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Political Corruption Index in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Political Corruption Index was 0.206 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.206
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
131st
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.508
in 1849
All-time low
0.174
in 2003
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Political Corruption Index in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

0.20.30.40.5183819312025

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

Analysis

In 2025, political corruption index in Costa Rica stood at 0.206.

That represents a change of up 12.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political corruption index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.508 in 1849 and was at its lowest, 0.174, in 2003.

Costa Rica ranks 131st of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 188 years of available data.

Political Corruption Index in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.4 —
1839 0.4 +0.0%
1840 0.4 +0.0%
1841 0.4 +0.0%
1842 0.483 +20.7%
1843 0.401 -17.0%
1844 0.401 +0.0%
1845 0.401 +0.0%
1846 0.401 +0.0%
1847 0.401 +0.0%
1848 0.401 +0.0%
1849 0.508 +26.7%
1850 0.508 +0.0%
1851 0.508 +0.0%
1852 0.508 +0.0%
1853 0.508 +0.0%
1854 0.508 +0.0%
1855 0.508 +0.0%
1856 0.508 +0.0%
1857 0.508 +0.0%
1858 0.508 +0.0%
1859 0.508 +0.0%
1860 0.417 -17.9%
1861 0.417 +0.0%
1862 0.417 +0.0%
1863 0.417 +0.0%
1864 0.417 +0.0%
1865 0.417 +0.0%
1866 0.417 +0.0%
1867 0.417 +0.0%
1868 0.417 +0.0%
1869 0.417 +0.0%
1870 0.428 +2.6%
1871 0.428 +0.0%
1872 0.428 +0.0%
1873 0.428 +0.0%
1874 0.428 +0.0%
1875 0.428 +0.0%
1876 0.428 +0.0%
1877 0.428 +0.0%
1878 0.428 +0.0%
1879 0.428 +0.0%
1880 0.428 +0.0%
1881 0.428 +0.0%
1882 0.428 +0.0%
1883 0.428 +0.0%
1884 0.428 +0.0%
1885 0.428 +0.0%
1886 0.428 +0.0%
1887 0.428 +0.0%
1888 0.428 +0.0%
1889 0.428 +0.0%
1890 0.444 +3.7%
1891 0.444 +0.0%
1892 0.444 +0.0%
1893 0.444 +0.0%
1894 0.444 +0.0%
1895 0.444 +0.0%
1896 0.444 +0.0%
1897 0.444 +0.0%
1898 0.444 +0.0%
1899 0.444 +0.0%
1900 0.444 +0.0%
1901 0.444 +0.0%
1902 0.433 -2.5%
1903 0.433 +0.0%
1904 0.433 +0.0%
1905 0.433 +0.0%
1906 0.433 +0.0%
1907 0.433 +0.0%
1908 0.433 +0.0%
1909 0.433 +0.0%
1910 0.433 +0.0%
1911 0.433 +0.0%
1912 0.433 +0.0%
1913 0.433 +0.0%
1914 0.433 +0.0%
1915 0.433 +0.0%
1916 0.433 +0.0%
1917 0.461 +6.5%
1918 0.331 -28.2%
1919 0.332 +0.3%
1920 0.418 +25.9%
1921 0.418 +0.0%
1922 0.418 +0.0%
1923 0.418 +0.0%
1924 0.418 +0.0%
1925 0.418 +0.0%
1926 0.418 +0.0%
1927 0.418 +0.0%
1928 0.418 +0.0%
1929 0.418 +0.0%
1930 0.418 +0.0%
1931 0.418 +0.0%
1932 0.418 +0.0%
1933 0.418 +0.0%
1934 0.418 +0.0%
1935 0.418 +0.0%
1936 0.418 +0.0%
1937 0.418 +0.0%
1938 0.418 +0.0%
1939 0.418 +0.0%
1940 0.409 -2.2%
1941 0.409 +0.0%
1942 0.409 +0.0%
1943 0.409 +0.0%
1944 0.409 +0.0%
1945 0.409 +0.0%
1946 0.409 +0.0%
1947 0.409 +0.0%
1948 0.418 +2.2%
1949 0.37 -11.5%
1950 0.259 -30.0%
1951 0.259 +0.0%
1952 0.259 +0.0%
1953 0.259 +0.0%
1954 0.259 +0.0%
1955 0.259 +0.0%
1956 0.259 +0.0%
1957 0.259 +0.0%
1958 0.259 +0.0%
1959 0.3 +15.8%
1960 0.3 +0.0%
1961 0.3 +0.0%
1962 0.3 +0.0%
1963 0.3 +0.0%
1964 0.3 +0.0%
1965 0.3 +0.0%
1966 0.3 +0.0%
1967 0.282 -6.0%
1968 0.282 +0.0%
1969 0.282 +0.0%
1970 0.282 +0.0%
1971 0.282 +0.0%
1972 0.282 +0.0%
1973 0.282 +0.0%
1974 0.282 +0.0%
1975 0.284 +0.7%
1976 0.284 +0.0%
1977 0.284 +0.0%
1978 0.284 +0.0%
1979 0.284 +0.0%
1980 0.285 +0.4%
1981 0.285 +0.0%
1982 0.285 +0.0%
1983 0.285 +0.0%
1984 0.285 +0.0%
1985 0.285 +0.0%
1986 0.285 +0.0%
1987 0.285 +0.0%
1988 0.285 +0.0%
1989 0.285 +0.0%
1990 0.264 -7.4%
1991 0.264 +0.0%
1992 0.264 +0.0%
1993 0.264 +0.0%
1994 0.264 +0.0%
1995 0.2 -24.2%
1996 0.2 +0.0%
1997 0.2 +0.0%
1998 0.2 +0.0%
1999 0.176 -12.0%
2000 0.176 +0.0%
2001 0.176 +0.0%
2002 0.176 +0.0%
2003 0.174 -1.1%
2004 0.174 +0.0%
2005 0.174 +0.0%
2006 0.188 +8.0%
2007 0.188 +0.0%
2008 0.188 +0.0%
2009 0.188 +0.0%
2010 0.188 +0.0%
2011 0.185 -1.6%
2012 0.188 +1.6%
2013 0.188 +0.0%
2014 0.179 -4.8%
2015 0.184 +2.8%
2016 0.188 +2.2%
2017 0.204 +8.5%
2018 0.198 -2.9%
2019 0.193 -2.5%
2020 0.193 +0.0%
2021 0.193 +0.0%
2022 0.193 +0.0%
2023 0.193 +0.0%
2024 0.206 +6.7%
2025 0.206 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.206 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.085, 2.4× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.206 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.574, 36% of the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.4 0.4 0.4 2
1840s 0.4197 0.4 0.508 10
1850s 0.508 0.508 0.508 10
1860s 0.417 0.417 0.417 10
1870s 0.428 0.428 0.428 10
1880s 0.428 0.428 0.428 10
1890s 0.444 0.444 0.444 10
1900s 0.4352 0.433 0.444 10
1910s 0.4155 0.331 0.461 10
1920s 0.418 0.418 0.418 10
1930s 0.418 0.418 0.418 10
1940s 0.406 0.37 0.418 10
1950s 0.2631 0.259 0.3 10
1960s 0.2946 0.282 0.3 10
1970s 0.283 0.282 0.284 10
1980s 0.285 0.285 0.285 10
1990s 0.2296 0.176 0.264 10
2000s 0.1802 0.174 0.188 10
2010s 0.1895 0.179 0.204 10
2020s 0.1973 0.193 0.206 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 128 East Timor 0.25 compare
  2. 129 Taiwan 0.214 compare
  3. 130 Jamaica 0.207 compare
  4. 132 Botswana 0.204 compare
  5. 133 Benin 0.191 compare
  6. 134 Malta 0.186 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 political corruption index in Costa Rica?
Political corruption index in Costa Rica was 0.206 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political corruption index recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.508 in 1849.
What is the lowest political corruption index recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.174 in 2003.
How does Costa Rica rank for political corruption index?
Costa Rica ranks 131st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political corruption index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
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 Political Corruption Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Political Corruption Index in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 07 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/political-corruption-index/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Political Corruption Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 25,295 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which a country is affected by political corruption.