Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of population using safely managed sanitation was 26.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Costa Rica, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population using safely managed sanitation in Costa Rica is 26.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using safely managed sanitation in Costa Rica peaked at 26.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 22.6%, in 2012.
That places Costa Rica 121st out of 150 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 24.0% | — |
| 2001 | 23.8% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 23.7% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 23.5% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 23.3% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 23.2% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 23.0% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 22.9% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 22.8% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 22.7% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 22.6% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 22.6% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 22.8% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 23.1% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 23.4% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 23.8% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 24.1% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 24.4% | +1.3% |
| 2019 | 24.7% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 25.0% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 25.3% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 25.6% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 26.0% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 26.3% | +1.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 26.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 92.1%, 29% of the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 26.3% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 43.4%, 61% of the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 23.3% | 22.7% | 24.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.4% | 22.6% | 24.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.6% | 25.0% | 26.3% | 5 |
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 share of population using safely managed sanitation in Costa Rica?
- Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Costa Rica was 26.3% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population using safely managed sanitation recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 26.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of population using safely managed sanitation recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.6% in 2012.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of population using safely managed sanitation?
- Costa Rica ranks 121st out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using safely managed sanitation rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population using safely managed sanitation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of people using improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households and where excreta are safely disposed in situ or transported and treated off-site.