Pesticide use in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Pesticide use was 9,451 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Pesticide use in Costa Rica, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2023, pesticide use in Costa Rica stood at 9,451 tonnes.
That represents a change of up 3.5% on the previous year and down 23.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pesticide use in Costa Rica peaked at 14,283 tonnes in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1,447 tonnes, in 1990.
Costa Rica ranks 47th of 211 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Pesticide use in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1,447 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 1,447 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 1,447 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 1,447 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 1,475 tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 1,503 tonnes | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 2,748 tonnes | +82.8% |
| 1997 | 4,105 tonnes | +49.4% |
| 1998 | 7,898 tonnes | +92.4% |
| 1999 | 11,091 tonnes | +40.4% |
| 2000 | 14,283 tonnes | +28.8% |
| 2001 | 10,704 tonnes | -25.1% |
| 2002 | 11,044 tonnes | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 11,385 tonnes | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 11,725 tonnes | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 12,066 tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 12,406 tonnes | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 12,747 tonnes | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 13,317 tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2009 | 12,307 tonnes | -7.6% |
| 2010 | 14,241 tonnes | +15.7% |
| 2011 | 12,811 tonnes | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 12,575 tonnes | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 12,340 tonnes | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 12,104 tonnes | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 11,868 tonnes | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 11,633 tonnes | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 11,397 tonnes | -2.0% |
| 2018 | 10,285 tonnes | -9.8% |
| 2019 | 11,867 tonnes | +15.4% |
| 2020 | 11,842 tonnes | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 9,172 tonnes | -22.5% |
| 2022 | 9,128 tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 9,451 tonnes | +3.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 9,451 tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 1,224 tonnes, 7.7× the median. (73 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 9,451 tonnes is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1,984 tonnes, 4.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Pesticide use 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +92.4% | 4,105 tonnes | 7,898 tonnes |
| 1996 | +82.8% | 1,503 tonnes | 2,748 tonnes |
| 1997 | +49.4% | 2,748 tonnes | 4,105 tonnes |
| 1999 | +40.4% | 7,898 tonnes | 11,091 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3,461 tonnes | 1,447 tonnes | 11,091 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 12,198 tonnes | 10,704 tonnes | 14,283 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 12,112 tonnes | 10,285 tonnes | 14,241 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 9,898 tonnes | 9,128 tonnes | 11,842 tonnes | 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 pesticide use in Costa Rica?
- Pesticide use in Costa Rica was 9,451 tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest pesticide use recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 14,283 tonnes in 2000.
- What is the lowest pesticide use recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,447 tonnes in 1990.
- How does Costa Rica rank for pesticide use?
- Costa Rica ranks 47th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is pesticide use rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Pesticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total pesticide use measured in tonnes of pesticide consumption per year.