Costa Rica vs Spain: Free and fair elections
Costa Rica
1
in 2025
Spain
1
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Spain rank
1st
Free and fair elections over time
- Costa Rica
- Spain
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 1 against 1 in Spain, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 121 shared years of data; in 1844 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Spain ranks 1st of 172 countries.
Across the 15 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 7 and Spain in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1870s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1880s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1890s | 0.7 | 0 | 0.7 | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 0.7778 | 1 | 0.2222 | Spain |
| 1920s | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0 | — |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1960s | 1 | 0 | 1 | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 1 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 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 free and fair elections, Costa Rica or Spain?
- Costa Rica, at 1 against 1 in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in free and fair elections between Costa Rica and Spain?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Spain?
- 121 years are reported by both, from 1844 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Spain rank globally for free and fair elections?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Spain 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.