Costa Rica vs Mexico: Public social spending as share of GDP
Costa Rica
12.6%
in 2022
Mexico
10.0%
in 2023
Costa Rica rank
39th
Mexico rank
41st
Public social spending as share of GDP over time
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 12.6% against 10.0% in Mexico, a difference of 2.6%.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.3 times Mexico's.
Across all 12 years both countries report, Costa Rica has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 39th and Mexico ranks 41st of 42 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 2 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Mexico | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 12.0% | 7.2% | 4.8% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 13.2% | 9.6% | 3.6% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher public social spending as share of gdp, Costa Rica or Mexico?
- Costa Rica, at 12.6% against 10.0% in Mexico as of 2022.
- What is the difference in public social spending as share of gdp between Costa Rica and Mexico?
- 2.6%, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Mexico?
- 12 years are reported by both, from 2011 to 2022.
- How do Costa Rica and Mexico rank globally for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Costa Rica ranks 39th and Mexico ranks 41st 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.