Costa Rica vs Portugal: Competitive elections
Costa Rica
1
in 2025
Portugal
1
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Portugal rank
1st
Competitive elections over time
- Costa Rica
- Portugal
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 1 against 1 in Portugal, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Portugal ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Portugal ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 20 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Portugal | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1900s | 0.9 | 0 | 0.9 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1930s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1940s | 0.9 | 0 | 0.9 | Costa Rica |
| 1950s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 1 | 0.4 | 0.6 | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher competitive elections, Costa Rica or Portugal?
- Costa Rica, at 1 against 1 in Portugal as of 2025.
- What is the difference in competitive elections between Costa Rica and Portugal?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Portugal?
- 188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Portugal rank globally for competitive elections?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Portugal ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Competitive elections. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Whether the outcomes of elections are uncertain because their timing is not violated, voters are not systematically coerced, and election fraud is not consequential.