Costa Rica vs United States: Share of adult citizens who have the right to vote
Costa Rica
100.0%
in 2025
United States
100.0%
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
United States rank
1st
Share of adult citizens who have the right to vote over time
- Costa Rica
- United States
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 100.0% against 100.0% in United States, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 176 countries.
Across the 20 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 6 and United States in 8.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 50.0% | 35.0% | 15.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1840s | 23.0% | 35.0% | 12.0% | United States |
| 1850s | 5.0% | 35.0% | 30.0% | United States |
| 1860s | 5.0% | 35.0% | 30.0% | United States |
| 1870s | 41.0% | 44.0% | 3.0% | United States |
| 1880s | 50.0% | 43.0% | 7.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1890s | 50.0% | 42.0% | 8.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 40.0% | 41.0% | 1.0% | United States |
| 1910s | 46.0% | 41.0% | 5.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 50.0% | 88.0% | 38.0% | United States |
| 1930s | 50.0% | 90.7% | 40.7% | United States |
| 1940s | 50.0% | 93.4% | 43.4% | United States |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 95.0% | 5.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 100.0% | 97.0% | 3.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1970s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1980s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1990s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 2000s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 2010s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 2020s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of adult citizens who have the right to vote, Costa Rica or United States?
- Costa Rica, at 100.0% against 100.0% in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of adult citizens who have the right to vote between Costa Rica and United States?
- 0.0%, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and United States?
- 188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and United States rank globally for share of adult citizens who have the right to vote?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and United States ranks 1st of 176 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of adult citizens who have the right to vote. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of adult citizens which have the legal right to vote in national elections.