Costa Rica: Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Costa Rica's customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) rose 0.21 percentage points on 2023 (from 2.59% to 2.8%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.61 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.62 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 16 percentage points in 1988 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.1 percentage points in 1990. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.21 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 92% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 1.83% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.2%, against 0.61% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Costa Rica had the 45th highest value of the 65 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 2024 ranking

• Türkiye — 41st of 65: 2.99%
• Ukraine — 42nd of 65: 2.96%
• Mexico — 43rd of 65: 2.82%
• China — 45th of 65: 2.65%
• United States — 46th of 65: 2.65%
• Papua New Guinea — 47th of 65: 2.5%

What this measures

Taxes and duties on imports are taxes on goods and services that become payable at the moment when goods enter the economic territory or when services are delivered by non-resident producers to residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of tax revenue which includes compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 53 values

Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 5.98% (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 9.45% (2024)
• Barbados — 9.23% (2016)
• Brazil — 4.27% (2024)
• Chile — 1.18% (2024)
• Colombia — 2.32% (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 5.52% (2024)
• Ecuador — 8.33% (2022)
• El Salvador — 6.68% (2024)
• Guatemala

More public sector data for Costa Rica

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 0 (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 0 (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0% (2025)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 2.62 trillion (2024)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 18.37% (2024)
• Social contributions (current LCU) — 4.93 trillion (2024)
• Social contributions (% of revenue) — 34.59% (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU) — 13.66 trillion (2024)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 27.42% (2024)
• Taxes on exports (current LCU)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Costa Rica's customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue)?

2.8% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is down 19.54 percentage points from 22.34% in 1972. The highest value was 39.79% in 1988 and the lowest 2.59% in 2023.

How does Costa Rica rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.IMPT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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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