Costa Rica vs Mexico: Universal right to vote in practice
Costa Rica
2
in 2025
Mexico
2
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Mexico rank
1st
Universal right to vote in practice over time
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 2 against 2 in Mexico, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Mexico ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Mexico ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 20 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 1 and Mexico in 11.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Mexico | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | Mexico |
| 1850s | 0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | Mexico |
| 1860s | 0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | Mexico |
| 1870s | 0 | 0.9 | 0.9 | Mexico |
| 1880s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Mexico |
| 1890s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Mexico |
| 1900s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Mexico |
| 1910s | 0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | Mexico |
| 1920s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Mexico |
| 1930s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Mexico |
| 1940s | 0.2 | 1 | 0.8 | Mexico |
| 1950s | 2 | 1.7 | 0.3 | Costa Rica |
| 1960s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1970s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1980s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2020s | 2 | 2 | 0 | — |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher universal right to vote in practice, Costa Rica or Mexico?
- Costa Rica, at 2 against 2 in Mexico as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote in practice between Costa Rica and Mexico?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Mexico?
- 188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Mexico rank globally for universal right to vote in practice?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Mexico ranks 1st of 197 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Lexical Index (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Universal right to vote in practice. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all adult citizens have the right to vote in practice (score 2), only men have broad voting rights in practice (score 1), or there are no broad voting rights in practice (score 0).