Legislative Corruption Score in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Legislative Corruption Score was 0.506 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Legislative Corruption Score in Costa Rica, 1838–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for legislative corruption score in Costa Rica is 0.506, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 187 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, legislative corruption score in Costa Rica peaked at 0.506 in 2003 and was at its lowest, -1.11, in 1838.
That places Costa Rica 64th out of 174 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 2 |
| 1840s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 10 |
| 1850s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 10 |
| 1860s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 10 |
| 1870s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 10 |
| 1880s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 10 |
| 1890s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 10 |
| 1900s | -1.11 | -1.11 | -1.11 | 10 |
| 1910s | -1.08 | -1.11 | -0.908 | 9 |
| 1920s | -1.08 | -1.08 | -1.08 | 10 |
| 1930s | -1.08 | -1.08 | -1.08 | 10 |
| 1940s | -1.01 | -1.08 | -0.376 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.1466 | -0.262 | 0.192 | 10 |
| 1960s | -0.262 | -0.262 | -0.262 | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.262 | -0.262 | -0.262 | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.262 | -0.262 | -0.262 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1003 | -0.079 | 0.47 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4952 | 0.47 | 0.506 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.506 | 0.506 | 0.506 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.506 | 0.506 | 0.506 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is legislative corruption score in Costa Rica?
- Legislative corruption score in Costa Rica was 0.506 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest legislative corruption score recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.506 in 2003.
- What is the lowest legislative corruption score recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.11 in 1838.
- How does Costa Rica rank for legislative corruption score?
- Costa Rica ranks 64th out of 174 countries with data for 2025.
- Is legislative 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 volatile.
- 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 Legislative Corruption Score. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 187 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Data by V-Dem. Expert estimates of the extent to which members of the legislature abuse their position for financial gain, such as bribes, government contracts, future employment, or stealing from the state. Higher scores mean less corruption. A score of 0 is approximately the average across all countries and years.