Armed forces personnel in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Armed forces personnel was 0.4% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel in Costa Rica, 1990–2020
Source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies. Measured in % of total labor force.
Analysis
In 2020, armed forces personnel in Costa Rica stood at 0.4%.
The figure is up 4.7% on the previous year and down 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel in Costa Rica peaked at 1.5% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2019.
That places Costa Rica 128th out of 171 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of total labor force | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.7% | — |
| 1991 | 0.7% | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -1.5% |
| 1993 | 0.6% | -4.5% |
| 1994 | 0.6% | -3.9% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | +92.8% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | -11.3% |
| 1998 | 1.0% | -5.6% |
| 1999 | 1.0% | -3.0% |
| 2000 | 1.0% | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 1.3% | +35.2% |
| 2002 | 1.5% | +16.1% |
| 2003 | 1.0% | -36.3% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | -45.8% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 0.5% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 0.5% | -4.1% |
| 2012 | 0.4% | -7.4% |
| 2013 | 0.4% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 0.4% | -5.0% |
| 2019 | 0.4% | -4.4% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | +4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More public sector data for Costa Rica
- Arms imports 8.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per capita 1.6 SIPRI trend indicator values per person (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per unit of GDP 0.0001 SIPRI trend indicator values per US$ of GDP (2019)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), gaps filled 8.00 million SIPRI trend indicator values (2019)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 0 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 0 current USD (2024)
- Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values), per square kilometre 156.68 SIPRI trend indicator values per square kilometre (2019)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per square kilometre 0 current USD per square kilometre (2023)
- Tax revenue 13.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel in Costa Rica?
- Armed forces personnel in Costa Rica was 0.4% in 2020, according to The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 2002.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2019.
- How does Costa Rica rank for armed forces personnel?
- Costa Rica ranks 128th out of 171 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies, published as part of Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces. Labor force comprises all people who meet the International Labour Organization's definition of the economically active population.