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Key features of human rights in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Key features of human rights was 0.931 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.931
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
17th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.961
in 2016
All-time low
0.572
in 1948
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Key features of human rights in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

00.20.40.60.81183819312025

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

Analysis

In 2025, key features of human rights in Costa Rica stood at 0.931.

That represents a change of down 2.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, key features of human rights in Costa Rica peaked at 0.961 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.572, in 1948.

That places Costa Rica 17th 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.

Key features of human rights in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.693 —
1839 0.693 +0.0%
1840 0.693 +0.0%
1841 0.7 +1.0%
1842 0.684 -2.3%
1843 0.698 +2.0%
1844 0.698 +0.0%
1845 0.698 +0.0%
1846 0.698 +0.0%
1847 0.698 +0.0%
1848 0.706 +1.1%
1849 0.706 +0.0%
1850 0.706 +0.0%
1851 0.706 +0.0%
1852 0.706 +0.0%
1853 0.706 +0.0%
1854 0.706 +0.0%
1855 0.706 +0.0%
1856 0.706 +0.0%
1857 0.706 +0.0%
1858 0.706 +0.0%
1859 0.698 -1.1%
1860 0.687 -1.6%
1861 0.706 +2.8%
1862 0.706 +0.0%
1863 0.706 +0.0%
1864 0.706 +0.0%
1865 0.706 +0.0%
1866 0.706 +0.0%
1867 0.706 +0.0%
1868 0.706 +0.0%
1869 0.706 +0.0%
1870 0.675 -4.4%
1871 0.675 +0.0%
1872 0.675 +0.0%
1873 0.675 +0.0%
1874 0.675 +0.0%
1875 0.675 +0.0%
1876 0.675 +0.0%
1877 0.675 +0.0%
1878 0.675 +0.0%
1879 0.675 +0.0%
1880 0.677 +0.3%
1881 0.677 +0.0%
1882 0.677 +0.0%
1883 0.683 +0.9%
1884 0.681 -0.3%
1885 0.681 +0.0%
1886 0.681 +0.0%
1887 0.681 +0.0%
1888 0.696 +2.2%
1889 0.709 +1.9%
1890 0.709 +0.0%
1891 0.709 +0.0%
1892 0.709 +0.0%
1893 0.709 +0.0%
1894 0.709 +0.0%
1895 0.708 -0.1%
1896 0.708 +0.0%
1897 0.708 +0.0%
1898 0.708 +0.0%
1899 0.708 +0.0%
1900 0.708 +0.0%
1901 0.708 +0.0%
1902 0.708 +0.0%
1903 0.708 +0.0%
1904 0.708 +0.0%
1905 0.708 +0.0%
1906 0.708 +0.0%
1907 0.708 +0.0%
1908 0.708 +0.0%
1909 0.708 +0.0%
1910 0.708 +0.0%
1911 0.707 -0.1%
1912 0.707 +0.0%
1913 0.707 +0.0%
1914 0.707 +0.0%
1915 0.707 +0.0%
1916 0.707 +0.0%
1917 0.63 -10.9%
1918 0.622 -1.3%
1919 0.616 -1.0%
1920 0.717 +16.4%
1921 0.717 +0.0%
1922 0.717 +0.0%
1923 0.717 +0.0%
1924 0.717 +0.0%
1925 0.717 +0.0%
1926 0.717 +0.0%
1927 0.717 +0.0%
1928 0.717 +0.0%
1929 0.714 -0.4%
1930 0.713 -0.1%
1931 0.716 +0.4%
1932 0.716 +0.0%
1933 0.716 +0.0%
1934 0.716 +0.0%
1935 0.716 +0.0%
1936 0.704 -1.7%
1937 0.704 +0.0%
1938 0.704 +0.0%
1939 0.704 +0.0%
1940 0.702 -0.3%
1941 0.706 +0.6%
1942 0.706 +0.0%
1943 0.701 -0.7%
1944 0.701 +0.0%
1945 0.701 +0.0%
1946 0.701 +0.0%
1947 0.701 +0.0%
1948 0.572 -18.4%
1949 0.756 +32.2%
1950 0.87 +15.1%
1951 0.87 +0.0%
1952 0.873 +0.3%
1953 0.876 +0.3%
1954 0.879 +0.3%
1955 0.879 +0.0%
1956 0.879 +0.0%
1957 0.879 +0.0%
1958 0.879 +0.0%
1959 0.89 +1.3%
1960 0.886 -0.4%
1961 0.886 +0.0%
1962 0.897 +1.2%
1963 0.897 +0.0%
1964 0.897 +0.0%
1965 0.897 +0.0%
1966 0.897 +0.0%
1967 0.897 +0.0%
1968 0.897 +0.0%
1969 0.897 +0.0%
1970 0.9 +0.3%
1971 0.901 +0.1%
1972 0.901 +0.0%
1973 0.901 +0.0%
1974 0.901 +0.0%
1975 0.911 +1.1%
1976 0.913 +0.2%
1977 0.914 +0.1%
1978 0.917 +0.3%
1979 0.917 +0.0%
1980 0.927 +1.1%
1981 0.914 -1.4%
1982 0.915 +0.1%
1983 0.915 +0.0%
1984 0.915 +0.0%
1985 0.915 +0.0%
1986 0.937 +2.4%
1987 0.937 +0.0%
1988 0.938 +0.1%
1989 0.938 +0.0%
1990 0.949 +1.2%
1991 0.957 +0.8%
1992 0.957 +0.0%
1993 0.957 +0.0%
1994 0.957 +0.0%
1995 0.957 +0.0%
1996 0.957 +0.0%
1997 0.957 +0.0%
1998 0.957 +0.0%
1999 0.957 +0.0%
2000 0.957 +0.0%
2001 0.958 +0.1%
2002 0.958 +0.0%
2003 0.958 +0.0%
2004 0.957 -0.1%
2005 0.956 -0.1%
2006 0.956 +0.0%
2007 0.955 -0.1%
2008 0.955 +0.0%
2009 0.955 +0.0%
2010 0.956 +0.1%
2011 0.956 +0.0%
2012 0.96 +0.4%
2013 0.956 -0.4%
2014 0.959 +0.3%
2015 0.958 -0.1%
2016 0.961 +0.3%
2017 0.957 -0.4%
2018 0.91 -4.9%
2019 0.939 +3.2%
2020 0.941 +0.2%
2021 0.941 +0.0%
2022 0.934 -0.7%
2023 0.931 -0.3%
2024 0.931 +0.0%
2025 0.931 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.931 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.906, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.931 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.819, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.693 0.693 0.693 2
1840s 0.6979 0.684 0.706 10
1850s 0.7052 0.698 0.706 10
1860s 0.7041 0.687 0.706 10
1870s 0.675 0.675 0.675 10
1880s 0.6843 0.677 0.709 10
1890s 0.7085 0.708 0.709 10
1900s 0.708 0.708 0.708 10
1910s 0.6818 0.616 0.708 10
1920s 0.7167 0.714 0.717 10
1930s 0.7109 0.704 0.716 10
1940s 0.6947 0.572 0.756 10
1950s 0.8774 0.87 0.89 10
1960s 0.8948 0.886 0.897 10
1970s 0.9076 0.9 0.917 10
1980s 0.9251 0.914 0.938 10
1990s 0.9562 0.949 0.957 10
2000s 0.9565 0.955 0.958 10
2010s 0.9512 0.91 0.961 10
2020s 0.9348 0.931 0.941 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 14 Germany 0.94 compare
  2. 14 Latvia 0.94 compare
  3. 16 Uruguay 0.932 compare
  4. 18 Chile 0.93 compare
  5. 18 Taiwan 0.93 compare
  6. 20 Japan 0.925 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 human rights in Costa Rica?
Key features of human rights in Costa Rica was 0.931 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of human rights recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.961 in 2016.
What is the lowest key features of human rights recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.572 in 1948.
How does Costa Rica rank for key features of human rights?
Costa Rica ranks 17th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of human rights rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.8%. 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 Key features of human rights. 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.

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Key features of human rights in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 09 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-human-rights/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Key features of human rights
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,202 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.