Costa Rica: General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Costa Rica's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) fell 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 14.09% to 14.01%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below 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 2.17 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.97 percentage points in 1991. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.34 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 65% 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.

How it compares

In 2025, Costa Rica had the 83rd highest value of the 131 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 2025 ranking

• Mongolia — 80th of 131: 14.62%
• Madagascar — 81st of 131: 14.61%
• Mauritius — 82nd of 131: 14.19%
• Türkiye — 84th of 131: 13.86%
• Georgia — 85th of 131: 13.85%
• Kosovo — 86th of 131: 13.43%

What this measures

Final consumption expenditure is expenditure on goods and services by resident institutional units for the direct satisfaction of human needs or wants, whether individual or collective. General government FCE includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees), and most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 66 values

General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 14.93% (2025)
• Aruba — 17.91% (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 12.91% (2024)
• Belize — 15.94% (2024)
• Bolivia — 16.53% (2024)
• Brazil — 19.13% (2025)
• Chile — 15.06% (2025)
• Colombia — 15.49% (2025)
• Cuba — 24.82% (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Costa Rica

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$17.09 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$17.09 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$14.42 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 7.26 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$11.4 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 7 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$65.86 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current LCU)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Costa Rica's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP)?

14.01% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 3.66 percentage points from 10.35% in 1960. The highest value was 18.22% in 1980 and the lowest 10.35% in 1960.

How does Costa Rica rank?

83rd highest of 131 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) unusual for Costa Rica?

In 2025, Costa Rica's general government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) fell 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 14.09% to 14.01%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.7 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.CON.GOVT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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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