Investment in Costa Rica

Costa Rica - Investment
Q4 GDP records softest reading since Q1 2021
GDP growth moderated to 9.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, from 12.6% in the third quarter. Q4's reading marked the weakest result since Q1.
Private consumption growth improved to 9.0% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, which marked the best reading since Q1 2012 (Q3: +8.3% yoy) as labor market conditions improved and some Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Government consumption in Q4 was flat (Q3: +3.3% yoy) amid the country’s public budget consolidation efforts. Meanwhile, fixed investment growth accelerated to 14.4% in Q4, compared to the 8.3% increase in the previous quarter.
Exports of goods and services growth slowed to 20.0% in Q4 (Q3: +29.7% yoy). In addition, imports of goods and services grew by 27.3% in Q4 (Q3: +16.1% yoy).
Moving forward to Q1 of 2022, GDP is expected to have expanded at a slower rate than previous quarters owing to a fading base effect, compounded by slower U.S. growth. Political uncertainty will remain a risk to economic growth, as will Costa Rica’s persistently high unemployment rate; a trend which likely worsened in January–March due to surging inflows of refugees from Nicaragua.
FocusEconomics panelists see GDP expanding 3.6% in 2022, which is down 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 2.9% in 2023.
Costa Rica - Investment Data
2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Investment (annual variation in %) | 3.0 | 4.8 | -2.5 | 3.0 | -6.4 |
Costa Rica Investment Chart

Source: Costa Rica Central Bank and FocusEconomics calculations.
Costa Rica Facts
Value | Change | Date | |
---|---|---|---|
Exchange Rate | 571.0 | -0.57 % | Jan 01 |
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Economic News
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Costa Rica: Economic activity records weakest reading since February 2021 in April
June 10, 2022
Economic activity increased 5.0% in April (March: +8.7%).
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Costa Rica: Inflation comes in at highest level since May 2009 in May
June 8, 2022
Consumer prices rose 1.44% from the previous month in May, moderating from the 1.58% increase seen in April.
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Costa Rica: Central Bank carries out fourth consecutive rate hike at April meeting
April 27, 2022
At its 27 April meeting, the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) raised the monetary policy rate by 150 basis points to 4.00%, marking the fourth consecutive hike since December 2021. The decision came amid the highest inflation figure since November 2014 in March and thus went further above the upper bound of the Bank’s 2.0–4.0% target band.
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Costa Rica: Inflation comes in at highest level since November 2014 in March
April 7, 2022
Consumer prices increased 0.88% in March over the previous month, following the 1.09% rise seen in February.
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Costa Rica: Q4 GDP records softest reading since Q1 2021
March 31, 2022
GDP growth moderated to 9.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, from 12.6% in the third quarter.