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Key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Key features of electoral democracy was 0.862 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.862
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
10th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.91
in 2010
All-time low
0.138
in 1850
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

0.20.40.60.81183819312025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica is 0.862, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica peaked at 0.91 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 0.138, in 1850.

That places Costa Rica 10th out of 176 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.

Key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.195 —
1839 0.195 +0.0%
1840 0.195 +0.0%
1841 0.195 +0.0%
1842 0.223 +14.4%
1843 0.278 +24.7%
1844 0.263 -5.4%
1845 0.203 -22.8%
1846 0.2 -1.5%
1847 0.182 -9.0%
1848 0.192 +5.5%
1849 0.18 -6.3%
1850 0.138 -23.3%
1851 0.184 +33.3%
1852 0.184 +0.0%
1853 0.184 +0.0%
1854 0.184 +0.0%
1855 0.184 +0.0%
1856 0.184 +0.0%
1857 0.184 +0.0%
1858 0.184 +0.0%
1859 0.183 -0.5%
1860 0.154 -15.8%
1861 0.201 +30.5%
1862 0.201 +0.0%
1863 0.201 +0.0%
1864 0.201 +0.0%
1865 0.201 +0.0%
1866 0.201 +0.0%
1867 0.201 +0.0%
1868 0.193 -4.0%
1869 0.154 -20.2%
1870 0.179 +16.2%
1871 0.206 +15.1%
1872 0.283 +37.4%
1873 0.283 +0.0%
1874 0.283 +0.0%
1875 0.283 +0.0%
1876 0.234 -17.3%
1877 0.18 -23.1%
1878 0.215 +19.4%
1879 0.215 +0.0%
1880 0.278 +29.3%
1881 0.278 +0.0%
1882 0.28 +0.7%
1883 0.294 +5.0%
1884 0.294 +0.0%
1885 0.276 -6.1%
1886 0.271 -1.8%
1887 0.294 +8.5%
1888 0.294 +0.0%
1889 0.29 -1.4%
1890 0.282 -2.8%
1891 0.29 +2.8%
1892 0.289 -0.3%
1893 0.289 +0.0%
1894 0.278 -3.8%
1895 0.277 -0.4%
1896 0.284 +2.5%
1897 0.284 +0.0%
1898 0.287 +1.1%
1899 0.287 +0.0%
1900 0.277 -3.5%
1901 0.256 -7.6%
1902 0.26 +1.6%
1903 0.26 +0.0%
1904 0.26 +0.0%
1905 0.26 +0.0%
1906 0.26 +0.0%
1907 0.26 +0.0%
1908 0.26 +0.0%
1909 0.264 +1.5%
1910 0.27 +2.3%
1911 0.27 +0.0%
1912 0.27 +0.0%
1913 0.315 +16.7%
1914 0.316 +0.3%
1915 0.316 +0.0%
1916 0.316 +0.0%
1917 0.209 -33.9%
1918 0.206 -1.4%
1919 0.22 +6.8%
1920 0.284 +29.1%
1921 0.315 +10.9%
1922 0.315 +0.0%
1923 0.316 +0.3%
1924 0.327 +3.5%
1925 0.327 +0.0%
1926 0.327 +0.0%
1927 0.327 +0.0%
1928 0.327 +0.0%
1929 0.327 +0.0%
1930 0.327 +0.0%
1931 0.328 +0.3%
1932 0.331 +0.9%
1933 0.332 +0.3%
1934 0.332 +0.0%
1935 0.332 +0.0%
1936 0.322 -3.0%
1937 0.322 +0.0%
1938 0.322 +0.0%
1939 0.322 +0.0%
1940 0.319 -0.9%
1941 0.32 +0.3%
1942 0.32 +0.0%
1943 0.319 -0.3%
1944 0.322 +0.9%
1945 0.322 +0.0%
1946 0.324 +0.6%
1947 0.324 +0.0%
1948 0.218 -32.7%
1949 0.269 +23.4%
1950 0.564 +109.7%
1951 0.577 +2.3%
1952 0.579 +0.3%
1953 0.65 +12.3%
1954 0.721 +10.9%
1955 0.721 +0.0%
1956 0.721 +0.0%
1957 0.721 +0.0%
1958 0.722 +0.1%
1959 0.729 +1.0%
1960 0.719 -1.4%
1961 0.719 +0.0%
1962 0.721 +0.3%
1963 0.721 +0.0%
1964 0.721 +0.0%
1965 0.721 +0.0%
1966 0.731 +1.4%
1967 0.732 +0.1%
1968 0.732 +0.0%
1969 0.732 +0.0%
1970 0.742 +1.4%
1971 0.744 +0.3%
1972 0.744 +0.0%
1973 0.744 +0.0%
1974 0.746 +0.3%
1975 0.793 +6.3%
1976 0.807 +1.8%
1977 0.81 +0.4%
1978 0.825 +1.9%
1979 0.826 +0.1%
1980 0.848 +2.7%
1981 0.848 +0.0%
1982 0.866 +2.1%
1983 0.867 +0.1%
1984 0.867 +0.0%
1985 0.867 +0.0%
1986 0.866 -0.1%
1987 0.865 -0.1%
1988 0.876 +1.3%
1989 0.876 +0.0%
1990 0.891 +1.7%
1991 0.892 +0.1%
1992 0.892 +0.0%
1993 0.892 +0.0%
1994 0.893 +0.1%
1995 0.893 +0.0%
1996 0.893 +0.0%
1997 0.893 +0.0%
1998 0.893 +0.0%
1999 0.893 +0.0%
2000 0.892 -0.1%
2001 0.892 +0.0%
2002 0.895 +0.3%
2003 0.895 +0.0%
2004 0.894 -0.1%
2005 0.894 +0.0%
2006 0.905 +1.2%
2007 0.908 +0.3%
2008 0.908 +0.0%
2009 0.908 +0.0%
2010 0.91 +0.2%
2011 0.91 +0.0%
2012 0.91 +0.0%
2013 0.907 -0.3%
2014 0.906 -0.1%
2015 0.906 +0.0%
2016 0.902 -0.4%
2017 0.898 -0.4%
2018 0.89 -0.9%
2019 0.893 +0.3%
2020 0.895 +0.2%
2021 0.894 -0.1%
2022 0.866 -3.1%
2023 0.862 -0.5%
2024 0.862 +0.0%
2025 0.862 +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.195 0.195 0.195 2
1840s 0.2111 0.18 0.278 10
1850s 0.1793 0.138 0.184 10
1860s 0.1908 0.154 0.201 10
1870s 0.2361 0.179 0.283 10
1880s 0.2849 0.271 0.294 10
1890s 0.2847 0.277 0.29 10
1900s 0.2617 0.256 0.277 10
1910s 0.2708 0.206 0.316 10
1920s 0.3192 0.284 0.327 10
1930s 0.327 0.322 0.332 10
1940s 0.3057 0.218 0.324 10
1950s 0.6705 0.564 0.729 10
1960s 0.7249 0.719 0.732 10
1970s 0.7781 0.742 0.826 10
1980s 0.8646 0.848 0.876 10
1990s 0.8925 0.891 0.893 10
2000s 0.8991 0.892 0.908 10
2010s 0.9032 0.89 0.91 10
2020s 0.8735 0.862 0.895 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 7 Switzerland 0.882 compare
  2. 8 Luxembourg 0.869 compare
  3. 9 France 0.865 compare
  4. 10 Uruguay 0.862 compare
  5. 12 Finland 0.852 compare
  6. 13 Czechia 0.849 compare
  7. 13 New Zealand 0.849 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 key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica?
Key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica was 0.862 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of electoral democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.91 in 2010.
What is the lowest key features of electoral democracy recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.138 in 1850.
How does Costa Rica rank for key features of electoral democracy?
Costa Rica ranks 10th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of electoral democracy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of electoral democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Key features of electoral democracy in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-electoral-democracy/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Key features of electoral democracy
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,649 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed