Statizoid

Rule of Law Index in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Rule of Law Index was 0.935 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.935
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
26th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.953
in 1995
All-time low
0.49
in 1842
Years of data
188
1838–2025

Rule of Law Index in Costa Rica, 1838–2025

00.20.40.60.81183819312025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for rule of law index in Costa Rica is 0.935, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rule of law index in Costa Rica peaked at 0.953 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0.49, in 1842.

Costa Rica ranks 26th of 176 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 188 years of available data.

Rule of Law Index in Costa Rica, year by year

Year Value Change
1838 0.569 —
1839 0.569 +0.0%
1840 0.569 +0.0%
1841 0.575 +1.1%
1842 0.49 -14.8%
1843 0.649 +32.4%
1844 0.644 -0.8%
1845 0.644 +0.0%
1846 0.644 +0.0%
1847 0.644 +0.0%
1848 0.644 +0.0%
1849 0.566 -12.1%
1850 0.566 +0.0%
1851 0.566 +0.0%
1852 0.566 +0.0%
1853 0.566 +0.0%
1854 0.566 +0.0%
1855 0.566 +0.0%
1856 0.566 +0.0%
1857 0.566 +0.0%
1858 0.566 +0.0%
1859 0.566 +0.0%
1860 0.626 +10.6%
1861 0.626 +0.0%
1862 0.626 +0.0%
1863 0.626 +0.0%
1864 0.626 +0.0%
1865 0.626 +0.0%
1866 0.626 +0.0%
1867 0.626 +0.0%
1868 0.626 +0.0%
1869 0.626 +0.0%
1870 0.567 -9.4%
1871 0.567 +0.0%
1872 0.567 +0.0%
1873 0.567 +0.0%
1874 0.567 +0.0%
1875 0.567 +0.0%
1876 0.567 +0.0%
1877 0.552 -2.6%
1878 0.552 +0.0%
1879 0.552 +0.0%
1880 0.552 +0.0%
1881 0.552 +0.0%
1882 0.666 +20.7%
1883 0.666 +0.0%
1884 0.666 +0.0%
1885 0.666 +0.0%
1886 0.669 +0.5%
1887 0.669 +0.0%
1888 0.678 +1.3%
1889 0.678 +0.0%
1890 0.664 -2.1%
1891 0.664 +0.0%
1892 0.585 -11.9%
1893 0.585 +0.0%
1894 0.585 +0.0%
1895 0.585 +0.0%
1896 0.585 +0.0%
1897 0.585 +0.0%
1898 0.585 +0.0%
1899 0.585 +0.0%
1900 0.585 +0.0%
1901 0.585 +0.0%
1902 0.627 +7.2%
1903 0.627 +0.0%
1904 0.627 +0.0%
1905 0.627 +0.0%
1906 0.627 +0.0%
1907 0.627 +0.0%
1908 0.627 +0.0%
1909 0.627 +0.0%
1910 0.627 +0.0%
1911 0.627 +0.0%
1912 0.627 +0.0%
1913 0.627 +0.0%
1914 0.627 +0.0%
1915 0.627 +0.0%
1916 0.627 +0.0%
1917 0.524 -16.4%
1918 0.524 +0.0%
1919 0.524 +0.0%
1920 0.67 +27.9%
1921 0.67 +0.0%
1922 0.67 +0.0%
1923 0.67 +0.0%
1924 0.67 +0.0%
1925 0.67 +0.0%
1926 0.67 +0.0%
1927 0.67 +0.0%
1928 0.67 +0.0%
1929 0.67 +0.0%
1930 0.67 +0.0%
1931 0.67 +0.0%
1932 0.67 +0.0%
1933 0.67 +0.0%
1934 0.67 +0.0%
1935 0.67 +0.0%
1936 0.67 +0.0%
1937 0.67 +0.0%
1938 0.67 +0.0%
1939 0.67 +0.0%
1940 0.667 -0.4%
1941 0.667 +0.0%
1942 0.667 +0.0%
1943 0.667 +0.0%
1944 0.667 +0.0%
1945 0.667 +0.0%
1946 0.667 +0.0%
1947 0.667 +0.0%
1948 0.662 -0.7%
1949 0.839 +26.7%
1950 0.893 +6.4%
1951 0.893 +0.0%
1952 0.893 +0.0%
1953 0.893 +0.0%
1954 0.895 +0.2%
1955 0.895 +0.0%
1956 0.895 +0.0%
1957 0.895 +0.0%
1958 0.895 +0.0%
1959 0.895 +0.0%
1960 0.903 +0.9%
1961 0.903 +0.0%
1962 0.903 +0.0%
1963 0.903 +0.0%
1964 0.903 +0.0%
1965 0.903 +0.0%
1966 0.903 +0.0%
1967 0.912 +1.0%
1968 0.912 +0.0%
1969 0.912 +0.0%
1970 0.912 +0.0%
1971 0.912 +0.0%
1972 0.912 +0.0%
1973 0.915 +0.3%
1974 0.915 +0.0%
1975 0.911 -0.4%
1976 0.911 +0.0%
1977 0.911 +0.0%
1978 0.911 +0.0%
1979 0.911 +0.0%
1980 0.919 +0.9%
1981 0.919 +0.0%
1982 0.92 +0.1%
1983 0.92 +0.0%
1984 0.92 +0.0%
1985 0.92 +0.0%
1986 0.92 +0.0%
1987 0.931 +1.2%
1988 0.931 +0.0%
1989 0.939 +0.9%
1990 0.949 +1.1%
1991 0.951 +0.2%
1992 0.951 +0.0%
1993 0.951 +0.0%
1994 0.951 +0.0%
1995 0.953 +0.2%
1996 0.953 +0.0%
1997 0.947 -0.6%
1998 0.95 +0.3%
1999 0.95 +0.0%
2000 0.95 +0.0%
2001 0.95 +0.0%
2002 0.95 +0.0%
2003 0.95 +0.0%
2004 0.95 +0.0%
2005 0.944 -0.6%
2006 0.935 -1.0%
2007 0.935 +0.0%
2008 0.935 +0.0%
2009 0.938 +0.3%
2010 0.94 +0.2%
2011 0.941 +0.1%
2012 0.941 +0.0%
2013 0.935 -0.6%
2014 0.943 +0.9%
2015 0.942 -0.1%
2016 0.943 +0.1%
2017 0.938 -0.5%
2018 0.94 +0.2%
2019 0.942 +0.2%
2020 0.942 +0.0%
2021 0.942 +0.0%
2022 0.942 +0.0%
2023 0.942 +0.0%
2024 0.935 -0.7%
2025 0.935 +0.0%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.935 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.927, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.935 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.577, 1.6× the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 0.569 0.569 0.569 2
1840s 0.6069 0.49 0.649 10
1850s 0.566 0.566 0.566 10
1860s 0.626 0.626 0.626 10
1870s 0.5625 0.552 0.567 10
1880s 0.6462 0.552 0.678 10
1890s 0.6008 0.585 0.664 10
1900s 0.6186 0.585 0.627 10
1910s 0.5961 0.524 0.627 10
1920s 0.67 0.67 0.67 10
1930s 0.67 0.67 0.67 10
1940s 0.6837 0.662 0.839 10
1950s 0.8942 0.893 0.895 10
1960s 0.9057 0.903 0.912 10
1970s 0.9121 0.911 0.915 10
1980s 0.9239 0.919 0.939 10
1990s 0.9506 0.947 0.953 10
2000s 0.9437 0.935 0.95 10
2010s 0.9405 0.935 0.943 10
2020s 0.9397 0.935 0.942 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 23 Spain 0.947 compare
  2. 24 Czechia 0.945 compare
  3. 24 Uruguay 0.945 compare
  4. 27 Austria 0.932 compare
  5. 28 Barbados 0.927 compare
  6. 29 United States 0.924 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is rule of law index in Costa Rica?
Rule of law index in Costa Rica was 0.935 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest rule of law index recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 0.953 in 1995.
What is the lowest rule of law index recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.49 in 1842.
How does Costa Rica rank for rule of law index?
Costa Rica ranks 26th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is rule of law index 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 rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Rule of Law Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 188 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

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Rule of Law Index in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rule-of-law-index/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Rule of Law Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,303 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which the government complies with the law, courts are independent, laws transparent, justice accessible, corruption absent, and the bureaucracy is impartial.