Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Armed forces personnel as a share of total population was 0.2% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica, 1985–2020
Source: The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026); Population based on various sources (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica stood at 0.2%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica peaked at 0.6% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2020.
Costa Rica ranks 125th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.5% | — |
| 1989 | 0.3% | -45.4% |
| 1990 | 0.3% | -2.5% |
| 1991 | 0.2% | -2.5% |
| 1992 | 0.2% | -2.5% |
| 1993 | 0.2% | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 0.2% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | +97.7% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | -2.3% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | -7.1% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | -2.1% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -2.1% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 0.5% | +39.7% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | +16.3% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | -35.4% |
| 2006 | 0.2% | -43.7% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 0.2% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 0.2% | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 0.2% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 0.2% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | -0.9% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -0.7% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +97.7% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| 1989 | -45.4% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| 2006 | -43.7% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| 2001 | +39.7% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| 2003 | -35.4% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 122 Uzbekistan 0.2% compare
- 123 Central African Republic 0.2% compare
- 124 Guinea-Bissau 0.2% compare
- 126 New Zealand 0.2% compare
- 127 Moldova 0.2% compare
- 128 Cape Verde 0.2% compare
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2987 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.406 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3161 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0907 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica?
- Armed forces personnel as a share of total population in Costa Rica was 0.2% in 2020, according to The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026); Population based on various sources (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2002.
- What is the lowest armed forces personnel as a share of total population recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2020.
- How does Costa Rica rank for armed forces personnel as a share of total population?
- Costa Rica ranks 125th out of 173 countries with data for 2020.
- Is armed forces personnel as a share of total population rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from The Military Balance - International Institute for Strategic Studies, via World Bank (2026); Population based on various sources (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Armed forces personnel as a share of total population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if their training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.