Share in informal employment in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Share in informal employment was 37.38 in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
37.38
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
39th
of 80 countries
All-time high
42.05
in 2015
All-time low
37.07
in 2011
Years of data
15
2010–2024

Share in informal employment in Costa Rica, 2010–2024

0102030402010201720242010: 37.92011: 37.12012: 39.12013: 40.92014: 41.22015: 422016: 40.22017: 40.72018: 40.92019: 41.92020: 402021: 41.32022: 39.92023: 37.12024: 37.4

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2024, share in informal employment in Costa Rica stood at 37.38.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 9.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share in informal employment in Costa Rica peaked at 42.05 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 37.07, in 2011.

That places Costa Rica 39th out of 80 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

Share in informal employment in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Share in informal employment in Costa Rica, 2010 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2010 37.85
2011 37.07 -2.1%
2012 39.11 +5.5%
2013 40.87 +4.5%
2014 41.22 +0.9%
2015 42.05 +2.0%
2016 40.16 -4.5%
2017 40.73 +1.4%
2018 40.92 +0.5%
2019 41.85 +2.3%
2020 40.02 -4.4%
2021 41.32 +3.2%
2022 39.87 -3.5%
2023 37.1 -6.9%
2024 37.38 +0.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 40.18 37.07 42.05 10
2020s 39.14 37.1 41.32 5

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 36 Grenada 48.05 compare
  2. 37 Armenia 47.88 compare
  3. 38 Mongolia 41.94 compare
  4. 40 Brazil 36.5 compare
  5. 41 South Africa 34.9 compare
  6. 42 Mauritius 33.91 compare

See the full ranking of 80 places →

More work & labour data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is share in informal employment in Costa Rica?
Share in informal employment in Costa Rica was 37.38 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share in informal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 42.05 in 2015.
What is the lowest share in informal employment recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 37.07 in 2011.
How does Costa Rica rank for share in informal employment?
Costa Rica ranks 39th out of 80 countries with data for 2024.
Is share in informal employment rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share in informal employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share in informal employment in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/share-in-informal-employment/costa-rica/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/share-in-informal-employment/costa-rica/">Share in informal employment in Costa Rica</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share in informal employment
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
80 places, 1,095 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed