Costa Rica2019 Economic Complexity: 0.36, Rank 53 of 157
2019 Product Exports | Imports: $13B | $14.7B, 84 of 225 | 87 of 225
2019 Per Capita Product Exports | Imports: $2.58k | $2.92k, 85 of 219 | 103 of 219
2018 Service Exports | Imports : $7.56B | $3.5B, 34 of 88 | 46 of 88
Overview: In 2019 Costa Rica was the number 77 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 84 in total exports, the number 87 in total imports, the number 63 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 ($3.01B), Bananas ($1.18B), Tropical Fruits ($1.11B), Orthopedic Appliances ($817M), and Other Edible Preparations ($464M), exporting mostly to United States ($4.92B), Netherlands ($745M), Belgium ($708M), Guatemala ($632M), and Panama ($592M).
Imports: The top imports of Costa Rica are Refined Petroleum ($1.52B), Broadcasting Equipment ($486M), Cars ($467M), Medical Instruments ($445M), and Packaged Medicaments ($331M), importing mostly from United States ($6.02B), China ($1.88B), Mexico ($1.02B), Guatemala ($428M), and Japan ($306M).
Location: Costa Rica borders Nicaragua and Panama by land and Colombia and Ecuador by sea.
Top Export (2019): Medical Instruments, $3.01B
Top Destination (2019): United States, $4.92B
In 2019, Costa Rica exported a total of $13B, making it the number 84 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Costa Rica have changed by -$1.48B from $14.5B in 2014 to $13B in 2019.
The most recent exports are led by Medical Instruments ($3.01B), Bananas ($1.18B), Tropical Fruits ($1.11B), Orthopedic Appliances ($817M), and Other Edible Preparations ($464M). The most common destination for the exports of Costa Rica are United States ($4.92B), Netherlands ($745M), Belgium ($708M), Guatemala ($632M), and Panama ($592M).
Top Import (2019): Refined Petroleum, $1.52B
Top Origin (2019): United States, $6.02B
In 2019 Costa Rica imported $14.7B, making it the number 87 trade destination in the world. During the last five reported years the imports of Costa Rica changed by -$1.29B from $16B in 2014 to $14.7B in 2019.
The most recent imports of Costa Rica are led by Refined Petroleum ($1.52B), Broadcasting Equipment ($486M), Cars ($467M), Medical Instruments ($445M), and Packaged Medicaments ($331M). The most common import partners for Costa Rica are United States ($6.02B), China ($1.88B), Mexico ($1.02B), Guatemala ($428M), and Japan ($306M).
Fastest Growing Export Markets (2018 - 2019)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2018 - 2019)
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).
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.
*The tariffs applied to imports for Costa Rica are:
During the last 20 years Costa Rica's economy has become relatively más complex, moving from the 68th 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.
Costa Rica has a high level of specialization in Bananas (115), Tropical Fruits (102), Cassava (69.8), Prepared Explosives (43), and Foliage (38.6). 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 Orthopaedic appliances (1.24), Special textile products for technical purposes (1.21), Laboratory, hygienic or pharmaceutical glassware etc (1.21), Abrasive cloths, papers etc (including sandpaper) (1.18), and Wire of stainless steel (1.18). 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 Bran (0.2), Other Oily Seeds (0.2), Cocoa Beans (0.2), Legumes (0.2), and Gold (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 it is currently specialized in.
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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