Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment was 0.215 in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.215
World rank
53rd
of 59 countries
All-time high
0.2899
in 2005
All-time low
0.215
in 2021
Years of data
16
2000–2021

Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica, 2000–2021

00.10.20.32000201020212000: 0.282001: 0.2862002: 0.2862003: 0.2792004: 0.2772005: 0.292006: 0.2752007: 0.2582008: 0.2572009: 0.2852010: 0.242012: 0.2242015: 0.2742016: 0.2642017: 0.2612021: 0.215

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 0.215 for public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.

The figure is down 10.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica peaked at 0.2899 in 2005 and was at its lowest, 0.215, in 2021.

Costa Rica ranks 53rd of 59 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica, 2000 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2000 0.2796
2001 0.286 +2.3%
2002 0.2859 -0.0%
2003 0.2794 -2.3%
2004 0.2767 -1.0%
2005 0.2899 +4.8%
2006 0.2749 -5.2%
2007 0.2583 -6.0%
2008 0.2572 -0.4%
2009 0.2848 +10.7%
2010 0.2397 -15.8%
2012 0.2238 -6.6%
2015 0.274 +22.4%
2016 0.2644 -3.5%
2017 0.2612 -1.2%
2021 0.215 -17.7%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.2773 0.2572 0.2899 10
2010s 0.2526 0.2238 0.274 5
2020s 0.215 0.215 0.215 1

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 50 Cyprus 0.227 compare
  2. 51 Brazil 0.2257 compare
  3. 52 Uruguay 0.2248 compare
  4. 54 Serbia 0.2008 compare
  5. 55 Bulgaria 0.1997 compare
  6. 56 Chile 0.1709 compare

See the full ranking of 59 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica?
Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica was 0.215 in 2021, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest public sector employment, as a share of formal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.2899 in 2005.
What is the lowest public sector employment, as a share of formal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.215 in 2021.
How does Costa Rica rank for public sector employment, as a share of formal employment?
Costa Rica ranks 53rd out of 59 countries with data for 2021.
Is public sector employment, as a share of formal employment rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment in Costa Rica. Statizoid. Retrieved 01 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-employment-as-a-share-of-formal-employment/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment, as a share of formal employment
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
59 places, 781 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed