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

Costa Rica: Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment was 0.1717 in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
0.1717
Change on year
down 15.6%
World rank
65th
of 75 countries
All-time high
0.2113
in 2009
All-time low
0.1621
in 2012
Years of data
19
2000–2021

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

00.050.10.150.22000201020212000: 0.1992001: 0.2082002: 0.2052003: 0.1972004: 0.2022005: 0.2012006: 0.1972007: 0.1842008: 0.1892009: 0.2112010: 0.1732012: 0.1622015: 0.1922016: 0.1822017: 0.2052018: 0.172019: 0.1962020: 0.2032021: 0.172

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

In 2021, public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in Costa Rica stood at 0.1717.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.6% on the previous year and down 0.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in Costa Rica peaked at 0.2113 in 2009 and was at its lowest, 0.1621, in 2012.

Costa Rica ranks 65th of 75 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 in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in Costa Rica, 2000 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2000 0.1994
2001 0.2081 +4.3%
2002 0.2053 -1.3%
2003 0.1972 -3.9%
2004 0.2019 +2.4%
2005 0.2014 -0.3%
2006 0.1974 -2.0%
2007 0.1845 -6.6%
2008 0.1894 +2.7%
2009 0.2113 +11.5%
2010 0.1729 -18.2%
2012 0.1621 -6.3%
2015 0.1925 +18.8%
2016 0.1815 -5.7%
2017 0.2053 +13.1%
2018 0.1702 -17.1%
2019 0.1956 +14.9%
2020 0.2034 +4.0%
2021 0.1717 -15.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.1996 0.1845 0.2113 10
2010s 0.1829 0.1621 0.2053 7
2020s 0.1875 0.1717 0.2034 2

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 62 Brazil 0.1875 compare
  2. 63 Peru 0.1828 compare
  3. 64 Paraguay 0.1733 compare
  4. 66 Cambodia 0.166 compare
  5. 67 Romania 0.1619 compare
  6. 68 Ecuador 0.1594 compare

See the full ranking of 75 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 in Costa Rica?
Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment in Costa Rica was 0.1717 in 2021, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest public sector employment, as a share of paid employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.2113 in 2009.
What is the lowest public sector employment, as a share of paid employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1621 in 2012.
How does Costa Rica rank for public sector employment, as a share of paid employment?
Costa Rica ranks 65th out of 75 countries with data for 2021.
Is public sector employment, as a share of paid employment rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.7%. 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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

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About this data

Indicator
Public sector employment, as a share of paid employment
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
75 places, 979 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed