Taxes on goods and services in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Taxes on goods and services was 25.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Taxes on goods and services in Costa Rica, 1972–2024
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of revenue.
Analysis
The most recent figure for taxes on goods and services in Costa Rica is 25.6%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 7.4% on the previous year and down 20.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, taxes on goods and services in Costa Rica peaked at 40.1% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 17.3%, in 1989.
That places Costa Rica 105th out of 156 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 51 years of available data.
Taxes on goods and services in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of revenue | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 37.3% | — |
| 1973 | 40.1% | +7.6% |
| 1974 | 32.2% | -19.6% |
| 1975 | 31.0% | -3.8% |
| 1976 | 31.0% | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 32.8% | +6.0% |
| 1978 | 29.9% | -8.8% |
| 1979 | 28.5% | -4.8% |
| 1980 | 31.0% | +8.9% |
| 1981 | 26.2% | -15.6% |
| 1982 | 25.7% | -1.8% |
| 1983 | 31.3% | +21.7% |
| 1984 | 31.3% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 30.3% | -3.4% |
| 1986 | 28.3% | -6.4% |
| 1987 | 26.5% | -6.3% |
| 1988 | 18.2% | -31.4% |
| 1989 | 17.3% | -4.8% |
| 1990 | 27.6% | +59.0% |
| 1991 | 27.9% | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 35.2% | +26.4% |
| 1993 | 33.3% | -5.4% |
| 1994 | 32.3% | -3.1% |
| 1995 | 32.4% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 39.8% | +22.6% |
| 1997 | 39.4% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 40.1% | +1.8% |
| 1999 | 38.6% | -3.7% |
| 2000 | 39.6% | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 39.9% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 38.0% | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 37.8% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 37.2% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 38.4% | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 37.4% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 32.8% | -12.3% |
| 2010 | 33.0% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 33.6% | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 32.8% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 32.7% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 32.1% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 30.7% | -4.5% |
| 2016 | 29.7% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 30.4% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 26.9% | -11.4% |
| 2019 | 23.9% | -11.4% |
| 2020 | 23.4% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 25.4% | +8.9% |
| 2022 | 23.9% | -6.1% |
| 2023 | 23.9% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 25.6% | +7.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 25.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 26.4%, 97% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 25.6% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 36.3%, 71% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Taxes on goods and services 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | +59.0% | 17.3% | 27.6% |
| 1988 | -31.4% | 26.5% | 18.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 32.9% | 28.5% | 40.1% | 8 |
| 1980s | 26.6% | 17.3% | 31.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 34.7% | 27.6% | 40.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.6% | 32.8% | 39.9% | 8 |
| 2010s | 30.6% | 23.9% | 33.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.4% | 23.4% | 25.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 102 Rwanda 25.9% compare
- 103 Guinea-Bissau 25.8% compare
- 104 Eswatini 25.8% compare
- 106 Papua New Guinea 25.5% compare
- 107 Namibia 25.4% compare
- 108 Philippines 25.3% compare
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 taxes on goods and services in Costa Rica?
- Taxes on goods and services in Costa Rica was 25.6% in 2024, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest taxes on goods and services recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 40.1% in 1973.
- What is the lowest taxes on goods and services recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.3% in 1989.
- How does Costa Rica rank for taxes on goods and services?
- Costa Rica ranks 105th out of 156 countries with data for 2024.
- Is taxes on goods and services rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.