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Participatory Democracy Index in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Participatory Democracy Index was 0.606 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.606
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
11th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.7
in 2011
All-time low
0.072
in 1868
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Participatory Democracy Index in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

00.20.40.6183819312025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for participatory democracy index in Costa Rica is 0.606, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 10.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, participatory democracy index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.7 in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.072, in 1868.

Costa Rica ranks 11th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Participatory Democracy Index in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.085 —
1839 0.085 +0.0%
1840 0.085 +0.0%
1841 0.085 +0.0%
1842 0.092 +8.2%
1843 0.107 +16.3%
1844 0.102 -4.7%
1845 0.087 -14.7%
1846 0.086 -1.1%
1847 0.082 -4.7%
1848 0.084 +2.4%
1849 0.083 -1.2%
1850 0.074 -10.8%
1851 0.084 +13.5%
1852 0.084 +0.0%
1853 0.084 +0.0%
1854 0.084 +0.0%
1855 0.084 +0.0%
1856 0.084 +0.0%
1857 0.083 -1.2%
1858 0.083 +0.0%
1859 0.082 -1.2%
1860 0.076 -7.3%
1861 0.086 +13.2%
1862 0.086 +0.0%
1863 0.086 +0.0%
1864 0.086 +0.0%
1865 0.086 +0.0%
1866 0.086 +0.0%
1867 0.073 -15.1%
1868 0.072 -1.4%
1869 0.092 +27.8%
1870 0.087 -5.4%
1871 0.097 +11.5%
1872 0.114 +17.5%
1873 0.114 +0.0%
1874 0.114 +0.0%
1875 0.114 +0.0%
1876 0.102 -10.5%
1877 0.088 -13.7%
1878 0.096 +9.1%
1879 0.096 +0.0%
1880 0.113 +17.7%
1881 0.113 +0.0%
1882 0.114 +0.9%
1883 0.118 +3.5%
1884 0.118 +0.0%
1885 0.112 -5.1%
1886 0.111 -0.9%
1887 0.118 +6.3%
1888 0.118 +0.0%
1889 0.117 -0.8%
1890 0.116 -0.9%
1891 0.135 +16.4%
1892 0.133 -1.5%
1893 0.133 +0.0%
1894 0.13 -2.3%
1895 0.13 +0.0%
1896 0.133 +2.3%
1897 0.133 +0.0%
1898 0.133 +0.0%
1899 0.133 +0.0%
1900 0.139 +4.5%
1901 0.133 -4.3%
1902 0.133 +0.0%
1903 0.133 +0.0%
1904 0.133 +0.0%
1905 0.133 +0.0%
1906 0.133 +0.0%
1907 0.133 +0.0%
1908 0.134 +0.8%
1909 0.135 +0.7%
1910 0.137 +1.5%
1911 0.137 +0.0%
1912 0.137 +0.0%
1913 0.152 +10.9%
1914 0.153 +0.7%
1915 0.153 +0.0%
1916 0.153 +0.0%
1917 0.119 -22.2%
1918 0.118 -0.8%
1919 0.123 +4.2%
1920 0.142 +15.4%
1921 0.152 +7.0%
1922 0.152 +0.0%
1923 0.152 +0.0%
1924 0.156 +2.6%
1925 0.156 +0.0%
1926 0.156 +0.0%
1927 0.156 +0.0%
1928 0.156 +0.0%
1929 0.156 +0.0%
1930 0.155 -0.6%
1931 0.156 +0.6%
1932 0.158 +1.3%
1933 0.158 +0.0%
1934 0.158 +0.0%
1935 0.158 +0.0%
1936 0.155 -1.9%
1937 0.155 +0.0%
1938 0.155 +0.0%
1939 0.155 +0.0%
1940 0.156 +0.6%
1941 0.156 +0.0%
1942 0.156 +0.0%
1943 0.156 +0.0%
1944 0.157 +0.6%
1945 0.157 +0.0%
1946 0.16 +1.9%
1947 0.16 +0.0%
1948 0.125 -21.9%
1949 0.172 +37.6%
1950 0.363 +111.0%
1951 0.373 +2.8%
1952 0.374 +0.3%
1953 0.42 +12.3%
1954 0.468 +11.4%
1955 0.468 +0.0%
1956 0.468 +0.0%
1957 0.468 +0.0%
1958 0.468 +0.0%
1959 0.474 +1.3%
1960 0.468 -1.3%
1961 0.468 +0.0%
1962 0.467 -0.2%
1963 0.467 +0.0%
1964 0.467 +0.0%
1965 0.467 +0.0%
1966 0.475 +1.7%
1967 0.476 +0.2%
1968 0.476 +0.0%
1969 0.476 +0.0%
1970 0.482 +1.3%
1971 0.485 +0.6%
1972 0.485 +0.0%
1973 0.485 +0.0%
1974 0.486 +0.2%
1975 0.521 +7.2%
1976 0.53 +1.7%
1977 0.531 +0.2%
1978 0.546 +2.8%
1979 0.559 +2.4%
1980 0.577 +3.2%
1981 0.577 +0.0%
1982 0.594 +2.9%
1983 0.595 +0.2%
1984 0.595 +0.0%
1985 0.595 +0.0%
1986 0.593 -0.3%
1987 0.593 +0.0%
1988 0.603 +1.7%
1989 0.603 +0.0%
1990 0.622 +3.2%
1991 0.626 +0.6%
1992 0.626 +0.0%
1993 0.626 +0.0%
1994 0.626 +0.0%
1995 0.631 +0.8%
1996 0.63 -0.2%
1997 0.63 +0.0%
1998 0.629 -0.2%
1999 0.629 +0.0%
2000 0.63 +0.2%
2001 0.633 +0.5%
2002 0.651 +2.8%
2003 0.648 -0.5%
2004 0.648 +0.0%
2005 0.648 +0.0%
2006 0.657 +1.4%
2007 0.698 +6.2%
2008 0.698 +0.0%
2009 0.698 +0.0%
2010 0.699 +0.1%
2011 0.7 +0.1%
2012 0.696 -0.6%
2013 0.691 -0.7%
2014 0.689 -0.3%
2015 0.678 -1.6%
2016 0.672 -0.9%
2017 0.666 -0.9%
2018 0.658 -1.2%
2019 0.655 -0.5%
2020 0.653 -0.3%
2021 0.649 -0.6%
2022 0.628 -3.2%
2023 0.612 -2.5%
2024 0.608 -0.7%
2025 0.606 -0.3%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.606 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.529, 1.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.606 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.429, 1.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Participatory Democracy Index in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1950 +111.0% 0.172 0.363
1949 +37.6% 0.125 0.172
1869 +27.8% 0.072 0.092

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.085 0.085 0.085 2
1840s 0.0893 0.082 0.107 10
1850s 0.0826 0.074 0.084 10
1860s 0.0829 0.072 0.092 10
1870s 0.1022 0.087 0.114 10
1880s 0.1152 0.111 0.118 10
1890s 0.1309 0.116 0.135 10
1900s 0.1339 0.133 0.139 10
1910s 0.1382 0.118 0.153 10
1920s 0.1534 0.142 0.156 10
1930s 0.1563 0.155 0.158 10
1940s 0.1555 0.125 0.172 10
1950s 0.4344 0.363 0.474 10
1960s 0.4707 0.467 0.476 10
1970s 0.511 0.482 0.559 10
1980s 0.5925 0.577 0.603 10
1990s 0.6275 0.622 0.631 10
2000s 0.6609 0.63 0.698 10
2010s 0.6804 0.655 0.7 10
2020s 0.626 0.606 0.653 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 8 Belgium 0.633 compare
  2. 9 Estonia 0.621 compare
  3. 10 Ireland 0.619 compare
  4. 12 Finland 0.597 compare
  5. 12 France 0.597 compare
  6. 14 Latvia 0.595 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 participatory democracy index in Costa Rica?
Participatory democracy index in Costa Rica was 0.606 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest participatory democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.7 in 2011.
What is the lowest participatory democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.072 in 1868.
How does Costa Rica rank for participatory democracy index?
Costa Rica ranks 11th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is participatory democracy index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.6%. 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 Participatory Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Participatory Democracy Index in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/participatory-democracy-index/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Participatory Democracy Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,363 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent of suffrage, the freedom and fairness of elections, freedoms of association and expression, as well as the extent to which citizens can engage in regional and local government, civil society organizations, and direct democracy.