Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence was 8.84 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
8.84 Percentage of full-time employment
Change on year
down 0.6%
World rank
31st
of 37 countries
All-time high
17.96 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2010
All-time low
8.84 Percentage of full-time employment
in 2025
Years of data
16
2010–2025

Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Costa Rica, 2010–2025

051015202010201720252010: 18 Percentage of full-time employment2011: 15.5 Percentage of full-time employment2012: 15.6 Percentage of full-time employment2013: 14.7 Percentage of full-time employment2014: 15.1 Percentage of full-time employment2015: 14.9 Percentage of full-time employment2016: 14 Percentage of full-time employment2017: 12.8 Percentage of full-time employment2018: 11.7 Percentage of full-time employment2019: 11.6 Percentage of full-time employment2020: 14.4 Percentage of full-time employment2021: 11.6 Percentage of full-time employment2022: 10.1 Percentage of full-time employment2023: 9.2 Percentage of full-time employment2024: 8.9 Percentage of full-time employment2025: 8.8 Percentage of full-time employment

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of full-time employment.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 8.84 Percentage of full-time employment for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 40.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Costa Rica peaked at 17.96 Percentage of full-time employment in 2010 and was at its lowest, 8.84 Percentage of full-time employment, in 2025.

Costa Rica ranks 31st of 37 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Costa Rica, 2010 to 2025.
Year Percentage of full-time employment Change
2010 17.96 Percentage of full-time employment
2011 15.51 Percentage of full-time employment -13.6%
2012 15.64 Percentage of full-time employment +0.8%
2013 14.72 Percentage of full-time employment -5.9%
2014 15.06 Percentage of full-time employment +2.3%
2015 14.87 Percentage of full-time employment -1.3%
2016 14.04 Percentage of full-time employment -5.5%
2017 12.8 Percentage of full-time employment -8.9%
2018 11.74 Percentage of full-time employment -8.3%
2019 11.59 Percentage of full-time employment -1.2%
2020 14.39 Percentage of full-time employment +24.1%
2021 11.63 Percentage of full-time employment -19.2%
2022 10.12 Percentage of full-time employment -13.0%
2023 9.17 Percentage of full-time employment -9.4%
2024 8.9 Percentage of full-time employment -3.0%
2025 8.84 Percentage of full-time employment -0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 14.39 Percentage of full-time employment 11.59 Percentage of full-time employment 17.96 Percentage of full-time employment 10
2020s 10.51 Percentage of full-time employment 8.84 Percentage of full-time employment 14.39 Percentage of full-time employment 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 28 Greece 9.73 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  2. 29 Denmark 9.72 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  3. 30 Spain 9.51 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  4. 32 Iceland 7.6 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  5. 33 Brazil 7.06 Percentage of full-time employment compare
  6. 34 Norway 6.73 Percentage of full-time employment compare

See the full ranking of 48 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Costa Rica?
Incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence in Costa Rica was 8.84 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 17.96 Percentage of full-time employment in 2010.
What is the lowest incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 8.84 Percentage of full-time employment in 2025.
How does Costa Rica rank for incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence?
Costa Rica ranks 31st out of 37 countries with data for 2025.
Is incidence of low and high pay — low pay incidence rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 40.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/incidence-of-low-and-high-pay-low-pay-incidence/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Incidence of low and high pay — Low pay incidence
Unit
Percentage of full-time employment
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
48 places, 904 data points, 1973–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset contains series on the incidence of low-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning less than two-thirds of gross median earnings of all full-time workers; the incidence of high-paid workers defined as the share of full-time workers earning more than one-and-half time gross median earnings of all full-time workers.