International Rankings of Costa Rica 2024, country comparisons

This table lists the international rankings of Costa Rica, in all categories that are published in the CIA World Factbook, and those that we derived from them. Additional international rankings of Costa Rica, can be found in the main country ranks menu.
For a definition of each entry, visit the Definitions page.

Ranked Data	Rank	Value	Year
Communications
Broadband - fixed subscriptions - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	34	20.00	2020
Broadband - fixed subscriptions - total	76	992725	2020
Internet users - percent of population	25	83.00 %	2021
Internet users - total	105	4.316 million	2021
Telephones - fixed lines - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	48	11.00	2021
Telephones - fixed lines - total subscriptions	94	491613	2022
Telephones - mobile cellular - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants	18	152.00	2021
Telephones - mobile cellular - total subscriptions	103	7.834 million	2021
Economy
Average household expenditures - on alcohol and tobacco	49	1.20 % of household expenditures	2018
Average household expenditures - on food	44	25.70 % of household expenditures	2018
Budget - expenditures	87	14.001 billion US Dollars	2019
Budget - revenues	93	9.664 billion US Dollars	2019
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)	84	6.10 % of GDP	N/A
Current account balance	159	2.136 billion US Dollars	2021
Debt - external	87	29.589 billion US Dollars	2019
Exchange rates	26	620.79	N/A
Exports	83	23.761 billion US Dollars	2021
GDP (official exchange rate)	81	61.855 billion US Dollars	2019
GDP - composition by end use - exports of goods and services	107	33.30 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - government consumption	67	17.30 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - household consumption	94	64.20 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - imports of goods and services	56	32.90 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - investment in fixed capital	108	17.10 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by end use - investment in inventories	46	1.00 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - agriculture	105	5.50 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - industry	116	20.60 % of GDP	2017
GDP - composition by sector of origin - services	46	73.90 % of GDP	2017
Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income	14	49 %	2020
Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10%	30	36.90 % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population	2014
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%	36	1.50 % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population	N/A
Imports	89	22.298 billion US Dollars	2021
Industrial production growth rate	29	9.83 %	2021
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	144	1.73 %	2021
Labor force	119	2.426 million US Dollars	2021
Population below poverty line	87	21 %	2019
Public debt	105	48.90 % of GDP	2017
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)	89	109.260 billion US Dollars	2021
Real GDP growth rate	47	7.58 %	2021
Real GDP per capita	83	21200 US Dollars	2021
Remittances	120	1	2021
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	95	6.921 billion US Dollars	2021
Taxes and other revenues	163	12.32 % of GDP	N/A
Unemployment rate	23	17.95 %	2021
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) - female	8	56.30 %	N/A
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) - male	15	37.00 %	N/A
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) - total	6	45.40 %	2021
Energy
Carbon dioxide emissions - from coal and metallurgical coke	127	1000 metric tonnes of CO2	2019
Carbon dioxide emissions - from petroleum and other liquids	100	8.114 million metric tonnes of CO2	2019
Carbon dioxide emissions - total	112	8.115 million	2019
Electricity - consumption	101	10.072 billion kWh	2019
Electricity - exports	66	712.000 million kWh	2019
Electricity - imports	78	733.000 million kWh	2019
Electricity - installed generating capacity	100	3.674 million kWh	2020
Electricity - transmission/distribution losses	102	1.321 billion kWh	2019
Electricity generation sources - biomass and waste	46	1.20 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - fossil fuels	159	0.20 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - geothermal	6	14.50 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - hydroelectricity	23	71.10 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - solar	63	0.60 %	2020
Electricity generation sources - wind	23	12.50 %	2020
Energy consumption per capita	103	44.899 million Btu/person	2019
Petroleum - refined petroleum consumption	97	63300 bbl/day	2019
Petroleum - total petroleum production	102	400 bbl/day	2021
Refined petroleum products - imports	82	51320 bbl/day	2015
Environment
Air pollutants - carbon dioxide emissions	108	8 megatons	2016
Air pollutants - methane emissions	119	6 megatons	2020
Air pollutants - particulate matter emissions	108	15 micrograms per cubic meter	2019
Land use - agricultural land	101	37	2018
Land use - arable land	122	5	2018
Land use - forest	44	52	2018
Land use - permanent crops	41	7	2018
Land use - permanent pasture	62	26	2018
Revenue from forest resources	55	1 % of GDP	2018
Total renewable water resources	64	113.000 billion cubic meters	2020
Total water withdrawal - agricultural	69	2.080 billion cubic meters	2020
Total water withdrawal - industrial	74	230.000 million cubic meters	2020
Total water withdrawal - municipal	56	830.000 million cubic meters	2020
Urbanization - rate of urbanization	86	1.50	N/A
Urbanization - urban population	38	83	2023
Geography
Area - land	129	51060 sq km	N/A
Area - total	132	51100 sq km	N/A
Area - water	139	40 sq km	N/A
Coastline	76	1290 km	N/A
Elevation - highest point	38	3819 meters	N/A
Elevation - mean elevation	46	746 meters	N/A
Irrigated land	91	1015 sq km	2012
Land boundaries - total	132	661 km	N/A
Land use - agricultural land	101	37	2018
Land use - arable land	122	5	2018
Land use - forest	44	52	2018
Land use - permanent crops	41	7	2018
Land use - permanent pasture	62	26	2018
Population Density	113	102.95 Persons per sq km	N/A
Military
Military expenditures	44	1 % of GDP	2022
Population
Alcohol consumption per capita - beer	74	2 liters of pure alcohol	2019
Alcohol consumption per capita - total	103	3 liters of pure alcohol	2019
Birth rate	126	10.70 births/1,000 population	2023
Child marriage - women married by age 15	43	2	N/A
Child marriage - women married by age 18	46	17	2018
Children under the age of 5 years underweight	70	3 %	2018
Contraceptive prevalence rate	22	70.90 %	2018
Current health expenditure	42	8 % of GDP	2020
Currently married women (ages 15-49)	130	48 %	2023
Death rate	73	5.50 deaths/1,000 population	2023
Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio	74	15.30 %	N/A
Dependency ratios - potential support ratio	95	6.50 %	2021
Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio	144	45.10 %	N/A
Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio	124	29.80 %	N/A
Drinking water source - improved	1	100 % of population	N/A
Education expenditures	19	7 % of GDP	2020
Gross reproduction rate	101	0.68 %	2023
Infant mortality rate - female	128	6.60 deaths/1,000 live births	N/A
Infant mortality rate - male	135	7.40 deaths/1,000 live births	N/A
Infant mortality rate - total	132	7.00 deaths/1,000 live births	2023
Life expectancy at birth - female	35	82 years	N/A
Life expectancy at birth - male	42	77 years	N/A
Life expectancy at birth - total population	36	80 years	2023
Literacy - definition	2	15	N/A
Literacy - female	17	98 %	2021
Literacy - male	17	98 %	N/A
Literacy - total population	18	98 %	N/A
Maternal mortality ratio	100	22.00 deaths/100,000 live births	2020
Median age - female	74	36 years	N/A
Median age - male	69	34 years	N/A
Median age - total	65	35 years	2023
Net migration rate	40	2.00 migrant(s)/1,000 population	N/A
Obesity - adult prevalence rate	41	25.70 %	2016
Physicians density	39	3.30 physicians/1,000 population	2020
Population	124	5.257 million	2023
Population growth rate	101	0.72 %	2023
Sanitation facility access - improved	10	99 % of population	N/A
Sanitation facility access - rural	98	3 % of population	N/A
Sanitation facility access - total	108	1 % of population	2020
Sanitation facility access - unimproved	85	1 % of population	N/A
Sex ratio - 0-14 years	11	1.05 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - 15-64 years	22	1.01 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - 65 years and over	28	0.85 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - at birth	9	1.05 male(s)/female	N/A
Sex ratio - total population	19	1.00 male(s)/female	N/A
Total fertility rate	138	1.40 children born/woman	2023
Urbanization - rate of urbanization	86	1.50	N/A
Urbanization - urban population	38	83	2023
Transportation
Airports	42	129	2024
Heliports	58	8	2024
Merchant marine - total	132	11	2023
National air transport system - annual freight traffic on registered air carriers	86	11.130 million	2018
National air transport system - annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers	84	1.949 million	2018
National air transport system - inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers	71	39.00	N/A
National air transport system - number of registered air carriers	27	1	2020
Railways - narrow gauge	50	278	2014
Railways - total	93	278 km	2014
Waterways	71	730 km	2011

*CALCULATED FIGURES are those that we calculated from data presented by the CIA World Factbook. For example, we calculated population density by dividing the total population by the land area, the electricity consumption per capita by dividing electricity consumption by the total population, etc.

NOTE: The information regarding Costa Rica on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Costa Rica 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Costa Rica 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.