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Free and fair elections index in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Free and fair elections index was 0.944 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
0.944
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
16th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.959
in 2015
All-time low
0
in 1848
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Free and fair elections index in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

00.20.40.60.81183819312025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 0.944 for free and fair elections index in 2025.

The figure is down 1.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, free and fair elections index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.959 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1848.

That places Costa Rica 16th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Free and fair elections index in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.435 —
1839 0.435 +0.0%
1840 0.435 +0.0%
1841 0.435 +0.0%
1842 0.435 +0.0%
1843 0.435 +0.0%
1844 0.438 +0.7%
1845 0.44 +0.5%
1846 0.446 +1.4%
1847 0.049 -89.0%
1848 0 -100.0%
1849 0 —
1850 0 —
1851 0 —
1852 0 —
1853 0 —
1854 0 —
1855 0 —
1856 0 —
1857 0 —
1858 0 —
1859 0 —
1860 0 —
1861 0 —
1862 0 —
1863 0 —
1864 0 —
1865 0 —
1866 0 —
1867 0 —
1868 0 —
1869 0 —
1870 0 —
1871 0.144 —
1872 0.371 +157.6%
1873 0.371 +0.0%
1874 0.371 +0.0%
1875 0.371 +0.0%
1876 0.214 -42.3%
1877 0 -100.0%
1878 0 —
1879 0 —
1880 0.361 —
1881 0.351 -2.8%
1882 0.351 +0.0%
1883 0.351 +0.0%
1884 0.351 +0.0%
1885 0.351 +0.0%
1886 0.351 +0.0%
1887 0.351 +0.0%
1888 0.351 +0.0%
1889 0.338 -3.7%
1890 0.268 -20.7%
1891 0.268 +0.0%
1892 0.285 +6.3%
1893 0.285 +0.0%
1894 0.206 -27.7%
1895 0.18 -12.6%
1896 0.198 +10.0%
1897 0.203 +2.5%
1898 0.276 +36.0%
1899 0.276 +0.0%
1900 0.276 +0.0%
1901 0.276 +0.0%
1902 0.276 +0.0%
1903 0.276 +0.0%
1904 0.276 +0.0%
1905 0.276 +0.0%
1906 0.276 +0.0%
1907 0.276 +0.0%
1908 0.284 +2.9%
1909 0.307 +8.1%
1910 0.35 +14.0%
1911 0.35 +0.0%
1912 0.35 +0.0%
1913 0.344 -1.7%
1914 0.263 -23.5%
1915 0.263 +0.0%
1916 0.263 +0.0%
1917 0.057 -78.3%
1918 0 -100.0%
1919 0.145 —
1920 0.254 +75.2%
1921 0.254 +0.0%
1922 0.254 +0.0%
1923 0.258 +1.6%
1924 0.299 +15.9%
1925 0.299 +0.0%
1926 0.299 +0.0%
1927 0.299 +0.0%
1928 0.305 +2.0%
1929 0.306 +0.3%
1930 0.306 +0.0%
1931 0.306 +0.0%
1932 0.301 -1.6%
1933 0.3 -0.3%
1934 0.3 +0.0%
1935 0.3 +0.0%
1936 0.296 -1.3%
1937 0.296 +0.0%
1938 0.296 +0.0%
1939 0.296 +0.0%
1940 0.316 +6.8%
1941 0.319 +0.9%
1942 0.319 +0.0%
1943 0.319 +0.0%
1944 0.334 +4.7%
1945 0.337 +0.9%
1946 0.344 +2.1%
1947 0.344 +0.0%
1948 0.138 -59.9%
1949 0.54 +291.3%
1950 0.595 +10.2%
1951 0.633 +6.4%
1952 0.633 +0.0%
1953 0.736 +16.3%
1954 0.869 +18.1%
1955 0.869 +0.0%
1956 0.869 +0.0%
1957 0.869 +0.0%
1958 0.865 -0.5%
1959 0.865 +0.0%
1960 0.865 +0.0%
1961 0.865 +0.0%
1962 0.875 +1.2%
1963 0.876 +0.1%
1964 0.876 +0.0%
1965 0.876 +0.0%
1966 0.889 +1.5%
1967 0.891 +0.2%
1968 0.891 +0.0%
1969 0.891 +0.0%
1970 0.884 -0.8%
1971 0.883 -0.1%
1972 0.883 +0.0%
1973 0.883 +0.0%
1974 0.876 -0.8%
1975 0.875 -0.1%
1976 0.875 +0.0%
1977 0.875 +0.0%
1978 0.881 +0.7%
1979 0.881 +0.0%
1980 0.881 +0.0%
1981 0.881 +0.0%
1982 0.906 +2.8%
1983 0.909 +0.3%
1984 0.909 +0.0%
1985 0.909 +0.0%
1986 0.907 -0.2%
1987 0.907 +0.0%
1988 0.907 +0.0%
1989 0.907 +0.0%
1990 0.93 +2.5%
1991 0.932 +0.2%
1992 0.932 +0.0%
1993 0.932 +0.0%
1994 0.934 +0.2%
1995 0.934 +0.0%
1996 0.934 +0.0%
1997 0.934 +0.0%
1998 0.932 -0.2%
1999 0.932 +0.0%
2000 0.932 +0.0%
2001 0.932 +0.0%
2002 0.939 +0.8%
2003 0.94 +0.1%
2004 0.94 +0.0%
2005 0.94 +0.0%
2006 0.954 +1.5%
2007 0.955 +0.1%
2008 0.955 +0.0%
2009 0.955 +0.0%
2010 0.957 +0.2%
2011 0.957 +0.0%
2012 0.957 +0.0%
2013 0.957 +0.0%
2014 0.958 +0.1%
2015 0.959 +0.1%
2016 0.959 +0.0%
2017 0.959 +0.0%
2018 0.959 +0.0%
2019 0.959 +0.0%
2020 0.959 +0.0%
2021 0.959 +0.0%
2022 0.946 -1.4%
2023 0.944 -0.2%
2024 0.944 +0.0%
2025 0.944 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.944 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.929, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.944 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.768, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.435 0.435 0.435 2
1840s 0.3113 0 0.446 10
1850s 0 0 0 10
1860s 0 0 0 10
1870s 0.1842 0 0.371 10
1880s 0.3507 0.338 0.361 10
1890s 0.2445 0.18 0.285 10
1900s 0.2799 0.276 0.307 10
1910s 0.2385 0 0.35 10
1920s 0.2827 0.254 0.306 10
1930s 0.2997 0.296 0.306 10
1940s 0.331 0.138 0.54 10
1950s 0.7803 0.595 0.869 10
1960s 0.8795 0.865 0.891 10
1970s 0.8796 0.875 0.884 10
1980s 0.9023 0.881 0.909 10
1990s 0.9326 0.93 0.934 10
2000s 0.9442 0.932 0.955 10
2010s 0.9581 0.957 0.959 10
2020s 0.9493 0.944 0.959 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 13 Ireland 0.945 compare
  2. 13 Italy 0.945 compare
  3. 13 Sweden 0.945 compare
  4. 16 Canada 0.944 compare
  5. 16 Greece 0.944 compare
  6. 16 Luxembourg 0.944 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is free and fair elections index in Costa Rica?
Free and fair elections index in Costa Rica was 0.944 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest free and fair elections index recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.959 in 2015.
What is the lowest free and fair elections index recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1848.
How does Costa Rica rank for free and fair elections index?
Costa Rica ranks 16th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is free and fair elections index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Free and fair elections index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Free and fair elections index in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/free-and-fair-elections-index/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Free and fair elections index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,402 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed