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
Source: 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More social development data for Costa Rica
- 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)
- Political rights rating fh 1 (2025)
- Democracy lexical 1 (2025)
- Human rights index vs electoral democracy index 0.931 (2025)
- Liberal democracy index 0.809 (2025)
- Electoral democracy index 0.862 (2025)
- Freedom of association index 0.922 (2025)
- Freedom of expression index 0.915 (2025)
- Participatory democracy index 0.606 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political corruption index in Costa Rica?
- Political corruption index in Costa Rica was 0.206 in 2025, according to 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Political corruption index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 188 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).