Time required to start a business in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Time required to start a business was 23 days in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Time required to start a business in Costa Rica, 2003–2019
Source: Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in days.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 23 days for time required to start a business in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 68.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, time required to start a business in Costa Rica peaked at 90 days in 2003 and was at its lowest, 22.5 days, in 2016.
Costa Rica ranks 41st of 188 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Time required to start a business in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | days | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 90 days | — |
| 2004 | 90 days | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 90 days | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 87 days | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 90 days | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 74 days | -17.8% |
| 2009 | 73.5 days | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 73.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 73.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 57.5 days | -21.8% |
| 2013 | 23 days | -60.0% |
| 2014 | 23 days | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 23 days | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 22.5 days | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 22.5 days | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 23 days | +2.2% |
| 2019 | 23 days | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 23 days is above the median for high income countries, which is 8.5 days, 2.7× the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 23 days is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 16 days, 1.4× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Time required to start a business in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | -60.0% | 57.5 days | 23 days |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 84.93 days | 73.5 days | 90 days | 7 |
| 2010s | 36.45 days | 22.5 days | 73.5 days | 10 |
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 time required to start a business in Costa Rica?
- Time required to start a business in Costa Rica was 23 days in 2019, according to Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest time required to start a business recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 90 days in 2003.
- What is the lowest time required to start a business recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.5 days in 2016.
- How does Costa Rica rank for time required to start a business?
- Costa Rica ranks 41st out of 188 countries with data for 2019.
- Is time required to start a business rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 68.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Doing Business project, World Bank (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Time required to start a business. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business.