Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Research & development spending as a share of GDP was 0.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Costa Rica, 1996–2023
Source: UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, research & development spending as a share of gdp in Costa Rica stood at 0.3%.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 37.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, research & development spending as a share of gdp in Costa Rica peaked at 0.6% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 1998.
Costa Rica ranks 72nd of 116 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Research & development spending as a share of GDP in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0.3% | — |
| 1997 | 0.3% | -2.2% |
| 1998 | 0.3% | -10.3% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | +38.6% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | +11.9% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | -12.0% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +3.0% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | +14.5% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | -16.5% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +8.2% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | +34.0% |
| 2010 | 0.5% | -7.2% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | +18.3% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | -21.5% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -12.8% |
| 2020 | 0.3% | -11.2% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | -17.0% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | +23.4% |
| 2023 | 0.3% | -0.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.5%, 23% of the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.2%, 1.5× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 4 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 9 |
| 2020s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 69 North Macedonia 0.4% compare
- 70 Ukraine 0.4% compare
- 71 Montenegro 0.4% compare
- 73 Venezuela 0.3% compare
- 74 Macao 0.3% compare
- 75 Mozambique 0.3% compare
More science & technology data for Costa Rica
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 136.03 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 1.36 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 6.98 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 133.51 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 1.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 2.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 660.82 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is research & development spending as a share of gdp in Costa Rica?
- Research & development spending as a share of gdp in Costa Rica was 0.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest research & development spending as a share of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2014.
- What is the lowest research & development spending as a share of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 1998.
- How does Costa Rica rank for research & development spending as a share of gdp?
- Costa Rica ranks 72nd out of 116 countries with data for 2023.
- Is research & development spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO UIS Stat Bulk Data Download Service, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Research & development spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Includes basic research, applied research, and experimental development.