Human Development Index in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Human Development Index was 0.833 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Human Development Index in Costa Rica, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, human development index in Costa Rica stood at 0.833. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human development index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.833 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.677, in 1990.
That places Costa Rica 62nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Human Development Index in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.677 | — |
| 1991 | 0.682 | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 0.691 | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 0.696 | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 0.701 | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 0.706 | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 0.707 | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 0.712 | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 0.714 | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 0.717 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 0.72 | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 0.726 | +0.8% |
| 2002 | 0.73 | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 0.736 | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 0.741 | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 0.748 | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 0.755 | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 0.76 | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 0.769 | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 0.773 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 0.776 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 0.783 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 0.789 | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.795 | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 0.802 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 0.803 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 0.805 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 0.809 | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.813 | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 0.821 | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 0.819 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.817 | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 0.823 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 0.833 | +1.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.833 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.913, 91% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.833 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.777, 1.1× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.7003 | 0.677 | 0.717 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7458 | 0.72 | 0.773 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7996 | 0.776 | 0.821 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.823 | 0.817 | 0.833 | 4 |
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 human development index in Costa Rica?
- Human development index in Costa Rica was 0.833 in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human development index recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.833 in 2023.
- What is the lowest human development index recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.677 in 1990.
- How does Costa Rica rank for human development index?
- Costa Rica ranks 62nd out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is human development index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Development Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, a good education, and a decent standard of living. Higher values indicate higher human development.