Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was 0.4111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in Costa Rica, 1996–2025
Source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Measured in approx. -2.5 to +2.5.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government effectiveness - governance estimate in Costa Rica is 0.4111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, measured in 2025.
The figure is up 4.9% on the previous year and down 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government effectiveness - governance estimate in Costa Rica peaked at 0.5696 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2012 and was at its lowest, -0.0154 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 1998.
That places Costa Rica 71st out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | -0.0109 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | — |
| 1998 | -0.0154 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +41.4% |
| 2000 | 0.101 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -755.1% |
| 2002 | 0.2164 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +114.2% |
| 2003 | 0.2105 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 0.2799 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +33.0% |
| 2005 | 0.2564 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -8.4% |
| 2006 | 0.1902 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -25.8% |
| 2007 | 0.2571 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +35.2% |
| 2008 | 0.4399 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +71.1% |
| 2009 | 0.5455 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +24.0% |
| 2010 | 0.5453 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.5118 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -6.1% |
| 2012 | 0.5696 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +11.3% |
| 2013 | 0.4756 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -16.5% |
| 2014 | 0.5049 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +6.2% |
| 2015 | 0.4809 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -4.7% |
| 2016 | 0.4187 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -12.9% |
| 2017 | 0.4348 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 0.4743 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +9.1% |
| 2019 | 0.4336 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -8.6% |
| 2020 | 0.2831 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -34.7% |
| 2021 | 0.3016 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -28.1% |
| 2023 | 0.3941 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +81.8% |
| 2024 | 0.3919 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.6% |
| 2025 | 0.4111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | +4.9% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.4111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.05 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 39% of the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.4111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.043 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 9.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +755.1% | -0.0154 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.101 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | -0.0132 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.0154 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | -0.0109 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 2 |
| 2000s | 0.2774 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.101 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.5455 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.485 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.4187 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.5696 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3331 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.2168 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 0.4111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
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 government effectiveness - governance estimate in Costa Rica?
- Government effectiveness - governance estimate in Costa Rica was 0.4111 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025, according to The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG).
- What is the highest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5696 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2012.
- What is the lowest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.0154 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 1998.
- How does Costa Rica rank for government effectiveness - governance estimate?
- Costa Rica ranks 71st out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is government effectiveness - governance estimate rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG), published as part of Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Government Effectiveness (GE) captures perceptions of the quality of public services, the civil service, policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of a government’s decisions. Governance estimate from the aggregation model, in units of a standard normal distribution, i.e. ranging from approximately -2.5 to 2.5. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) standard error. The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance estimate is based. The standard error indicates the precision of the governance estimate. Larger values indicate less precise estimates. A 90% confidence interval for the governance estimate is given by the estimate +/- 1.64 times the standard error.