Costa Rica vs North America: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments
Costa Rica
49.1%
in 2025
North America
29.5%
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
8th
North America rank
11th
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments over time
- Costa Rica
- North America
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 49.1% against 29.5% in North America, a difference of 19.6%.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.7 times North America's.
Across all 28 years both countries report, Costa Rica has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 8th and North America ranks 11th of 193 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | North America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 18.1% | 15.7% | 2.5% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 34.3% | 17.8% | 16.5% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 38.1% | 22.0% | 16.1% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 47.4% | 29.2% | 18.1% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments, Costa Rica or North America?
- Costa Rica, at 49.1% against 29.5% in North America as of 2025.
- What is the difference in proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments between Costa Rica and North America?
- 19.6%, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and North America?
- 28 years are reported by both, from 1997 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and North America rank globally for proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments?
- Costa Rica ranks 8th and North America ranks 11th of 193 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), published as Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.