Costa Rica vs Nicaragua: Universal right to vote
Costa Rica
2
in 2025
Nicaragua
2
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
1st
Nicaragua rank
1st
Universal right to vote over time
- Costa Rica
- Nicaragua
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 2 against 2 in Nicaragua, a difference of 0.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 188 shared years of data; in 1838 it was Nicaragua ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 1st and Nicaragua ranks 1st of 197 countries.
Across the 20 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 1 and Nicaragua in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Nicaragua | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1840s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1850s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1860s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1870s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1880s | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1890s | 0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | Nicaragua |
| 1900s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Nicaragua |
| 1910s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Nicaragua |
| 1920s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Nicaragua |
| 1930s | 0 | 1 | 1 | Nicaragua |
| 1940s | 0.2 | 1 | 0.8 | Nicaragua |
| 1950s | 2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 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, Costa Rica or Nicaragua?
- Costa Rica, at 2 against 2 in Nicaragua as of 2025.
- What is the difference in universal right to vote between Costa Rica and Nicaragua?
- 0, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Nicaragua?
- 188 years are reported by both, from 1838 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Nicaragua rank globally for universal right to vote?
- Costa Rica ranks 1st and Nicaragua 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. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Indicates whether virtually all men and women that are citizens are allowed to vote in national elections (score 2), whether it is only men (score 1), or there is no universal rights to vote for either men or women (score 0). It neither considers informal restrictions nor legal restrictions based on age, criminal conviction, disability, and local residency.