Costa Rican beach from above

Costa Rica Economy

Costa Rica's economy in numbers:

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.

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.
Annual economic growth edged down to 5.1% in the fourth quarter from 5.5% in the third quarter. The deceleration was driven by softer growth in household consumption and contractions in both public spending and fixed investment. More positively, exports growth strengthened on the back of upturns in merchandise exports and tourist arrivals. Despite the year-on-year slowdown, growth accelerated in sequential terms, which suggests that underlying momentum remained strong. Our panelists project growth to lose further steam year on year in Q1 as prices decline at a softer rate. Moreover, weaker growth in the U.S. is likely constraining remittance inflows and hampering exports. That said, monetary policy easing in January should be boosting activity at the outset of 2024.
Projections out to 2033.

45 indicators covered including both annual and quarterly frequencies.

Consensus Forecasts based on a panel of 25 expert analysts.

Want to get insight on the economic outlook for Costa Rica in the coming years? FocusEconomics collects projections out to 2033 on 45 economic indicators for Costa Rica from a panel of 25 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 Datos económicos

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Población (millones) 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.2 5.2
PIB (en millones de dólares) 62.4 64.5 62.4 64.5 68.6
PIB per cápita (USD) 12,425 12,702 12,171 12,460 13,118
PIB (en miles de millones de CRC) 36,015 37,832 36,495 40,113 44,252
Crecimiento económico (PIB nominal, var. anual) 4.9 5.0 -3.5 9.9 10.3
Crecimiento económico (PIB, var. anual) 2.6 2.4 -4.3 7.8 4.3
Demanda interna (% var. anual) 1.7 0.6 -5.0 6.7 2.6
Consumo privado (% var. anual) 1.9 1.7 -6.9 7.0 3.3
Consumo público (var. anual) 0.6 5.9 0.8 1.7 1.9
Inversión fija (% var. anual) 1.6 -8.2 -3.4 11.0 0.8
Exportaciones (G&S, % var. anual) 4.9 4.3 -10.6 15.9 12.1
Importaciones (G&S, % var. anual) 2.9 -2.3 -13.0 16.9 3.5
Desempleo (% de la población activa, eop) 12.0 12.4 20.0 13.7 11.7
Saldo fiscal (% del PIB) -5.7 -6.7 -8.0 -5.0 -2.5
Deuda pública (% del PIB) 51.8 56.4 67.2 68.2 -
Dinero (var. anual de M2 %) -0.4 6.4 14.3 2.2 -5.0
Inflación (IPC, % var. anual, eop) 2.0 1.5 0.9 3.3 7.9
Inflación (IPC, % var. anual, aop) 2.2 2.1 0.7 1.7 8.3
Inflación (IPP, % var. anual, eop) 4.3 -0.3 2.7 13.9 8.1
Tipo de interés de referencia (%, eop) 5.25 2.75 0.75 1.25 9.00
Tasa básica (%, eop) 6.00 5.75 3.50 2.90 6.35
Tipo de cambio (CRC por USD, eop) 605 571 610 642 592
Tipo de cambio (CRC por USD, aop) 577 587 585 621 645
Balanza por cuenta corriente (en millones de dólares) -1.9 -0.8 -0.6 -1.6 -
Balanza por cuenta corriente (% del PIB) -3.0 -1.3 -1.0 -2.5 -
Balanza comercial de mercancías (en millones de USD) -4.6 -3.9 -2.0 -2.8 -
Exportaciones de mercancías (en millones de dólares) 11.7 11.8 12.1 14.9 -
Importaciones de mercancías (en millones de dólares) 16.4 15.7 14.1 17.7 -
Exportaciones de mercancías (% var. anual) 8.5 0.9 2.0 23.3 -
Importaciones de mercancías (% var. anual) 7.7 -4.0 -10.3 25.5 -
Inversión extranjera directa (en millones de dólares) 2.5 2.8 1.8 3.2 -
Reservas internacionales (en millones de dólares) 7.5 8.9 7.2 6.9 8.6
Reservas internacionales (meses de importaciones) 5.5 6.8 6.2 4.7 -
Deuda externa (en millones de dólares) 29.1 30.8 30.9 32.3 -
Deuda externa (% del PIB) 46.7 47.8 49.6 50.0 -

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