Hospital employment in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Hospital employment was 12.26 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
12.26 Per 1 000 inhabitants
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
20th
of 31 countries
All-time high
12.68 Per 1 000 inhabitants
in 2021
All-time low
8.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants
in 2001
Years of data
23
2001–2023

Hospital employment in Costa Rica, 2001–2023

0510152001201220232001: 8.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2002: 8.7 Per 1 000 inhabitants2003: 8.7 Per 1 000 inhabitants2004: 8.8 Per 1 000 inhabitants2005: 8.6 Per 1 000 inhabitants2006: 9.1 Per 1 000 inhabitants2007: 9.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2008: 10 Per 1 000 inhabitants2009: 10.3 Per 1 000 inhabitants2010: 10.8 Per 1 000 inhabitants2011: 10.8 Per 1 000 inhabitants2012: 10.6 Per 1 000 inhabitants2013: 10.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2014: 10.7 Per 1 000 inhabitants2015: 10.8 Per 1 000 inhabitants2016: 10.9 Per 1 000 inhabitants2017: 11.1 Per 1 000 inhabitants2018: 11.3 Per 1 000 inhabitants2019: 11.4 Per 1 000 inhabitants2020: 12 Per 1 000 inhabitants2021: 12.7 Per 1 000 inhabitants2022: 12.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants2023: 12.3 Per 1 000 inhabitants

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

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 12.26 Per 1 000 inhabitants for hospital employment in 2023.

That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and up 16.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, hospital employment in Costa Rica peaked at 12.68 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2021 and was at its lowest, 8.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants, in 2001.

That places Costa Rica 20th out of 31 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Hospital employment in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Hospital employment in Costa Rica, 2001 to 2023.
Year Per 1 000 inhabitants Change
2001 8.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants
2002 8.66 Per 1 000 inhabitants +1.9%
2003 8.72 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.7%
2004 8.77 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.6%
2005 8.55 Per 1 000 inhabitants -2.5%
2006 9.12 Per 1 000 inhabitants +6.7%
2007 9.49 Per 1 000 inhabitants +4.1%
2008 10 Per 1 000 inhabitants +5.4%
2009 10.35 Per 1 000 inhabitants +3.5%
2010 10.82 Per 1 000 inhabitants +4.5%
2011 10.77 Per 1 000 inhabitants -0.5%
2012 10.58 Per 1 000 inhabitants -1.8%
2013 10.54 Per 1 000 inhabitants -0.4%
2014 10.68 Per 1 000 inhabitants +1.3%
2015 10.78 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.9%
2016 10.87 Per 1 000 inhabitants +0.8%
2017 11.05 Per 1 000 inhabitants +1.7%
2018 11.28 Per 1 000 inhabitants +2.1%
2019 11.43 Per 1 000 inhabitants +1.3%
2020 12.04 Per 1 000 inhabitants +5.3%
2021 12.68 Per 1 000 inhabitants +5.3%
2022 12.48 Per 1 000 inhabitants -1.6%
2023 12.26 Per 1 000 inhabitants -1.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 9.13 Per 1 000 inhabitants 8.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants 10.35 Per 1 000 inhabitants 9
2010s 10.88 Per 1 000 inhabitants 10.54 Per 1 000 inhabitants 11.43 Per 1 000 inhabitants 10
2020s 12.37 Per 1 000 inhabitants 12.04 Per 1 000 inhabitants 12.68 Per 1 000 inhabitants 4

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 17 Portugal 14.39 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  2. 18 Austria 14.08 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  3. 19 Israel 12.37 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  4. 21 Italy 11.94 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  5. 22 Bulgaria 11.42 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare
  6. 23 Serbia 11.06 Per 1 000 inhabitants compare

See the full ranking of 40 places →

More work & labour data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is hospital employment in Costa Rica?
Hospital employment in Costa Rica was 12.26 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2023, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest hospital employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 12.68 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2021.
What is the lowest hospital employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 8.5 Per 1 000 inhabitants in 2001.
How does Costa Rica rank for hospital employment?
Costa Rica ranks 20th out of 31 countries with data for 2023.
Is hospital employment rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.3%. 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 Hospital employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Hospital employment in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/hospital-employment-2/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Hospital employment
Unit
Per 1 000 inhabitants
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
40 places, 907 data points, 1980–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset provides data on total hospital employment (ie. persons employed in general and specialty hospitals) by category: Physicians Professional nurses and midwives Associate professional nurses Healthcare assistants Other health service providers Other staff Data are presented by number of persons employed (head counts), and number of full-time equivalent (FTE) persons. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.