Costa Rica2020 Economic Complexity : 0.18, Rank 50 of 127
2020 Product Exports | Imports: $14B | $13.8B, 76 of 226 | 84 of 226
2020 Per Capita Product Exports | Imports: $2.75k | $2.72k, 77 of 219 | 97 of 219
2019 Service Exports | Imports : $9.38B | $4.18B, 27 of 69 | 36 of 69
Overview In 2020 Costa Rica was the number 76 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 76 in total exports, the number 84 in total imports, the number 65 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 50 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI).
Exports The top exports of Costa Rica are Medical Instruments ($3.27B), Bananas ($1.28B), Tropical Fruits ($1.03B), Integrated Circuits ($1.02B), and Orthopedic Appliances ($850M), exporting mostly to United States ($5.19B), Netherlands ($1.33B), Guatemala ($633M), Mexico ($620M), and Belgium ($575M).
Imports The top imports of Costa Rica are Refined Petroleum ($915M), Broadcasting Equipment ($551M), Medical Instruments ($424M), Packaged Medicaments ($340M), and Cars ($323M), importing mostly from United States ($5.46B), China ($1.97B), Mexico ($909M), Guatemala ($445M), and Japan ($272M).
Location Costa Rica borders Nicaraguaand Panama by land and Colombiaand Ecuador by sea.
The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Costa Rica.
Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
Data is presented based on data availability. Only countries using the Harmonic System (HS) are selected. Every source is shown using their own latest twelve months of data.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
Top Export (2020): Medical Instruments, $3.27B
Top Destination (2020): United States, $5.19B
In 2020, Costa Rica exported a total of $14B, making it the number 76 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Costa Rica have changed by $2.92B from $11.1B in 2015 to $14B in 2020.
The most recent exports are led by Medical Instruments ($3.27B), Bananas ($1.28B), Tropical Fruits ($1.03B), Integrated Circuits ($1.02B), and Orthopedic Appliances ($850M). The most common destination for the exports of Costa Rica are United States ($5.19B), Netherlands ($1.33B), Guatemala ($633M), Mexico ($620M), and Belgium ($575M).
Top Import (2020): Refined Petroleum, $915M
Top Origin (2020): United States, $5.46B
In 2020 Costa Rica imported $13.8B, making it the number 84 trade destination in the world. During the last five reported years the imports of Costa Rica changed by -$605M from $14.4B in 2015 to $13.8B in 2020.
The most recent imports of Costa Rica are led by Refined Petroleum ($915M), Broadcasting Equipment ($551M), Medical Instruments ($424M), Packaged Medicaments ($340M), and Cars ($323M). The most common import partners for Costa Rica are United States ($5.46B), China ($1.97B), Mexico ($909M), Guatemala ($445M), and Japan ($272M).
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2019 - 2020)
Costa Rica Exports Services (2019): $9.38B
Costa Rica Imports Services (2019): $4.18B
In 2019, Costa Rica exported $9.38B worth of services. The top services exported by Costa Rica in 2019 were Personal travel ($3.66B), Other business services ($3.41B), Computer and information services ($1.33B), Transportation ($496M), and Business travel ($353M).
The top services imported by Costa Rica in 2019 were Transportation ($1.2B), Personal travel ($677M), Royalties and license fees ($593M), Other business services ($451M), and Business travel ($411M).
The top product import tariffs by their MFN Ad Valorem value for Costa Rica are Meat and edible offal: of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, cuts and offal, frozen (80.6%)and Meat and edible offal: of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, cuts and offal, fresh or chilled (80.4%).
Click any of the products in the bar chart to see the specific Ad Valorem Duty Rates by partner country.
*The tariffs applied to imports for Costa Rica are:
Costa Rica has a high level of specialization in Bananas (110), Tropical Fruits (82.3), Cassava (46.6), Medical Instruments (29.6), and Foliage (26.9). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Costa Rica observed and expected exports in each product.
The highest complexity exports of Costa Rica according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Electronic integrated circuits and microassemblies (1.41), Wire of stainless steel (1.31), Nickel bars, rods, profiles and wire (1.18), Glues and adhesives nes, pack <1kg (1.18), and Orthopaedic appliances (1.09). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.
The top export opportunities for Costa Rica according to the relatedness index, are Cocoa Beans (0.21), Wheat Flours (0.21), Gold (0.2), Other Oily Seeds (0.2), and Legumes (0.2). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Costa Rica is not specialized in.
The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.
The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.
During the last 20 years Costa Rica's economy has become relatively more complex, moving from the 55th to the 50th position in the ECI rank.
These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.
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