Goods and services expense (% of expense) in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Goods and services expense (% of expense) was 20.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Goods and services expense in Costa Rica, 1973–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
The most recent figure for goods and services expense in Costa Rica is 20.8%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.9% on the previous year and up 105.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, goods and services expense in Costa Rica peaked at 22.9% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 7.1%, in 1986.
That places Costa Rica 43rd out of 154 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
Goods and services expense (% of expense) in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 10.8% | — |
| 1974 | 13.1% | +21.4% |
| 1975 | 14.2% | +8.9% |
| 1976 | 13.9% | -2.3% |
| 1977 | 12.0% | -13.7% |
| 1978 | 11.1% | -7.3% |
| 1979 | 11.1% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 9.5% | -14.7% |
| 1981 | 10.0% | +4.9% |
| 1982 | 11.7% | +17.6% |
| 1983 | 9.3% | -21.0% |
| 1984 | 9.3% | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 9.5% | +2.7% |
| 1986 | 7.1% | -25.6% |
| 1987 | 12.1% | +70.7% |
| 1988 | 15.2% | +25.9% |
| 1989 | 15.5% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 14.6% | -5.3% |
| 1991 | 14.2% | -3.1% |
| 1992 | 14.5% | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 13.4% | -8.0% |
| 1994 | 11.5% | -13.5% |
| 1995 | 11.9% | +3.2% |
| 1996 | 12.5% | +5.1% |
| 1997 | 12.5% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 12.6% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 11.4% | -9.5% |
| 2000 | 11.6% | +2.1% |
| 2001 | 11.6% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 12.0% | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 12.8% | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 11.6% | -9.7% |
| 2005 | 10.5% | -9.4% |
| 2006 | 11.1% | +5.7% |
| 2007 | 11.7% | +5.6% |
| 2008 | 12.2% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 10.9% | -10.2% |
| 2010 | 10.1% | -7.5% |
| 2011 | 10.7% | +5.6% |
| 2012 | 10.3% | -3.6% |
| 2013 | 10.1% | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 10.1% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 9.5% | -6.0% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | +5.6% |
| 2017 | 11.0% | +9.3% |
| 2018 | 9.8% | -10.4% |
| 2019 | 22.9% | +132.2% |
| 2020 | 22.0% | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 22.9% | +4.0% |
| 2022 | 21.8% | -4.7% |
| 2023 | 20.8% | -4.9% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 20.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.6%, 2.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 20.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 15.3%, 1.4× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Goods and services expense (% of expense) in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +132.2% | 9.8% | 22.9% |
| 1987 | +70.7% | 7.1% | 12.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12.3% | 10.8% | 14.2% | 7 |
| 1980s | 10.9% | 7.1% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.9% | 11.4% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.6% | 10.5% | 12.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.5% | 9.5% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 21.9% | 20.8% | 22.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More public sector data for Costa Rica
- Democracy, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Elected parliament, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is goods and services expense in Costa Rica?
- Goods and services expense in Costa Rica was 20.8% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest goods and services expense recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 22.9% in 2021.
- What is the lowest goods and services expense recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.1% in 1986.
- How does Costa Rica rank for goods and services expense?
- Costa Rica ranks 43rd out of 154 countries with data for 2023.
- Is goods and services expense rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 105.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Goods and services expense (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Goods and services include all government payments in exchange for goods and services used for the production of market and nonmarket goods and services. Use of goods and services for own account capital formation is excluded. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.