Number of significant earthquakes in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Number of significant earthquakes was 1 events in 2017. ▲ Rising
Number of significant earthquakes in Costa Rica, 1579–2017
Source: National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in events.
Analysis
In 2017, number of significant earthquakes in Costa Rica stood at 1 events. That is the lowest value across all 29 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of significant earthquakes in Costa Rica peaked at 3 events in 1990 and was at its lowest, 1 events, in 1579.
That places Costa Rica 21st out of 97 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1570s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1740s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1790s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1820s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1840s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1850s | 2 events | 2 events | 2 events | 1 |
| 1880s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
| 1900s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 2 |
| 1910s | 1.5 events | 1 events | 2 events | 2 |
| 1920s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1940s | 2 events | 2 events | 2 events | 1 |
| 1950s | 1.33 events | 1 events | 2 events | 3 |
| 1970s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 1 |
| 1980s | 2 events | 2 events | 2 events | 1 |
| 1990s | 2 events | 1 events | 3 events | 3 |
| 2000s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
| 2010s | 1 events | 1 events | 1 events | 3 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 21 Albania 1 events compare
- 21 Algeria 1 events compare
- 21 Antarctica 1 events compare
- 21 Argentina 1 events compare
- 21 Armenia 1 events compare
- 21 Australia 1 events compare
- 21 Austria 1 events compare
- 21 Azerbaijan 1 events compare
- 21 Bangladesh 1 events compare
- 21 Bolivia 1 events compare
- 21 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 events compare
- 21 Brazil 1 events compare
- 21 Bulgaria 1 events compare
- 21 Canada 1 events compare
- 21 Chile 1 events compare
- 21 China 1 events compare
- 21 Colombia 1 events compare
- 21 Congo 1 events compare
- 21 Cuba 1 events compare
- 21 Ecuador 1 events compare
- 21 Egypt 1 events compare
- 21 El Salvador 1 events compare
- 21 Eritrea 1 events compare
- 21 Ethiopia 1 events compare
- 21 France 1 events compare
- 21 Georgia 1 events compare
- 21 Germany 1 events compare
- 21 Ghana 1 events compare
- 21 Guatemala 1 events compare
- 21 Haiti 1 events compare
- 21 Honduras 1 events compare
- 21 Iceland 1 events compare
- 21 Iraq 1 events compare
- 21 Israel 1 events compare
- 21 Jamaica 1 events compare
- 21 Kazakhstan 1 events compare
- 21 Kyrgyzstan 1 events compare
- 21 Lebanon 1 events compare
- 21 Mongolia 1 events compare
- 21 Montenegro 1 events compare
- 21 Morocco 1 events compare
- 21 Myanmar 1 events compare
- 21 Nepal 1 events compare
- 21 North Korea 1 events compare
- 21 North Macedonia 1 events compare
- 21 Pakistan 1 events compare
- 21 Panama 1 events compare
- 21 Papua New Guinea 1 events compare
- 21 Poland 1 events compare
- 21 Portugal 1 events compare
- 21 Romania 1 events compare
- 21 Russia 1 events compare
- 21 Rwanda 1 events compare
- 21 Samoa 1 events compare
- 21 Serbia 1 events compare
- 21 Slovenia 1 events compare
- 21 Solomon Islands 1 events compare
- 21 South Africa 1 events compare
- 21 South Korea 1 events compare
- 21 Spain 1 events compare
- 21 Switzerland 1 events compare
- 21 Syria 1 events compare
- 21 Taiwan 1 events compare
- 21 Tajikistan 1 events compare
- 21 Tanzania 1 events compare
- 21 Tonga 1 events compare
- 21 Tunisia 1 events compare
- 21 Turkmenistan 1 events compare
- 21 United Kingdom 1 events compare
- 21 United States 1 events compare
- 21 Uzbekistan 1 events compare
- 21 Vanuatu 1 events compare
- 21 Vietnam 1 events compare
- 21 Yemen 1 events compare
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.2864 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8623 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.1052 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.3865 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.3144 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 143 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of significant earthquakes in Costa Rica?
- Number of significant earthquakes in Costa Rica was 1 events in 2017, according to National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of significant earthquakes recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 3 events in 1990.
- What is the lowest number of significant earthquakes recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1 events in 1579.
- How does Costa Rica rank for number of significant earthquakes?
- Costa Rica ranks 21st out of 97 countries with data for 2017.
- Is number of significant earthquakes rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of significant earthquakes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
A significant earthquake meets at least one of the following: caused deaths, moderate damage ($1 million or more), a magnitude 7.5 or greater, Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) X or greater, or generated a tsunami. Due to data availability, recent data will be more complete than older historical estimates.