International tourist trips in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: International tourist trips was 2.92 million in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
2.92 million
Change on year
up 6.1%
World rank
66th
of 203 countries
All-time high
3.14 million
in 2019
All-time low
781,000
in 1996
Years of data
30
1995–2024

International tourist trips in Costa Rica, 1995–2024

1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M3.0M1995200920241995: 785.0k1996: 781.0k1997: 811.0k1998: 943.0k1999: 1.0M2000: 1.1M2001: 1.1M2002: 1.1M2003: 1.2M2004: 1.5M2005: 1.7M2006: 1.7M2007: 2.0M2008: 2.1M2009: 1.9M2010: 2.1M2011: 2.2M2012: 2.3M2013: 2.4M2014: 2.5M2015: 2.7M2016: 2.9M2017: 3.0M2018: 3.0M2019: 3.1M2020: 1.0M2021: 1.3M2022: 2.3M2023: 2.8M2024: 2.9M

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2024, international tourist trips in Costa Rica stood at 2.92 million.

That represents a change of up 6.1% on the previous year and up 15.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, international tourist trips in Costa Rica peaked at 3.14 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 781,000, in 1996.

That places Costa Rica 66th out of 203 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.

International tourist trips in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for International tourist trips in Costa Rica, 1995 to 2024.
Year Value Change
1995 785,000 —
1996 781,000 -0.5%
1997 811,000 +3.8%
1998 943,000 +16.3%
1999 1.03 million +9.4%
2000 1.09 million +5.4%
2001 1.13 million +4.0%
2002 1.11 million -1.6%
2003 1.24 million +11.3%
2004 1.45 million +17.3%
2005 1.68 million +15.6%
2006 1.73 million +2.7%
2007 1.98 million +14.8%
2008 2.09 million +5.5%
2009 1.92 million -7.9%
2010 2.10 million +9.2%
2011 2.19 million +4.4%
2012 2.34 million +6.9%
2013 2.43 million +3.6%
2014 2.53 million +4.1%
2015 2.66 million +5.3%
2016 2.92 million +10.0%
2017 2.96 million +1.2%
2018 3.02 million +1.9%
2019 3.14 million +4.0%
2020 1.01 million -67.8%
2021 1.35 million +33.1%
2022 2.35 million +74.4%
2023 2.75 million +17.1%
2024 2.92 million +6.1%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 2.92 million is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.67 million, 80% of the median. (78 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 2.92 million is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 770,950, 3.8× the median. (40 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where International tourist trips 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.

YearChange FromTo
2020 -67.8% 3.14 million 1.01 million
2022 +74.4% 1.35 million 2.35 million

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 870,400 781,000 1.03 million 5
2000s 1.54 million 1.09 million 2.09 million 10
2010s 2.63 million 2.10 million 3.14 million 10
2020s 2.08 million 1.01 million 2.92 million 5

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 63 El Salvador 3.19 million compare
  2. 64 New Zealand 3.18 million compare
  3. 65 Uruguay 3.06 million compare
  4. 67 Oman 2.66 million compare
  5. 68 Philippines 2.65 million compare
  6. 69 Qatar 2.56 million compare

See the full ranking of 203 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is international tourist trips in Costa Rica?
International tourist trips in Costa Rica was 2.92 million in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest international tourist trips recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 3.14 million in 2019.
What is the lowest international tourist trips recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 781,000 in 1996.
How does Costa Rica rank for international tourist trips?
Costa Rica ranks 66th out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
Is international tourist trips rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of International tourist trips. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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International tourist trips in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/international-tourist-trips/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
International tourist trips
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
203 places, 5,187 data points, 1995–2024
Last refreshed