Costa Rica's researchers in R&D (per million people) was 507.76 in 2023, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 41.43% from 359 in 2013 (3.53% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 507.76 | 2023 |
| Five years earlier | 349.49 | 2018 |
| Ten years earlier | 359 | 2013 |
| Highest | 574.92 | 2014 |
| Lowest | 110.08 | 2004 |
| Average since 2014 | 454.51 | 2014–2023 |
| First recorded | 133.4 | 2003 |
What the numbers say
In 2023, Costa Rica's researchers in R&D (per million people) rose 45.28 on 2022 (from 462.47 to 507.76).
Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2022), the average change was +11.92 and a typical year strayed about 84.44 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 215.91 in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 146.42 in 2017. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 12% of the movement over 9 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2023, Costa Rica had the 38th highest value of the 43 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 507.76 | 2023 |
| High income | 4,607 | 2022 |
Closest to Costa Rica in the 2023 ranking
What this measures
The number of researchers engaged in Research &Development (R&D), expressed as per million. Researchers are professionals who conduct research and improve or develop concepts, theories, models techniques instrumentation, software of operational methods. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development.
Limitations: Estimates of the resources allocated to R&D are affected by national characteristics such as the periodicity and coverage of national R&D surveys across institutional sectors and industries; and the use of different sampling and estimation methods. R&D typically involves a few large performers, hence R&D surveys use various techniques to maintain up-to-date registers of known performers, while attempting to identify new or occasional performers.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 18 values
| Year | Researchers in R&D (per million people) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 507.76 |
| 2022 | 462.47 |
| 2021 | 406.58 |
| 2020 | 371.97 |
| 2019 | no data |
| 2018 | 349.49 |
| 2017 | 385.02 |
| 2016 | 531.45 |
| 2015 | 500.97 |
| 2014 | 574.92 |
| 2013 |
Researchers in R&D (per million people) in nearby economies
More infrastructure data for Costa Rica
- Fixed telephone subscriptions — 610,457 (2024)
- Fixed telephone subscriptions (per 100 people) — 11.9 (2024)
- Air transport, registered carrier departures worldwide — 15,698 (2023)
- Air transport, freight (million ton-km) — 7.18 (2023)
- Air transport, passengers carried — 1.97 million (2023)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions — 6.98 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) — 136.03 (2024)
- Patent applications, nonresidents — 438 (2024)
- Patent applications, residents — 15 (2024)
- Medium and high-tech exports (% manufactured exports)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Costa Rica's researchers in R&D (per million people)?
- 507.76 in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2003?
- It is up 280.61% from 133.4 in 2003 (6.91% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 574.92 in 2014 and the lowest 110.08 in 2004.
- How does Costa Rica rank?
- 38th highest of 43 economies with data for 2023.
- Is the latest change in researchers in R&D (per million people) unusual for Costa Rica?
- In 2023, Costa Rica's researchers in R&D (per million people) rose 45.28 on 2022 (from 462.47 to 507.76). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2004 to 2022), the average change was +11.92 and a typical year strayed about 84.44 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above 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 SP.POP.SCIE.RD.P6, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources/bulk, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), date accessed: 2025-03-26, date published: 2025-02 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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