International tourism, receipts (current US$) in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: International tourism, receipts was 1.48 billion current US$ in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, receipts in Costa Rica, 1995–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in current US$.
Analysis
In 2020, international tourism, receipts in Costa Rica stood at 1.48 billion current US$.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 65.5% on the previous year and down 39.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, receipts in Costa Rica peaked at 4.28 billion current US$ in 2019 and was at its lowest, 763.00 million current US$, in 1995.
That places Costa Rica 63rd out of 195 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
International tourism, receipts in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | current US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 763.00 million current US$ | — |
| 1996 | 797.00 million current US$ | +4.5% |
| 1997 | 860.00 million current US$ | +7.9% |
| 1998 | 1.04 billion current US$ | +20.7% |
| 1999 | 1.26 billion current US$ | +21.0% |
| 2000 | 1.63 billion current US$ | +29.7% |
| 2001 | 1.48 billion current US$ | -9.1% |
| 2002 | 1.43 billion current US$ | -3.4% |
| 2003 | 1.57 billion current US$ | +10.1% |
| 2004 | 1.75 billion current US$ | +11.6% |
| 2005 | 2.01 billion current US$ | +14.4% |
| 2006 | 2.07 billion current US$ | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 2.45 billion current US$ | +18.8% |
| 2008 | 2.81 billion current US$ | +14.5% |
| 2009 | 2.22 billion current US$ | -21.2% |
| 2010 | 2.43 billion current US$ | +9.5% |
| 2011 | 2.65 billion current US$ | +9.1% |
| 2012 | 2.77 billion current US$ | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 3.17 billion current US$ | +14.4% |
| 2014 | 3.14 billion current US$ | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 3.41 billion current US$ | +8.6% |
| 2016 | 3.78 billion current US$ | +10.8% |
| 2017 | 3.76 billion current US$ | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 4.07 billion current US$ | +8.4% |
| 2019 | 4.28 billion current US$ | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 1.48 billion current US$ | -65.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.48 billion current US$ is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.76 billion current US$, 84% of the median. (71 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.48 billion current US$ is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 695.50 million current US$, 2.1× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, receipts in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -65.5% | 4.28 billion current US$ | 1.48 billion current US$ |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 942.80 million current US$ | 763.00 million current US$ | 1.26 billion current US$ | 5 |
| 2000s | 1.94 billion current US$ | 1.43 billion current US$ | 2.81 billion current US$ | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.35 billion current US$ | 2.43 billion current US$ | 4.28 billion current US$ | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.48 billion current US$ | 1.48 billion current US$ | 1.48 billion current US$ | 1 |
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$), annual growth rate 21.87 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, receipts in Costa Rica?
- International tourism, receipts in Costa Rica was 1.48 billion current US$ in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, receipts recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 4.28 billion current US$ in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, receipts recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 763.00 million current US$ in 1995.
- How does Costa Rica rank for international tourism, receipts?
- Costa Rica ranks 63rd out of 195 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, receipts rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, receipts (current US$). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.