Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social was 2.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
2.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
20th
of 27 countries
All-time high
3.17 Per 1 000 inhabitants
in 2021
All-time low
2.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants
in 2007
Years of data
20
2006–2025

Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social in Costa Rica, 2006–2025

01232006201520252006: 2.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants2007: 2.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants2008: 2.3 Per 1 000 inhabitants2009: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2010: 2.6 Per 1 000 inhabitants2011: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2012: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2013: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2014: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2015: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2016: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2017: 2.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2018: 2.6 Per 1 000 inhabitants2019: 2.6 Per 1 000 inhabitants2020: 2.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants2021: 3.2 Per 1 000 inhabitants2022: 3 Per 1 000 inhabitants2023: 2.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants2024: 2.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants2025: 2.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Per 1 000 inhabitants.

Analysis

The most recent figure for caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social in Costa Rica is 2.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social in Costa Rica peaked at 3.17 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants, in 2007.

That places Costa Rica 20th out of 27 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social employment in Costa Rica, 2006 to 2025.
Year Per 1 000 inhabitants Change
2006 2.23 Per 1 000 inhabitants
2007 2.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants -1.8%
2008 2.32 Per 1 000 inhabitants +5.9%
2009 2.45 Per 1 000 inhabitants +5.6%
2010 2.62 Per 1 000 inhabitants +6.9%
2011 2.47 Per 1 000 inhabitants -5.7%
2012 2.47 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.0%
2013 2.45 Per 1 000 inhabitants -0.8%
2014 2.47 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.8%
2015 2.49 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.8%
2016 2.48 Per 1 000 inhabitants -0.4%
2017 2.51 Per 1 000 inhabitants +1.2%
2018 2.57 Per 1 000 inhabitants +2.4%
2019 2.62 Per 1 000 inhabitants +1.9%
2020 2.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants +10.7%
2021 3.17 Per 1 000 inhabitants +9.3%
2022 3 Per 1 000 inhabitants -5.4%
2023 2.91 Per 1 000 inhabitants -3.0%
2024 2.86 Per 1 000 inhabitants -1.7%
2025 2.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.3%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 2.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants is below the median for high income countries, which is 8.26 Per 1 000 inhabitants, 35% of the median. (25 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.3 Per 1 000 inhabitants 2.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants 2.45 Per 1 000 inhabitants 4
2010s 2.52 Per 1 000 inhabitants 2.45 Per 1 000 inhabitants 2.62 Per 1 000 inhabitants 10
2020s 2.95 Per 1 000 inhabitants 2.86 Per 1 000 inhabitants 3.17 Per 1 000 inhabitants 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 17 Austria 5.16 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  2. 18 Romania 4.06 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  3. 19 Hungary 2.91 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  4. 21 Czechia 2.76 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  5. 22 Portugal 2.55 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  6. 23 Japan 1.28 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare

See the full ranking of 34 places →

More work & labour data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social in Costa Rica?
Caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social in Costa Rica was 2.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 3.17 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2021.
What is the lowest caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 2.19 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2007.
How does Costa Rica rank for caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social?
Costa Rica ranks 20th out of 27 countries with data for 2025.
Is caring personnel (personal care workers) — health and social rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/caring-personnel-personal-care-workers-health-and-social-employment/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Caring personnel (personal care workers) — Health and social employment
Unit
Per 1 000 inhabitants
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
34 places, 662 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset provides data on the number of caring personnel (personal care workers) by status (ie. practising caring personnel or professionally active caring personnel). Caring personnel (personal care workers) include both Healthcare assistants in institutions (ISCO-08 5321) and Home-based personal care workers (ISCO-08 5322). Practising caring personnel (personal care workers) provide direct personal care and assistance with activities of daily living. Professionally active caring personnel (personal care workers) include practising caring personnel and other caring personnel for whom their education is a prerequisite for the execution of the job. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.