Merchandise trade in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Merchandise trade was 52.4% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Merchandise trade in Costa Rica, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Costa Rica stood at 52.4%.
That represents a change of up 5.2% on the previous year and up 15.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Costa Rica peaked at 91.3% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 38.2%, in 1960.
Costa Rica ranks 104th of 204 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 38.2% | — |
| 1961 | 39.0% | +1.9% |
| 1962 | 43.0% | +10.4% |
| 1963 | 42.8% | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 46.6% | +9.0% |
| 1965 | 48.9% | +4.9% |
| 1966 | 48.7% | -0.5% |
| 1967 | 47.9% | -1.6% |
| 1968 | 49.8% | +3.9% |
| 1969 | 51.0% | +2.4% |
| 1970 | 55.6% | +9.2% |
| 1971 | 53.4% | -4.1% |
| 1972 | 52.8% | -1.1% |
| 1973 | 52.3% | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 69.6% | +33.0% |
| 1975 | 60.5% | -13.0% |
| 1976 | 56.5% | -6.7% |
| 1977 | 60.2% | +6.5% |
| 1978 | 57.6% | -4.2% |
| 1979 | 57.8% | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 52.6% | -8.9% |
| 1981 | 84.5% | +60.6% |
| 1982 | 67.5% | -20.1% |
| 1983 | 59.1% | -12.4% |
| 1984 | 57.4% | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 52.9% | -7.8% |
| 1986 | 51.3% | -3.0% |
| 1987 | 56.1% | +9.2% |
| 1988 | 57.6% | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 59.6% | +3.6% |
| 1990 | 60.2% | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 48.2% | -20.0% |
| 1992 | 49.9% | +3.6% |
| 1993 | 64.2% | +28.6% |
| 1994 | 63.6% | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 65.3% | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 69.2% | +5.9% |
| 1997 | 73.8% | +6.5% |
| 1998 | 86.0% | +16.6% |
| 1999 | 91.3% | +6.2% |
| 2000 | 81.5% | -10.7% |
| 2001 | 72.5% | -11.0% |
| 2002 | 75.1% | +3.5% |
| 2003 | 79.7% | +6.1% |
| 2004 | 78.3% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 84.1% | +7.4% |
| 2006 | 86.9% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 82.9% | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 80.8% | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 65.6% | -18.7% |
| 2010 | 61.1% | -6.9% |
| 2011 | 62.3% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 61.5% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 58.1% | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 55.3% | -4.9% |
| 2015 | 45.5% | -17.7% |
| 2016 | 43.9% | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 45.5% | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 47.6% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 45.5% | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 43.4% | -4.5% |
| 2021 | 55.2% | +27.2% |
| 2022 | 55.3% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 49.2% | -11.1% |
| 2024 | 49.8% | +1.2% |
| 2025 | 52.4% | +5.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 45.6% | 38.2% | 51.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 57.6% | 52.3% | 69.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 59.9% | 51.3% | 84.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 67.2% | 48.2% | 91.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.7% | 65.6% | 86.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.6% | 43.9% | 62.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.9% | 43.4% | 55.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More private sector data for Costa Rica
- 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$), annual growth rate 21.87 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 5,333 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Costa Rica?
- Merchandise trade in Costa Rica was 52.4% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 91.3% in 1999.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.2% in 1960.
- How does Costa Rica rank for merchandise trade?
- Costa Rica ranks 104th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.