Statizoid

Free and fair elections in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Free and fair elections was 1 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 172 countries
All-time high
1
in 1844
All-time low
0
in 1894
Years of data
155
1844–2025

Free and fair elections in Costa Rica, 1844–2025

00.20.40.60.81184419342025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for free and fair elections in Costa Rica is 1, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 155 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, free and fair elections in Costa Rica peaked at 1 in 1844 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1894.

That places Costa Rica 1st out of 172 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 155 years of available data.

Free and fair elections in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1844 1 —
1845 1 +0.0%
1846 1 +0.0%
1847 1 +0.0%
1871 1 +0.0%
1872 1 +0.0%
1873 1 +0.0%
1874 1 +0.0%
1875 1 +0.0%
1876 1 +0.0%
1880 1 +0.0%
1881 1 +0.0%
1882 1 +0.0%
1883 1 +0.0%
1884 1 +0.0%
1885 1 +0.0%
1886 1 +0.0%
1887 1 +0.0%
1888 1 +0.0%
1889 1 +0.0%
1890 1 +0.0%
1891 1 +0.0%
1892 1 +0.0%
1893 1 +0.0%
1894 0 -100.0%
1895 0 —
1896 0 —
1897 1 —
1898 1 +0.0%
1899 1 +0.0%
1900 1 +0.0%
1901 1 +0.0%
1902 1 +0.0%
1903 1 +0.0%
1904 1 +0.0%
1905 1 +0.0%
1906 1 +0.0%
1907 1 +0.0%
1908 1 +0.0%
1909 1 +0.0%
1910 1 +0.0%
1911 1 +0.0%
1912 1 +0.0%
1913 1 +0.0%
1914 1 +0.0%
1915 1 +0.0%
1916 1 +0.0%
1917 0 -100.0%
1919 0 —
1920 0 —
1921 0 —
1922 0 —
1923 1 —
1924 1 +0.0%
1925 1 +0.0%
1926 1 +0.0%
1927 1 +0.0%
1928 1 +0.0%
1929 1 +0.0%
1930 1 +0.0%
1931 1 +0.0%
1932 1 +0.0%
1933 1 +0.0%
1934 1 +0.0%
1935 1 +0.0%
1936 1 +0.0%
1937 1 +0.0%
1938 1 +0.0%
1939 1 +0.0%
1940 1 +0.0%
1941 1 +0.0%
1942 1 +0.0%
1943 1 +0.0%
1944 1 +0.0%
1945 1 +0.0%
1946 1 +0.0%
1947 1 +0.0%
1948 1 +0.0%
1949 1 +0.0%
1950 1 +0.0%
1951 1 +0.0%
1952 1 +0.0%
1953 1 +0.0%
1954 1 +0.0%
1955 1 +0.0%
1956 1 +0.0%
1957 1 +0.0%
1958 1 +0.0%
1959 1 +0.0%
1960 1 +0.0%
1961 1 +0.0%
1962 1 +0.0%
1963 1 +0.0%
1964 1 +0.0%
1965 1 +0.0%
1966 1 +0.0%
1967 1 +0.0%
1968 1 +0.0%
1969 1 +0.0%
1970 1 +0.0%
1971 1 +0.0%
1972 1 +0.0%
1973 1 +0.0%
1974 1 +0.0%
1975 1 +0.0%
1976 1 +0.0%
1977 1 +0.0%
1978 1 +0.0%
1979 1 +0.0%
1980 1 +0.0%
1981 1 +0.0%
1982 1 +0.0%
1983 1 +0.0%
1984 1 +0.0%
1985 1 +0.0%
1986 1 +0.0%
1987 1 +0.0%
1988 1 +0.0%
1989 1 +0.0%
1990 1 +0.0%
1991 1 +0.0%
1992 1 +0.0%
1993 1 +0.0%
1994 1 +0.0%
1995 1 +0.0%
1996 1 +0.0%
1997 1 +0.0%
1998 1 +0.0%
1999 1 +0.0%
2000 1 +0.0%
2001 1 +0.0%
2002 1 +0.0%
2003 1 +0.0%
2004 1 +0.0%
2005 1 +0.0%
2006 1 +0.0%
2007 1 +0.0%
2008 1 +0.0%
2009 1 +0.0%
2010 1 +0.0%
2011 1 +0.0%
2012 1 +0.0%
2013 1 +0.0%
2014 1 +0.0%
2015 1 +0.0%
2016 1 +0.0%
2017 1 +0.0%
2018 1 +0.0%
2019 1 +0.0%
2020 1 +0.0%
2021 1 +0.0%
2022 1 +0.0%
2023 1 +0.0%
2024 1 +0.0%
2025 1 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 1 is above the median for high income countries, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 1 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1840s 1 1 1 4
1870s 1 1 1 6
1880s 1 1 1 10
1890s 0.7 0 1 10
1900s 1 1 1 10
1910s 0.7778 0 1 9
1920s 0.7 0 1 10
1930s 1 1 1 10
1940s 1 1 1 10
1950s 1 1 1 10
1960s 1 1 1 10
1970s 1 1 1 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 1 1 1 10
2000s 1 1 1 10
2010s 1 1 1 10
2020s 1 1 1 6

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  19. 1 Colombia 1 compare
  20. 1 Croatia 1 compare
  21. 1 Cyprus 1 compare
  22. 1 Czechia 1 compare
  23. 1 Denmark 1 compare
  24. 1 Dominican Republic 1 compare
  25. 1 East Timor 1 compare
  26. 1 Ecuador 1 compare
  27. 1 El Salvador 1 compare
  28. 1 Estonia 1 compare
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See the full ranking of 172 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is free and fair elections in Costa Rica?
Free and fair elections in Costa Rica was 1 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest free and fair elections recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 1 in 1844.
What is the lowest free and fair elections recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1894.
How does Costa Rica rank for free and fair elections?
Costa Rica ranks 1st out of 172 countries with data for 2025.
Is free and fair elections rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Free and fair elections. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Free and fair elections in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/free-and-fair-elections-row/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Free and fair elections
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
172 places, 17,000 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of whether national elections were free and fair or not.