Insurance and financial services in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Insurance and financial services was 1.4% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Insurance and financial services in Costa Rica, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for insurance and financial services in Costa Rica is 1.4%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 20.6% on the previous year and up 55.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Costa Rica peaked at 1.5% in 1991 and was at its lowest, -0.1%, in 1995.
That places Costa Rica 131st out of 190 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Insurance and financial services in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 0.1% | — |
| 1978 | 0.5% | +536.3% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +83.3% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | -25.2% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | +46.1% |
| 1982 | 0.7% | -29.8% |
| 1983 | 1.2% | +71.4% |
| 1984 | 0.2% | -87.5% |
| 1991 | 1.5% | +849.2% |
| 1995 | -0.1% | -109.7% |
| 1996 | 0.2% | -209.3% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | +135.1% |
| 1998 | 0.3% | -7.4% |
| 1999 | 0.3% | -25.2% |
| 2000 | 0.1% | -51.2% |
| 2001 | 0.2% | +40.7% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | +18.3% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | -11.0% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +129.7% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -12.1% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | -7.0% |
| 2007 | 0.3% | -3.6% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +5.0% |
| 2009 | 0.3% | -4.9% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | -8.2% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | -4.3% |
| 2013 | 0.6% | +112.0% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | +99.1% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | -29.4% |
| 2016 | 1.1% | +22.2% |
| 2017 | 1.1% | -1.7% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | -2.1% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | -6.5% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | +20.1% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | -9.5% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | -19.4% |
| 2023 | 1.2% | +38.4% |
| 2024 | 1.1% | -3.2% |
| 2025 | 1.4% | +20.6% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.4% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.3%, 26% of the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.4% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2.7%, 50% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insurance and financial services in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | +849.2% | 0.2% | 1.5% |
| 1978 | +536.3% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
| 1996 | +209.3% | -0.1% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.9% | 3 |
| 1980s | 0.8% | 0.2% | 1.2% | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | -0.1% | 1.5% | 6 |
| 2000s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More private sector data for Costa Rica
- Merchandise trade 52.4% (2025)
- Food imports 13.2% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 73.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 27.48 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 32.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 64.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 26.43 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 5,129 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2568 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 21.87 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Costa Rica?
- Insurance and financial services in Costa Rica was 1.4% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 1991.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1% in 1995.
- How does Costa Rica rank for insurance and financial services?
- Costa Rica ranks 131st out of 190 countries with data for 2025.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 55.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.