Costa Rica vs Spain: Democracy
Costa Rica
7
in 2025
Spain
7
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Spain rank
1st
Democracy over time
- Costa Rica
- Spain
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 7 against 7 in Spain, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 14 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Spain ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Spain ranks 1st of 198 countries.
Across the 20 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 9 and Spain in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0 | 2 | 2 | Spain |
| 1840s | 0.6 | 2 | 1.4 | Spain |
| 1850s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Spain |
| 1860s | 1 | 1.6 | 0.6 | Spain |
| 1870s | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.7 | Spain |
| 1880s | 1 | 2 | 1 | Spain |
| 1890s | 2.6 | 2 | 0.6 | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 3.9 | 2 | 1.9 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 3.2 | 2 | 1.2 | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 4 | 0.6 | 3.4 | Costa Rica |
| 1930s | 4 | 3.5 | 0.5 | Costa Rica |
| 1940s | 3.8 | 0 | 3.8 | Costa Rica |
| 1950s | 6.1 | 0 | 6.1 | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 7 | 0 | 7 | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 7 | 1.9 | 5.1 | Costa Rica |
| 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 Spain?
- Costa Rica, at 7 against 7 in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in democracy between Costa Rica and Spain?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Spain?
- 188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Spain rank globally for democracy?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Spain 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).