New business density in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: New business density was 6.31 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 in 2024. ▲ Rising
New business density in Costa Rica, 2013–2024
Source: Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB). Measured in new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 6.31 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 for new business density in 2024. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
That represents a change of up 8.5% on the previous year and up 88.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, new business density in Costa Rica peaked at 6.31 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.18 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64, in 2013.
Costa Rica ranks 43rd of 177 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
New business density in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3.18 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | — |
| 2014 | 3.35 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | +5.3% |
| 2015 | 3.97 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | +18.5% |
| 2016 | 6.18 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | +55.5% |
| 2017 | 5.2 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | -15.9% |
| 2018 | 6.08 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | +17.1% |
| 2019 | 4.78 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | -21.5% |
| 2020 | 3.66 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | -23.3% |
| 2021 | 5.15 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | +40.7% |
| 2022 | 5.92 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | +14.9% |
| 2023 | 5.82 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | 6.31 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | +8.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.68 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | 3.18 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | 6.18 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | 7 |
| 2020s | 5.37 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | 3.66 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | 6.31 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 40 Namibia 6.74 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 compare
- 41 Brazil 6.67 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 compare
- 42 Ireland 6.65 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 compare
- 44 Bahrain 6.16 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 compare
- 45 Finland 5.97 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 compare
- 46 Slovakia 5.68 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 compare
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 new business density in Costa Rica?
- New business density in Costa Rica was 6.31 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 in 2024, according to Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest new business density recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 6.31 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 in 2024.
- What is the lowest new business density recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.18 new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64 in 2013.
- How does Costa Rica rank for new business density?
- Costa Rica ranks 43rd out of 177 countries with data for 2024.
- Is new business density rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 88.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Entrepreneurship Database, World Bank (WB), published as part of New business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The number of newly registered firms with limited liability per 1,000 working-age people (ages 15-64) per calendar year.