Costa Rica vs Iceland: Democracy
Costa Rica
7
in 2025
Iceland
7
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Iceland rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Costa Rica
- Iceland
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 7 against 7 in Iceland, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 182 shared years of data; in 1844 it was Iceland ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Iceland ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 19 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and Iceland in 9.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Iceland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1850s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1860s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1870s | 0.7 | 2 | 1.3 | Iceland |
| 1880s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Iceland |
| 1890s | 2.6 | 2 | 0.6 | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 3.9 | 2 | 1.9 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 3.2 | 2.9 | 0.3 | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 4 | 7 | 3 | Iceland |
| 1930s | 4 | 7 | 3 | Iceland |
| 1940s | 3.8 | 6.4 | 2.6 | Iceland |
| 1950s | 6.1 | 7 | 0.9 | Iceland |
| 1960s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 7 | 7 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher democracy, Costa Rica or Iceland?
- Costa Rica, at 7 against 7 in Iceland as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Costa Rica and Iceland?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Iceland?
- 182 years are reported by both, from 1844 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Iceland rank globally for democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Iceland ranks 1st of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Democracy. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Identifies the political regime of a country. It distinguishes between non-electoral autocracies (score 0), one-party autocracies (score 1), multi-party autocracies without elected executive (score 2), multi-party autocracies (score 3), exclusive democracies (score 4), male democracies (score 5), electoral democracies (score 6), and full democracies (score 7).