Observatory of Economic Complexity

Flag Costa Rica

Econ Complexity (2018): 0.27, Rank 53 of 137

Product Exports (2018): $12.9B, Rank 80 of 222

Exports Per Capita (2018): $2.59k, Rank 167 of 219

Product Imports (2018): $15.7B, Rank 82 of 221

Imports Per Capita (2018): $3.14k, Rank 183 of 219

Service Exports (2018): $7.56B, Rank 34 of 88

Service Imports (2018): $3.5B, Rank 46 of 88

GDP (2018): $60.1B, CURRENT US$
Rank 77 of 196

GDP growth (2008 - 2018): 96.4%, CURRENT US$
Rank 32 of 196

GDP PC (2018): $12,027, CURRENT US$
Rank 65 of 196

GDP PC GROWTH (2008 - 2018): 75.3%, CURRENT US$
Rank 28 of 196

About

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Overview: In 2018 Costa Rica was the number 77 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 80 in total exports, the number 82 in total imports, the number 65 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 53 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI)

Exports: The top exports of Costa Rica are Medical Instruments ($2.69B), Bananas ($1.22B), Tropical Fruits ($1.18B), Orthopedic Appliances ($845M), and Other Edible Preparations ($427M), exporting mostly to United States ($4.7B), Netherlands ($704M), Belgium-Luxembourg ($698M), Panama ($581M), and Guatemala ($571M).

Imports: The top imports of Costa Rica are Refined Petroleum ($1.62B), Cars ($592M), Broadcasting Equipment ($523M), Medical Instruments ($406M), and Packaged Medicaments ($355M), importing mostly from United States ($6.3B), China ($2.07B), Mexico ($1.09B), Brazil ($487M), and Guatemala ($408M).

Location: Costa Rica borders Nicaragua and Panama by land and Colombia and Ecuador by sea.

Product Trade

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Yearly Exports

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Value
Depth

Top Export (2018): Medical Instruments, $2.69B

Top Destination (2018): United States, $4.7B

In 2018, Costa Rica exported a total of $12.9B, making it the number 80 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Costa Rica have changed by -$13.1B from $26.1B in 2013 to $12.9B in 2018.

The most recent exports are led by Medical Instruments ($2.69B), Bananas ($1.22B), Tropical Fruits ($1.18B), Orthopedic Appliances ($845M), and Other Edible Preparations ($427M). The most common destination for the exports of Costa Rica are United States ($4.7B), Netherlands ($704M), Belgium-Luxembourg ($698M), Panama ($581M), and Guatemala ($571M).

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Yearly Imports

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Value
Depth

Top Import (2018): Refined Petroleum, $1.62B

Top Origin (2018): United States, $6.3B

In 2018 Costa Rica imported $15.7B, making it the number 82 trade destination in the world. During the last five reported years the imports of Costa Rica changed by -$2.34B from $18.1B in 2013 to $15.7B in 2018.

The most recent imports of Costa Rica are led by Refined Petroleum ($1.62B), Cars ($592M), Broadcasting Equipment ($523M), Medical Instruments ($406M), and Packaged Medicaments ($355M). The most common import partners for Costa Rica are United States ($6.3B), China ($2.07B), Mexico ($1.09B), Brazil ($487M), and Guatemala ($408M).

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Monthly Trade

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Market Growth

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Flow

Fastest Growing Export Markets (2017 - 2018)

Fastest Growing Import Markets (2017 - 2018)

Service Trade

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Service Trade

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Costa Rica Exports Services (2018): $7.56B

Costa Rica Imports Services (2018): $3.5B

In 2018, Costa Rica exported $7.56B worth of services. The top services exported by Costa Rica in 2018 were Personal travel ($3.45B), Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($2.92B), Business travel ($451M), Air transport ($282M), and Sea transport ($173M).

The top services imported by Costa Rica in 2018 were Franchises and similar rights ($565M), Personal travel ($552M), Sea transport ($544M), Air transport ($475M), and Miscellaneous business, professional, and technical services ($464M).

Forecasts

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Trade Forecasts

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This section shows forecasts for total product exports and imports for Costa Rica. The forecast is based in a long short-term memory model or LSTM constructed using yearly trade data.

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Tariffs

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Tariffs by Product

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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 (80.9%) and Meat and edible offal: of fowls of the species Gallus domesticus, cuts and offal, fresh or chilled (80.7%).

Click any of the products in the bar chart to see the specific Ad Valorem Duty Rates by partner country.

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*The tariffs applied to imports for Costa Rica are:
113: China-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreements
136: Most Favoured Nation duty rate treatement
162: Preferential tariff for Andorra
169: Preferential tariff for Barbados
171: Preferential tariff for Belize
178: Preferential tariff for Canada
181: Preferential tariff for Central American Common Market CACM (Spanish: Mercado Común Centroamericano MCCA) Central American Integration System SICA
182: Preferential tariff for Chile
189: Preferential tariff for Colombia
198: Preferential tariff for Dominican Republic
218: Preferential tariff for European Union countries
232: Preferential tariff for Guyana
238: Preferential tariff for Iceland
245: Preferential tariff for Jamaica
270: Preferential tariff for Mexico
281: Preferential tariff for Norway
285: Preferential tariff for Panama
289: Preferential tariff for Peru
299: Preferential tariff for Singapore
307: Preferential tariff for Switzerland and Liechtenstein
320: Preferential tariff for Trinidad and Tobago
386: United States - Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA; incl. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic; 2005)

Economic Complexity

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Economic Complexity Ranking

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Scale

During the last 20 years Costa Rica's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively más complex, moving from the ⁩⁨57th to the 53rd⁩ 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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Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

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Costa Rica has a high level of specialization in Tropical Fruits (127), Bananas (124), Cassava (60), Foliage (43.3), and Melons (38.3). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Costa Rica observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

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The highest complexity exports of Costa Rica according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Abrasive cloths, papers etc (including sandpaper) (1.2), Special textile products for technical purposes (1.15), Machine-tools (metal, carbides, etc), no metal removal (1.13), Electric lighting, signal equipment, car electrics nes (1.11), and Wire of stainless steel (1.11). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

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The top export opportunities for Costa Rica according to the relatedness index, are Cocoa Beans (0.22), Soap (0.21), Gold (0.21), Bran (0.21), and Crustaceans (0.21). 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.

Product Space

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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 it is currently specialized in.

Diversification Frontier

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Filter
Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk and the strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is a 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 emissions.

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