Costa Rica's adequacy of social protection and labor programs (% of total welfare of beneficiary households) was 34.66% in 2022, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 10 percentage points from 24.66% in 2012.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 34.66% | 2022 |
| Five years earlier | 30.66% | 2017 |
| Ten years earlier | 24.66% | 2012 |
| Highest | 38.09% | 2008 |
| Lowest | 24.66% | 2012 |
| Average since 2014 | 32.26% | 2014–2022 |
| First recorded | 38.09% | 2008 |
What the numbers say
In 2022, Costa Rica's adequacy of social protection and labor programs (% of total welfare of beneficiary households) rose 0.37 percentage points on 2021 (from 34.29% to 34.66%).
Across the 9 yearly changes before that (2011 to 2021), the average change was +0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.28 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.42 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.57 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2014 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.79 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 69% of the movement over 9 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2022, Costa Rica had the 5th highest value of the 10 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to Costa Rica in the 2022 ranking
What this measures
Adequacy of social protection and labor programs (SPL) is measured by the total transfer amount received by the population participating in social insurance, social safety net, and unemployment benefits and active labor market programs as a share of their total welfare. Welfare is defined as the total income or total expenditure of beneficiary households. Estimates include both direct and indirect beneficiaries.
Limitations: When interpreting ASPIRE performance indicators based on household surveys, it is important to note that the extent to which information on specific transfers and programs is captured in the household surveys can vary a lot across countries. Moreover, household surveys do not capture the universe of social protection programs in the country, in best practice cases just the largest programs. As a consequence, ASPIRE indicators are not fully comparable across program categories and countries; however, they provide approximate measures of social protection systems performance.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 13 values
| Year | Adequacy of social protection and labor programs (% of total welfare of beneficiary households) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 34.66 |
| 2021 | 34.29 |
| 2020 | 36.86 |
| 2019 | 32.44 |
| 2018 | 30.36 |
| 2017 | 30.66 |
| 2016 | 32.24 |
| 2015 | 30.16 |
| 2014 | 28.67 |
| 2013 | no data |
Adequacy of social protection and labor programs (% of total welfare of beneficiary households) in nearby economies
- Argentina — 34.35% (2022)
- Bolivia — 9.43% (2021)
- Brazil — 41.43% (2022)
- Colombia — 25.34% (2022)
- Dominican Republic — 12.57% (2021)
- Ecuador — 28.37% (2022)
- El Salvador — 6.25% (2022)
More social protection & labor data for Costa Rica
- Net migration — 1,000 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 36,395 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, female (%) (national estimate) — 27.37% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, male (%) (national estimate) — 42.65% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate for ages 15-24, total (%) (national estimate) — 35.96% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 44.11% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) — 65.13% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Costa Rica's adequacy of social protection and labor programs (% of total welfare of beneficiary households)?
- 34.66% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2008?
- It is down 3.44 percentage points from 38.09% in 2008. The highest value was 38.09% in 2008 and the lowest 24.66% in 2012.
- How does Costa Rica rank?
- 5th highest of 10 economies with data for 2022.
- Is the latest change in adequacy of social protection and labor programs (% of total welfare of beneficiary households) unusual for Costa Rica?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator per_allsp.adq_pop_tot, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection - Indicators of Resilience and Equity, World Bank (WB), uri: datatopics.worldbank.org/aspire/, note: Data are based on national representative household surveys. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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