Tax revenue (% of GDP) in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Tax revenue (% of GDP) was 13.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue in Costa Rica, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2024, tax revenue in Costa Rica stood at 13.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.1% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue in Costa Rica peaked at 15.2% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 10.6%, in 1991.
Costa Rica ranks 102nd of 157 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Tax revenue (% of GDP) in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 11.4% | — |
| 1973 | 12.5% | +9.2% |
| 1974 | 13.6% | +9.0% |
| 1975 | 12.4% | -8.7% |
| 1976 | 12.2% | -2.0% |
| 1977 | 12.3% | +1.0% |
| 1978 | 12.7% | +2.8% |
| 1979 | 11.9% | -6.1% |
| 1980 | 11.6% | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 12.4% | +6.6% |
| 1982 | 12.7% | +2.2% |
| 1983 | 15.2% | +20.3% |
| 1984 | 14.7% | -3.3% |
| 1985 | 13.3% | -9.8% |
| 1986 | 13.3% | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 14.4% | +8.9% |
| 1988 | 14.7% | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 13.7% | -6.8% |
| 1990 | 13.1% | -4.7% |
| 1991 | 10.6% | -18.9% |
| 1992 | 12.0% | +13.1% |
| 1993 | 12.0% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 11.6% | -3.8% |
| 1995 | 12.2% | +5.7% |
| 1996 | 12.6% | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 12.6% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 12.8% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 13.1% | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 12.8% | -2.2% |
| 2001 | 13.4% | +4.1% |
| 2002 | 13.4% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 13.6% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 13.4% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 13.6% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 13.8% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 14.9% | +7.3% |
| 2008 | 15.2% | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 13.2% | -13.5% |
| 2010 | 13.0% | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 13.2% | +2.0% |
| 2012 | 13.1% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 13.4% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 13.0% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 13.3% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 13.5% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 13.2% | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 13.2% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 13.3% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 13.9% | +14.4% |
| 2022 | 14.0% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 13.8% | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 13.5% | -2.1% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 13.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 20.7%, 65% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 13.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 15.9%, 85% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 12.4% | 11.4% | 13.6% | 8 |
| 1980s | 13.6% | 11.6% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.3% | 10.6% | 13.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.7% | 12.8% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.2% | 13.0% | 13.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.5% | 12.2% | 14.0% | 5 |
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 tax revenue in Costa Rica?
- Tax revenue in Costa Rica was 13.5% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest tax revenue recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 15.2% in 2008.
- What is the lowest tax revenue recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.6% in 1991.
- How does Costa Rica rank for tax revenue?
- Costa Rica ranks 102nd out of 157 countries with data for 2024.
- Is tax revenue rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. 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 Tax revenue (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Taxes are compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.