Costa Rica: Expense (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Costa Rica's expense (current LCU) rose 5.6% on 2022 (from 12.89 trillion to 13.6 trillion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +15.1% and a typical year strayed about 8.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 67.3% in 1983. 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 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 685.38 billion a year. A straight line explains 97% 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 15.7 trillion for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 105.41 billion, against 1.34 trillion 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 2023, Costa Rica had the 10th highest value of the 80 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 2023 ranking

• Argentina — 7th of 80: 40.42 trillion
• Cambodia — 8th of 80: 22.54 trillion
• Kazakhstan — 9th of 80: 20.84 trillion
• Türkiye — 11th of 80: 8.95 trillion
• Côte d'Ivoire — 12th of 80: 8.76 trillion
• Madagascar — 13th of 80: 7.84 trillion

What this measures

Expense is a decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency 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 51 values

Expense (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 40.42 trillion (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 3.11 billion (2023)
• Barbados — 3.27 billion (2016)
• Belize — 1.01 billion (2017)
• Brazil — 3.55 trillion (2023)
• Chile — 69.28 trillion (2023)
• Colombia — 528.23 trillion (2023)
• Dominican Republic — 1.22 trillion (2023)
• Ecuador — 35.35 billion (2022)
• El Salvador — 9.37 billion (2023)
• Guatemala — 110.36 billion (2023)
• Honduras

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 expense (current LCU)?

13.6 trillion in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1973?

It is up 860,934% from 1.58 billion in 1973 (19.87% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 13.6 trillion in 2023 and the lowest 1.58 billion in 1973.

How does Costa Rica rank?

10th highest of 80 economies with data for 2023.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.TOTL.CN, 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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