Governance at a glance
- Government
- Unitary presidential republic
- UN member
- Yes
- Independent
- Yes
- CPI score (2026)
- 56/100
- Press freedom (2025)
- 73.1/100 #36
- Electoral democracy (2025)
- 0.862
- HDI
- 0.833
- Regional blocs
- CAIS
Government and leaders
- Government type
- Unitary presidential republic
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| President of Costa Rica | Rodrigo Chaves Robles |
| Vice President of Costa Rica | Mary Munive |
Safety and security
- Homicide rate (2023)
- 17.8/100k
- Traffic deaths (2019)
- 14.8/100k
World governance indicators
Percentile rank among all countries
Political stability (2023)
84th pct
Rule of law (2023)
60th pct
Corruption control (2023)
73th pct
Government effectiveness (2023)
61th pct
Regulatory quality (2023)
70th pct
Voice and accountability (2023)
81th pct
Corruption perceptions index
- CPI score (2026)
- 56 / 100
- Interpretation
- Moderate corruption
Democracy index
- Electoral (2025)
- 0.862
- Liberal
- 0.809
- Participatory
- 0.606
- Deliberative
- 0.787
- Egalitarian
- 0.762
Press freedom index
- Overall score (2025)
- 73.1 / 100
- Global rank
- #36 / 180
- Rank change
- -10 vs previous year
- RSF zone
- Amériques
- Political #76
- 50.0
- Economic #28
- 61.7
- Legal #10
- 85.0
- Social #37
- 76.7
- Safety #24
- 92.1
Press freedom historical data
| Year | Score | Rank | Political | Economic | Legal | Social | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 73.1 | 36 | 50.0 | 61.7 | 85.0 | 76.7 | 92.1 |
| 2024 | 76.1 | 26 | 57.4 | 63.9 | 84.0 | 82.8 | 92.6 |
| 2023 | 80.2 | 23 | 65.9 | 70.6 | 85.9 | 88.0 | 90.6 |
| 2022 | 85.9 | 8 | 81.6 | 73.0 | 87.7 | 92.5 | 94.8 |
| 2021 | 91.2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 89.0 |
| 2020 | 89.5 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2019 | 87.8 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 41.0 |
| 2018 | 86.0 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2017 | 88.1 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2016 | 88.9 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2015 | 87.7 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2014 | 87.8 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | 87.9 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2012 | -2.3 | 19 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | 8.1 | 29 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | 8.0 | 30 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | 5.1 | 22 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | 6.5 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | 6.7 | 29 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2005 | 8.5 | 41 | - | - | - | - | - |