Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location was 0.178 in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.178
Change on year
down 17.1%
World rank
62nd
of 69 countries
All-time high
0.2477
in 2000
All-time low
0.1774
in 2018
Years of data
19
2000–2021

Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location in Costa Rica, 2000–2021

00.050.10.150.20.252000201020212000: 0.2482001: 0.2462002: 0.2422003: 0.2342004: 0.2362005: 0.2372006: 0.2262007: 0.2122008: 0.2162009: 0.242010: 0.1962012: 0.182015: 0.2022016: 0.1942017: 0.2182018: 0.1772019: 0.2112020: 0.2152021: 0.178

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2021, public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location in Costa Rica stood at 0.178.

The figure is down 17.1% on the previous year and down 9.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location in Costa Rica peaked at 0.2477 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.1774, in 2018.

Costa Rica ranks 62nd of 69 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location: Urban in Costa Rica, 2000 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2000 0.2477
2001 0.2463 -0.6%
2002 0.2417 -1.8%
2003 0.2345 -3.0%
2004 0.2362 +0.7%
2005 0.2369 +0.3%
2006 0.2257 -4.7%
2007 0.2124 -5.9%
2008 0.216 +1.7%
2009 0.2397 +11.0%
2010 0.1962 -18.1%
2012 0.1799 -8.3%
2015 0.2023 +12.4%
2016 0.194 -4.1%
2017 0.2176 +12.1%
2018 0.1774 -18.5%
2019 0.211 +19.0%
2020 0.2146 +1.7%
2021 0.178 -17.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.2337 0.2124 0.2477 10
2010s 0.1969 0.1774 0.2176 7
2020s 0.1963 0.178 0.2146 2

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 59 Brazil 0.1908 compare
  2. 60 Peru 0.1863 compare
  3. 61 Paraguay 0.1813 compare
  4. 63 Ecuador 0.1753 compare
  5. 64 El Salvador 0.1554 compare
  6. 65 Honduras 0.1497 compare

See the full ranking of 69 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 paid employment by location in Costa Rica?
Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location in Costa Rica was 0.178 in 2021, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.2477 in 2000.
What is the lowest public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1774 in 2018.
How does Costa Rica rank for public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location?
Costa Rica ranks 62nd out of 69 countries with data for 2021.
Is public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. 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 paid employment by location: Urban. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location in Costa Rica. Statizoid. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/public-sector-employment-as-a-share-of-paid-employment-by-location-urban/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment by location: Urban
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
69 places, 855 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed