Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates was 6.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Costa Rica, 1990–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Costa Rica stood at 6.3%.
That represents a change of down 8.6% on the previous year and down 24.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Costa Rica peaked at 16.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 3.9%, in 1992.
That places Costa Rica 71st out of 185 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.5% | — |
| 1991 | 5.4% | +19.1% |
| 1992 | 3.9% | -26.9% |
| 1993 | 4.0% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 4.0% | +2.3% |
| 1995 | 5.2% | +28.0% |
| 1996 | 6.2% | +19.0% |
| 1997 | 5.7% | -7.8% |
| 1998 | 5.3% | -6.2% |
| 1999 | 5.9% | +10.7% |
| 2000 | 5.1% | -13.8% |
| 2001 | 5.9% | +16.4% |
| 2002 | 6.3% | +7.1% |
| 2003 | 6.6% | +3.5% |
| 2004 | 6.4% | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 6.6% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 5.7% | -12.6% |
| 2007 | 4.5% | -21.8% |
| 2008 | 4.8% | +6.5% |
| 2009 | 7.7% | +61.3% |
| 2010 | 7.2% | -7.0% |
| 2011 | 9.5% | +32.7% |
| 2012 | 9.1% | -4.3% |
| 2013 | 8.2% | -9.8% |
| 2014 | 8.5% | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 8.4% | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 8.1% | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 7.7% | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 9.0% | +16.6% |
| 2019 | 10.8% | +19.9% |
| 2020 | 16.4% | +52.0% |
| 2021 | 15.1% | -7.9% |
| 2022 | 11.3% | -25.2% |
| 2023 | 8.3% | -26.5% |
| 2024 | 6.9% | -16.7% |
| 2025 | 6.3% | -8.6% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 6.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.9%, 1.3× the median. (77 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 6.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 6.3%, 1.0× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.0% | 3.9% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.0% | 4.5% | 7.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.7% | 7.2% | 10.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.7% | 6.3% | 16.4% | 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 unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Costa Rica?
- Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates in Costa Rica was 6.3% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 16.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.9% in 1992.
- How does Costa Rica rank for unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates?
- Costa Rica ranks 71st out of 185 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Unemployment rates: modeled vs. national estimates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the labor force without work, but actively looking for a job and available to start soon. Figures refer to national estimates and may not be fully comparable across countries.