Costa Rican beach from above

Costa Rica Economy

Costa Rica's economy in numbers:

Nominal GDP of USD 86.5 billion in 2023.

Nominal GDP of USD 69.1 billion in 2022.

GDP per capita of USD 13,214 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

GDP per capita of USD 16,381 compared to the global average of USD 10,589.

Average real GDP growth of 3.3% over the last decade.

Average real GDP growth of 3.3% over the last decade.

Share of the region's population
Share of the region's GDP

Economic structure:

In 2021, services accounted for 75% of overall GDP, manufacturing 14%, other industrial activity 7%, and agriculture 4%. Looking at GDP by expenditure, private consumption accounted for 62% of GDP in 2021, government consumption 16%, fixed investment 20%, and net exports 2%.

GDP by economic sector
GDP by type of expenditure

International trade:

In 2020, manufactured products made up 57% of total merchandise exports, mineral fuels 0%, food 40%, ores and metals 1% and agricultural raw materials 2%, with other categories accounting for 0% of the total. In the same period, manufactured products made up 76% of total merchandise imports, mineral fuels 6%, food 15%, ores and metals 2% and agricultural raw materials 1%, with other goods accounting for 0% of the total. Total exports were worth USD 17 billion in 2022, while total imports were USD 21 billion.

Key exports
Key imports
Key export partners
Key import partners

Economic growth:

The economy recorded average annual growth of 3.3% in the decade to 2022. To read more about GDP growth in Costa Rica, go to our dedicated page.

Fiscal policy:

Costa Rica's fiscal deficit averaged 5.4% of GDP in the decade to 2022. Find out more on our dedicated page.

Unemployment:

The unemployment rate averaged 11.6% in the decade to 2022. For more information on Costa Rica's unemployment click here.

Inflation:

Inflation averaged 2.9% in the decade to 2022. Go to our Costa Rica inflation page for extra insight.

Monetary Policy:

Costa Rica's monetary policy rate ended 2022 at 9.00%, up from 5.00% a decade earlier. See our Costa Rica monetary policy page for additional details.

Exchange Rate:

From end-2012 to end-2022 the colón weakened by 14.5% vs the U.S. dollar. For more info on the colón, click here.
Year-on-year economic growth eased to 3.7% in Q3 from 5.3% in Q2 due to slower expansions in private spending and fixed investment. That said, exports grew at a faster pace compared with Q2. Our panelists project GDP growth to hover around Q3’s level in Q4. Inflation is set to gather pace, though the ongoing monetary policy easing cycle should support momentum. In other news, in early October, the constitutional court ruled a revised version of the Jaguar Law—which would allow the government to draw up contracts for large infrastructure projects without public tenders and reduce the powers of the Comptroller-General’s Office—unconstitutional. This signals that President Chaves’ bid to boost executive power is unlikely to succeed. Meanwhile, S&P Global recently revised the country’s outlook to positive while affirming its ‘BB-’ rating, citing stronger external buffers.
Projections out to 2034.

47 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 23 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Costa Rica in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2034 on 47 economic indicators for Costa Rica from a panel of 23 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts, and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. This means you avoid the risk of relying on out of date, biased or outlier forecasts. Our Consensus Forecasts can be visualized in whichever way best suits your needs, including via interactive online dashboards , direct data delivery and executive-style reports which combine analysts' projections with timely written analysis from our in-house team of economists on the latest developments in the Costa Rica economy. To download a sample report on the Costa Rica's economy, click here. To get in touch with our team for more information, fill in the form at the bottom of this page.

Costa Rica Economic Data

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Population (million) 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.2 5.3
GDP (USD bn) 64.3 62.3 64.8 69.1 86.5
GDP per capita (USD) 12,662 12,147 12,504 13,214 16,381
GDP (CRC bn) 37,832 36,495 40,327 44,810 47,059
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 5.0 -3.5 10.5 11.1 5.0
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 2.4 -4.3 7.9 4.6 5.1
Domestic Demand (ann. var. %) 0.3 -4.8 8.6 0.9 3.1
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 1.7 -6.9 8.3 2.6 5.0
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) 5.9 0.8 1.7 2.4 0.1
Fixed Investment (ann. var. %) -8.2 -3.4 7.8 1.5 8.6
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) 4.3 -10.6 15.9 18.5 10.0
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) -2.3 -12.9 19.2 8.1 5.2
Unemployment (% of active population, eop) 12.4 20.0 13.7 11.7 7.3
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -6.7 -8.0 -5.0 -2.5 -3.3
Public Debt (% of GDP) 56.4 66.9 67.6 63.0 61.1
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 6.4 14.3 2.2 -5.0 16.4
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, eop) 1.5 0.9 3.3 7.9 -1.8
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) 2.1 0.7 1.7 8.3 0.5
Inflation (PPI, ann. var. %, eop) -0.3 2.7 13.9 8.1 -5.7
Policy Interest Rate (%, eop) 2.75 0.75 1.25 9.00 6.00
Basic Rate (%, eop) 5.75 3.50 2.90 6.35 5.36
Exchange Rate (CRC per USD, eop) 574 609 644 599 520
Exchange Rate (CRC per USD, aop) 589 586 623 649 544
Current Account Balance (USD bn) -0.8 -0.7 -2.1 -2.3 -1.2
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -1.2 -1.0 -3.2 -3.3 -1.4
Merchandise Trade Balance (USD bn) -3.9 -2.0 -2.8 -4.7 -3.2
Merchandise Exports (USD bn) 11.8 12.1 14.8 16.6 18.9
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) 15.7 14.1 17.7 21.3 22.0
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 0.9 2.0 22.9 12.3 13.5
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) -4.0 -10.3 25.5 20.6 3.4
Foreign Direct Investment (USD bn) 2.8 1.8 3.2 3.2 3.9
International Reserves (USD bn) 8.9 7.2 6.9 8.6 13.2
International Reserves (months of imports) 6.8 6.2 4.7 4.8 7.2
External Debt (USD bn) 30.8 30.9 31.6 35.3 37.9
External Debt (% of GDP) 47.9 49.7 48.7 51.0 43.8

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