R&D spending share of GDP in Costa Rica

Spending on research and development in Costa Rica was equal to 0.34% of GDP in 2023.

Measure: Research and development expenditure (UNESCO) Unit: % of GDP Data: 1996 to 2023 Source: World Bank
Costa Rica, 2023 0.34% % of GDP
Change from 2022 0percentage points 2022: 0.34%
World, 2023 2.60% Official aggregate
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2023 1.84% Middle value of 35 countries
Position in 2023 59th of 84 See the full ranking

R&D spending share of GDP in Costa Rica over time

View
Places
2 selected
Costa Rica World ×

% of GDP. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Research and development expenditure (UNESCO) (% of GDP), 2000 to 2023
Period Costa RicaWorld
2023 0.34% 2.60%
2022 0.34% 2.57%
2021 0.27% 2.52%
2020 0.33% 2.46%
2019 – 2.26%
2018 0.37% 2.22%
2017 0.43% 2.14%
2016 0.44% 2.15%
2015 0.44% 2.10%
2014 0.56% 2.09%
2013 0.54% 1.98%
2012 0.55% 2.01%
2011 0.46% 1.98%
2010 0.48% 2.00%
2009 0.52% 2.01%
2008 0.39% 1.98%
2007 0.36% 1.92%
2006 0.43% 1.96%
2005 – 1.95%
2004 0.37% 1.97%
2003 0.36% 2.02%
2002 – 2.03%
2001 – 2.06%
2000 0.41% 2.05%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

In short

  • That is a change of 0 percentage points from 0.34% in 2022.
  • Since 2012, when it was 0.55%, the figure has changed by −0.21 percentage points.
  • Among the 84 countries with data for 2023, Costa Rica has the 59th highest value.
  • The figure for the world in 2023 was 2.60%.

Source and dates

Original producer
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Distributed by
World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code
GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS · dataset details · view at source
Observation period
1996 to 2023 for Costa Rica
Provider update
8 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics