Costa Rica (CRI) and Nicaragua (NIC) Trade | The Observatory of Economic Complexity

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Costa Rica-Nicaragua Trade: In 2023, Costa Rica exported $661M to Nicaragua. The main products that Costa Rica exported to Nicaragua were Raw Iron Bars ($46.4M), Other Edible Preparations ($41M), and Sauces and Seasonings ($26.7M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Costa Rica to Nicaragua have increased at an annualized rate of 6.64%, from $479M in 2018 to $661M in 2023.

In 2023, Costa Rica did not export any services to Nicaragua.

Nicaragua-Costa Rica Trade: In 2023, Nicaragua exported $246M to Costa Rica. The main products that Nicaragua exported to Costa Rica were Dried Legumes ($37.9M), Bovine Meat ($29.1M), and Frozen Bovine Meat ($22.1M). Over the past 5 years the exports of Nicaragua to Costa Rica have increased at an annualized rate of 9.38%, from $157M in 2018 to $246M in 2023.

In 2023, Nicaragua did not export any services to Costa Rica.

Comparison: In 2023, Costa Rica ranked 48 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI 0.34), and 73 in total exports ($23.7B). That same year, Nicaragua ranked 111 in the Economic Complexity Index (ECI -1), and 110 in total exports ($8.51B).

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Depth

HS2

HS4

HS6

Value

Trade

Growth

Growth (%)

Year

In 2023, Costa Rica exported $661M to Nicaragua. The main products exported from Costa Rica to Nicaragua were Raw Iron Bars ($46.4M), Other Edible Preparations ($41M), and Sauces and Seasonings ($26.7M). During the last 5 years the exports of Costa Rica to Nicaragua have increased at an annualized rate of 6.64%, from $479M in 2018 to $661M in 2023.

In 2018, Nicaragua exported $246M to Costa Rica. The main products exported from Nicaragua to Costa Rica were Dried Legumes ($37.9M), Bovine Meat ($29.1M), and Frozen Bovine Meat ($22.1M). During the last 5 years the exports of Nicaragua to Costa Rica have increased at an annualized rate of 9.38%, from $157M in 2023 to $246M in 2018.

Exports from Costa Rica () to Nicaragua () (2023)

Exports from Nicaragua () to Costa Rica () (2023)

Latest Data

Trade between Costa Rica () and Nicaragua ()

Costa Rica Exports

Date

Nicaragua Exports

Date

Mar 2016

Feb 2016

Jan 2016

Market Competitiveness

Color

Exports

Export Growth

Section

Year

Costa Rica
Top DestinationUnited States$9.5B

Nicaragua
Top DestinationUnited States$4.38B

This map shows whether countries import more from Costa Rica or Nicaragua. Each country is colored based on the difference in imports they receive from Costa Rica and Nicaragua or the difference in the growth in imports.

In 2023, countries that imported more from Costa Rica than Nicaragua included United States ($9.5B), Netherlands ($1.52B), and China ($1.17B).

In 2023, countries that imported more from Nicaragua than Costa Rica included Mexico ($1.04B), Switzerland ($313M), and Canada ($476M).

Difference in imports from Nicaragua () and Costa Rica () (2023)

Comparative Advantage Costa Rica - Nicaragua

Flow

Section

HS2

HS4

Scale

Log

Linear

Year

This chart compares trade between Costa Rica and Nicaragua by product, considering products traded by both, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

During 2023, Costa Rica had a large net trade with Nicaragua in the exports of Foodstuffs ($188M), Chemical Products ($111M), and Metals ($90.7M).

During 2018, Nicaragua had a large net trade with Costa Rica in the exports of Vegetable Products ($85.1M), Animal Products ($76.3M), and Foodstuffs ($29.6M).

Potential Exports

Depth

Section

HS2

HS4

View

Top 20

Top 15

Top 10

Sort By

Highest Potential

Most Saturated

Section

Top Product Potential Costa Rica Nicaragua+$3.04MMedical Instruments

Top Product Potential Nicaragua Costa Rica+$3.47MRefined Petroleum

We estimate the export potential of an economy for each product and destination using an extension of the bilateral relatedness model of Jun et al. (2019).This extended gravity model considers similarities among products and geographies and explains more than 50% of the variance in future trade flows.

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Year

This visualization shows the product space at the HS4 level with the flags of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. This means that a dot/product with the flag of Costa Rica indicates it has a comparative advantage over Nicaragua. Similarly, a dot/product with the flag of Nicaragua indicates it has a comparative advantage over Costa Rica.

About

Historical Data

Bilateral Trade by Products

Exports from Costa Rica () to Nicaragua () (2023)

Exports from Nicaragua () to Costa Rica () (2023)

Latest Data

Trade between Costa Rica () and Nicaragua ()

Costa Rica Exports

Nicaragua Exports

Market Competitiveness

Difference in imports from Nicaragua () and Costa Rica () (2023)

Comparative Advantage Costa Rica - Nicaragua

Potential Exports

Potential Exports

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Economic Complexity

Competitive Landscape

Product Space of Costa Rica () and Nicaragua () (2023)

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