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

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Costa Rica

Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 36,395 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 367 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Key features of democracy 0.862 (2025)
Freedom of Expression Index 0.915 (2025)
Freedom of Association Index 0.922 (2025)
Electoral Democracy Index 0.862 (2025)
Participatory Democracy Index 0.606 (2025)
Liberal Democracy Index 0.809 (2025)

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.

Download this data

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

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: 07 August 2026

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.