Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual was 0.0% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual in Costa Rica, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual in Costa Rica is 0.0%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is down 45.3% on the previous year and down 87.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual in Costa Rica peaked at 12.4% in 1982 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2023.
Costa Rica ranks 28th of 206 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.7% | — |
| 1961 | 1.4% | -18.4% |
| 1962 | 2.0% | +42.2% |
| 1963 | 1.9% | -5.6% |
| 1964 | 1.7% | -6.9% |
| 1965 | 1.3% | -28.3% |
| 1966 | 1.3% | +7.5% |
| 1967 | 1.7% | +29.7% |
| 1968 | 3.0% | +71.8% |
| 1969 | 2.8% | -7.1% |
| 1970 | 2.5% | -10.3% |
| 1971 | 2.8% | +11.4% |
| 1972 | 3.5% | +24.9% |
| 1973 | 5.2% | +49.8% |
| 1974 | 7.8% | +50.0% |
| 1975 | 8.8% | +12.7% |
| 1976 | 6.3% | -28.2% |
| 1977 | 3.8% | -40.4% |
| 1978 | 1.0% | -72.2% |
| 1979 | 4.2% | +301.9% |
| 1980 | 6.0% | +42.4% |
| 1981 | 7.9% | +31.3% |
| 1982 | 12.4% | +57.8% |
| 1983 | 7.7% | -37.6% |
| 1984 | 8.8% | +14.3% |
| 1985 | 11.6% | +31.5% |
| 1986 | 5.2% | -55.4% |
| 1987 | 6.6% | +26.7% |
| 1988 | 7.4% | +12.1% |
| 1989 | 8.5% | +15.8% |
| 1990 | 8.1% | -5.2% |
| 1991 | 6.8% | -16.4% |
| 1992 | 4.1% | -39.3% |
| 1993 | 3.6% | -11.7% |
| 1994 | 5.5% | +52.5% |
| 1995 | 6.7% | +20.8% |
| 1996 | 7.2% | +7.3% |
| 1997 | 7.0% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 4.1% | -40.9% |
| 1999 | 5.8% | +40.9% |
| 2000 | 7.8% | +33.3% |
| 2001 | 6.8% | -12.4% |
| 2002 | 6.0% | -11.6% |
| 2003 | 3.4% | -43.3% |
| 2004 | 4.0% | +17.4% |
| 2005 | 4.9% | +22.1% |
| 2006 | 5.1% | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 4.9% | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 4.4% | -10.4% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -78.1% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | -63.0% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | -15.4% |
| 2012 | 0.2% | -22.5% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | +11.2% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | -2.1% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | +69.2% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | -70.3% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | +33.3% |
| 2018 | 0.1% | -34.3% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | +10.6% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -61.4% |
| 2021 | 0.1% | +60.7% |
| 2022 | 0.1% | -24.4% |
| 2023 | 0.0% | -45.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 28.3× the median. (74 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.0%, 1.3× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | +301.9% | 1.0% | 4.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.9% | 1.3% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.6% | 1.0% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.2% | 5.2% | 12.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.9% | 3.6% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.8% | 1.0% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 4 |
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 merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual in Costa Rica?
- Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual in Costa Rica was 0.0% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 12.4% in 1982.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual?
- Costa Rica ranks 28th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 87.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports by the reporting economy, residual (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports by the reporting economy residuals are the total merchandise imports by the reporting economy from the rest of the world as reported in the IMF's Direction of trade database, less the sum of imports by the reporting economy from high-, low-, and middle-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Includes trade with unspecified partners or with economies not covered by World Bank classification. Data are as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy.