Colombia vs Costa Rica: Public social spending as share of GDP
Colombia
14.1%
in 2023
Costa Rica
12.6%
in 2022
Colombia rank
37th
Costa Rica rank
39th
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Colombia currently reports 14.1% against 12.6% in Costa Rica, a difference of 1.5%.
That makes Colombia's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
Across all 12 years both countries report, Colombia has been ahead every year.
Colombia ranks 37th and Costa Rica ranks 39th of 42 countries.
Colombia has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Colombia | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 13.7% | 12.0% | 1.7% | Colombia |
| 2020s | 15.4% | 13.2% | 2.2% | Colombia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Colombia or Costa Rica?
- Colombia, at 14.1% against 12.6% in Costa Rica as of 2023.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Colombia and Costa Rica?
- 1.5%, with Colombia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Colombia and Costa Rica?
- 12 years are reported by both, from 2011 to 2022.
- How do Colombia and Costa Rica rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Colombia ranks 37th and Costa Rica ranks 39th of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.