Costa Rica vs Gambia: Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government
Costa Rica
94.6%
in 2025
Gambia
94.7%
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
102nd
Gambia rank
101st
Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government over time
- Costa Rica
- Gambia
How they compare
Gambia currently reports 94.7% against 94.6% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 61 shared years of data; in 1965 it was Gambia ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 102nd and Gambia ranks 101st of 174 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and Gambia in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Gambia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 94.2% | 97.2% | 3.0% | Gambia |
| 1970s | 94.6% | 97.2% | 2.6% | Gambia |
| 1980s | 95.7% | 97.2% | 1.5% | Gambia |
| 1990s | 97.9% | 97.2% | 0.7% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 97.7% | 97.2% | 0.4% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 96.3% | 97.2% | 0.9% | Gambia |
| 2020s | 95.4% | 94.4% | 1.0% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher percentage of territory effectively controlled by government, Costa Rica or Gambia?
- Gambia, at 94.7% against 94.6% in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in percentage of territory effectively controlled by government between Costa Rica and Gambia?
- 0.1%, with Gambia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Gambia?
- 61 years are reported by both, from 1965 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Gambia rank globally for percentage of territory effectively controlled by government?
- Costa Rica ranks 102nd and Gambia ranks 101st of 174 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Central estimate of the percentage of territory controlled by the government.