Costa Rica vs Panama: Free and fair elections
Costa Rica
1
in 2025
Panama
1
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Panama rank
1st
Free and fair elections over time
- Costa Rica
- Panama
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 1 against 1 in Panama, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 116 shared years of data; in 1904 it was Panama ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Panama ranks 1st of 172 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 13 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Panama | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 0.3333 | 0.6667 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 0.7778 | 0 | 0.7778 | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | Costa Rica |
| 1930s | 1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | Costa Rica |
| 1940s | 1 | 0.625 | 0.375 | Costa Rica |
| 1950s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 1 | 0.4444 | 0.5556 | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1980s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | Costa Rica |
| 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 free and fair elections, Costa Rica or Panama?
- Costa Rica, at 1 against 1 in Panama as of 2025.
- What is the difference in free and fair elections between Costa Rica and Panama?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Panama?
- 116 years are reported by both, from 1904 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Panama rank globally for free and fair elections?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Panama ranks 1st of 172 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Free and fair elections. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Central estimate of whether national elections were free and fair or not.