Country export capability

Costa Rica
export capability

A reported view of Costa Rica's export scale, destination network, sector breadth, trade history, and market-access context. Use the indicators together; no single measure describes export readiness on its own.

CRI1995-2024 coverage270 active partner marketsMacro trend resilient
Latest exports$27.5B2024 reported value
Latest imports$23.4B2024 reported value
Trade balance$4.0BExports minus imports
Export growth+18.6%Latest year-on-year change
Active partners270Latest reported markets

Country export profile overview

Costa Rica export data in one research view

This profile brings together export performance, trade balance, destination markets, HS2 sectors, partner breadth, history, and market-access context for country export research.

Export scale and balance

Start with the latest reported trade position

In 2024, Costa Rica recorded $27.5B in exports and $23.4B in imports. The resulting $4.0B trade balance gives the latest country-level position a clear context.

Exports changed +18.6% year on year and show a calculated +14.5% three-year CAGR. CAGR is an annualized comparison of reported values, not a forecast.

Markets and sectors

See where export value is concentrated

USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands received $10.0B in reported exports, representing 36.4% of the latest country total. Optical and medical instruments was the largest displayed HS2 export sector at $9.7B and 35.2% of exports.

The visible page highlights five leading destinations and five leading HS2 sectors, while the complete structured files retain every row supplied for this sample.

History and coverage

Read today's number against the long series

The country series covers 1995 through 2024, with 30 observed annual rows. That longer view helps separate a single-year movement from the broader export trend.

Partner counts, tariff context, concentration, exposure shares, and momentum are supporting indicators calculated from available trade observations. Missing values remain unavailable rather than estimated.

Economy and structure

The context around Costa Rica's export base

Macroeconomic and structural indicators add context to merchandise trade scale. They describe the country environment; they do not predict company performance or future exports.

GDP$95.4B2024 macro context
GDP per capita$18.6KCurrent-dollar GDP
Population5.1MReported population
Labor force2.6KReported labor force
Investment rate20.5%National investment rate
Savings rate17.2%National savings rate
Trade openness77.5%Exports + imports / GDP
Exports / GDP41.8%Merchandise exports / GDP
Secondary education58.3%Education context
Tertiary education18.6%Education context

Market signals

Where to look more closely next

Route-level risk and emerging-corridor signals for further research. These are calculated indicators, not forecasts.

Destination risk contextAll covered routes
Destination risk context for Costa Rica
DestinationAttentionAttention shareBelow peakApplied tariffPrimary reason
MalaysiaMYSCritical attention98.3%66.7%13.4%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative RegionHKGCritical attention98.8%73.4%0%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
NetherlandsNLDWatch45.7%22.2%1.4%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
IndiaINDCritical attention79.9%33.1%53.2%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSAWatch17.9%9.2%1.1%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
ChinaCHNWatch3.3%22.2%28.9%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
Republic of KoreaKORHigh attention27.4%25.9%14.6%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
JapanJPNHigh attention97%14.8%2%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
MexicoMEXWatch18.9%22.3%10%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
PanamaPANWatch20.8%22%12.1%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure

Full route coverage is retained. High attention means the route deserves closer product and access review.

Market opportunity signals

Product-market combinations worth investigating

All returned rows use buyer demand, exporter position, and calculated addressable-value fields. They are research signals, not forecasts.

Addressable-value signalsAll returned rows
Market opportunity signals for Costa Rica
RankMarket and productBuyer importsAddressable 3-year valueCurrent shareDemand signal
1USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsHS6 270900 · Oils: petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude$165.0B$115.5B0%Declining +1.1%
2ChinaHS6 854231 · Electronic integrated circuits: processors and controllers, whether or not combined with memories, converters, logic circuits, amplifiers, clock and timing circuits, or other circuits$158.0B$89.1B1.5%Accelerating +10.5%
3IndiaHS6 270900 · Oils: petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude$130.1B$73.0B0%Declining -0.5%
4ChinaHS6 854232 · Electronic integrated circuits: memories$80.6B$65.7B0%Accelerating +20.6%
5ChinaHS6 854239 · Electronic integrated circuits: n.e.c. in heading no. 8542$81.8B$61.4B0%Accelerating +4%
6USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsHS6 851712 · Telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks$53.9B$53.8B0%Growing -8.8%
7USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsHS6 847150 · Digital processing units: other than those of subheadings 8471.41 or 8471.49, whether or not containing in the same housing one or two of the following types of unit: storage units, input units or output units$53.9B$45.6B0%Growing +60.2%
8IndiaHS6 710812 · Metals: gold, non-monetary, unwrought (but not powder)$53.8B$33.8B0%Declining +36.1%

Addressable value is a calculated field. Validate product, buyer, tariff, and route conditions before commercial decisions.

Detailed export portfolioHS4 lines beneath the leading sectorsOpen the detailed four-digit export table for Costa Rica.
All HS4 export lines2024 ranking
Top HS4 export lines for Costa Rica
RankHS4Parent HS2 sectorExportsShareActive HS6
19018HS4 detail codeOptical and medical instruments (90) ↗$7.2B26.2%13
28542HS4 detail codeElectrical machinery (85) ↗$5.7B20.8%5
39021HS4 detail codeOptical and medical instruments (90) ↗$2.1B7.6%8
40804HS4 detail codeEdible fruit and nuts (08) ↗$1.5B5.4%5
50803HS4 detail codeEdible fruit and nuts (08) ↗$1.3B4.8%2
62106HS4 detail codeMiscellaneous edible preparations (21) ↗$842.6M3.1%2
70901HS4 detail codeCoffee, tea and spices (09) ↗$357.3M1.3%5
88544HS4 detail codeElectrical machinery (85) ↗$356.3M1.3%8
98473HS4 detail codeMachinery (84) ↗$304.8M1.1%5
108536HS4 detail codeElectrical machinery (85) ↗$241.6M0.9%10
112009HS4 detail codePreparations of vegetables and fruit (20) ↗$227.5M0.8%17
124011HS4 detail codeRubber (40) ↗$220.9M0.8%8

HS4 values are reported observations. The hierarchy is preserved; no missing descriptions are inferred.

The country export read

Costa Rica combines $27.5B in exports with a broad partner network.

In 2024, Costa Rica recorded $27.5B in reported exports and $23.4B in imports, producing a reported trade surplus of $4.0B. Exports changed +18.6% year on year and +14.5% annualized over three years. Optical and medical instruments (HS2 90) was the largest displayed export sector by value.

Destination network

Where Costa Rica exports move

All returned destination lanes ranked by latest reported export value. Share is calculated against the country total. Review sources ↗

Latest reported destination lanesAll returned · 2024
Leading export destinations for Costa Rica
RankDestinationLatest exportsShareYear-on-year3-year CAGR
1USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$10.0B36.4%+12.3%+18.6%
2ChinaCHN$3.1B11.3%+50.1%+73.1%
3MexicoMEX$2.0B7.3%+59.4%+38%
4NetherlandsNLD$1.4B5%+25.4%-11.3%
5GuatemalaGTM$949.3M3.5%+16.2%+9.5%
6BelgiumBEL$693.0M2.5%+2.1%+4.8%
7NicaraguaNIC$683.3M2.5%+3.6%+8.6%
8PanamaPAN$550.5M2%-2.4%-0.8%
9HondurasHND$542.8M2%-3.2%+7.1%
10GermanyDEU$538.9M2%-7.3%-0.5%

Destination values are reported country-to-country observations. Full returned rows remain in the downloads.

Trade history

A long view of export scale

Latest twelve years from the 30-year reported country series. Context, not a forecast.

Reported exports by year

2013
$27.0B
2014
$24.7B
2015
$11.5B
2016
$11.4B
2017
$12.3B
2018
$12.6B
2019
$13.0B
2020
$13.7B
2021
$18.3B
2022
$20.1B
2023
$23.2B
2024
$27.5B

Partner network

Scale is only one part of export capability

Partner breadth, distance, agreements, and tariffs add context to reported exports.

FTA partner markets45Reported count
WTO partner markets169Reported count
EU partner markets28Reported count
Shared-border partners2Country context
Shared-language partners24Country context
Average partner distance10,026 kmCalculated average
Partners with FTA16.7%Calculated share
Applied tariff context0.1%Calculated average
MFN tariff context0.1%Calculated average
Tariff advantage+0.1 ppPreferential vs MFN

Exposure context

Signals to examine alongside export scale

Calculated or classified route and country context. Not predictions or recommendations.

Attention share27.7%

Covered value under attention

Critical share2.7%

Covered value marked critical

Below historical peak15.7%

Distance below route peaks

FTA-covered exports90.3%

Covered value with FTA context

Weighted tariff context0.1%

Export-weighted tariff

Macro contextMacro trend resilient

Primary attention driver: High trade volatility.

Momentum score17.3

History-based indicator

Partner concentration1,595.4

Partner HHI

Product concentration805.6

Product HHI

Country attention level: Watch. Missing fields remain unavailable.

Complete country valuesOpen the full profile evidenceFull history, sectors, HS4, destinations, risk, opportunities, and source fields.

Profile fields

Year2,024
Country Iso3CRI
Exports Usd$27.5B
Imports Usd$23.4B
Trade Balance Usd$4.0B
Yoy Exports Growth Pct18.6%
Yoy Imports Growth Pct6.7%
Exports Cagr 3y Pct14.5%
Imports Cagr 3y Pct9.4%
Export Partner Hhi1,595.4
Export Product Hhi805.6
Momentum Score17.3
Risk Score12
Gdp Million Usd95,350.42 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Usd$18.6K
Population5,129,910
Labor Force2,580.9
Investment Rate Pct20.5%
Savings Rate Pct17.2%
Secondary Education Pct58.3%
Tertiary Education Pct18.6%
Total Factor Productivity972.4
Trade Openness Pct77.5%
Exports Gdp Pct41.8%
Num Active Partners270
Num Fta Partners45
Num Wto Partners169
Num Eu Partners28
Num Shared Border Partners2
Num Shared Language Partners24
Avg Partner Distance Km10,026 km
Avg Partner Gdp Million Usd533,678,518.33 million USD
Avg Partner Gdp Per Capita Usd$15.8
Avg Buyer Biz Entry DaysNot reported
Avg Buyer Biz Entry Cost PctNot reported
Pct Partners With Fta17
Pct Partners Shared Language9
Pct Partners Shared Border1
Avg Applied Tariff Pct0.1%
Avg Mfn Tariff Pct0.1%
Avg Preferential Tariff Pct0%
Tariff Advantage Pp+0.1 pp
Avg Distance All Partners Km9,810
Num Border Partners55
Num Colonial Partners25
Avg Substitution Elasticity-9.3
Pct Products High Elasticity72
Pct Products Low Elasticity3
Real Market Potential99,127.7
Foreign Market Potential9,493.9

Exposure fields

Country Iso3CRI
All History Lane Count6,227
Current Lane Count3,274
Critical Lane Count14
High Attention Lane Count562
High Volatility Lane Count1,666
Unrecovered Drawdown Lane Count1,120
Declining Demand Lane Count7
Concentrated Market Lane Count1,449
Access Friction Lane Count570
Buyer Macro Weakness Lane Count114
Monitored Exports Current Usd$26.0B
Attention Exports Usd$7.2B
Critical Exports Usd$690.9M
High Volatility Exports Usd$15.4B
Unrecovered Drawdown Exports Usd$2.6B
Non Fta Exports Usd$2.5B
Monitored Attention Share Pct27.7%
Monitored Critical Share Pct2.7%
Fta Covered Exports Share Pct90.3%
Export Weighted Volatility Cv1.1
Export Weighted Below Peak Pct15.7%
Export Weighted Distance Km6,467 km
Export Weighted Tariff Pct0.1%
Latest Data Year2,024
First Data Year1,995
Country Years Count30
Total Exports Latest Usd$27.5B
Total Imports Latest Usd$23.4B
Trade Balance Latest Usd$4.0B
Exports Yoy Latest Pct18.6%
Exports Cagr 3y Latest Pct14.5%
Gdp Latest Million Usd95,350.42 million USD
Gdp Per Capita Latest Usd$18.6K
Population Latest5,129,910
Investment Rate Latest Pct20.5%
Savings Rate Latest Pct17.2%
Trade Openness Latest Pct77.5%
Exports Gdp Latest Pct41.8%
Active Partners Latest270
Fta Partners Latest45
Foreign Market Potential Latest9,493.9
Gdp 5y Cagr Pct8.2%
Gdp Per Capita 5y Cagr Pct7.6%
Population 5y Cagr Pct0.5%
Partner Hhi Latest1,595.4
Partner Top1 Share Latest Pct36.4%
Partner Top3 Share Latest Pct55%
Partner Hhi All Avg1,734
Partner Hhi All Max3,165.7
Product Hhi Latest805.6
Product Top1 Share Latest Pct20.6%
Product Top3 Share Latest Pct43.9%
Product Hhi All Avg866
Product Hhi All Max2,502.5
Total Exports Attention Share Pct26.3%
Total Exports Critical Share Pct2.5%
Attention LevelWatch
Primary Risk DriverHigh trade volatility
Macro Resilience LabelMacro trend resilient

Annual country history

YearExportsImportsTrade balanceExports YoYExports CAGR 3Y
1995$3.2B$3.5B-$274.7MNot reportedNot reported
1996$3.3B$3.5B-$195.1M+3.6%Not reported
1997$4.1B$4.1B-$38.0M+21.2%Not reported
1998$5.5B$5.1B$375.7M+35.7%+19.5%
1999$6.8B$5.7B$1.2B+24.2%+26.9%
2000$6.6B$5.5B$1.0B-3.5%+17.6%
2001$5.8B$5.9B-$188.4M-12.6%+1.5%
2002$6.7B$6.7B-$37.3M+16.5%-0.6%
2003$8.9B$7.1B$1.8B+32.5%+10.5%
2004$9.7B$7.6B$2.1B+9.2%+19%
2005$10.2B$8.7B$1.5B+5.2%+15%
2006$11.3B$10.6B$694.2M+10.8%+8.4%
2007$12.7B$12.2B$464.1M+11.8%+9.2%
2008$13.1B$14.2B-$1.0B+3.7%+8.7%
2009$14.1B$10.5B$3.6B+7.6%+7.6%
2010$18.7B$12.6B$6.1B+32.5%+13.9%
2011$22.3B$15.9B$6.4B+19.6%+19.4%
2012$26.7B$16.4B$10.3B+19.5%+23.7%
2013$27.0B$16.2B$10.8B+0.9%+13%
2014$24.7B$15.8B$8.9B-8.6%+3.3%
2015$11.5B$14.3B-$2.8B-53.5%-24.6%
2016$11.4B$14.4B-$3.0B-0.5%-24.9%
2017$12.3B$15.1B-$2.8B+7.9%-20.7%
2018$12.6B$15.7B-$3.1B+2.8%+3.3%
2019$13.0B$14.8B-$1.8B+2.6%+4.4%
2020$13.7B$13.8B-$124.8M+5.6%+3.7%
2021$18.3B$17.9B$383.7M+33.5%+13.1%
2022$20.1B$20.6B-$482.1M+9.8%+15.7%
2023$23.2B$22.0B$1.2B+15.4%+19.1%
2024$27.5B$23.4B$4.0B+18.6%+14.5%

Top export sectors

RankHS2SectorExportsShareExport partnersActive HS6
190Optical and medical instruments$9.7B35.2%140142
285Electrical machinery$6.7B24.5%147260
308Edible fruit and nuts$3.0B11.1%10467
421Miscellaneous edible preparations$1.1B3.8%8216
539Plastics$532.5M1.9%132128
684Machinery$491.6M1.8%133515
730Pharmaceutical products$482.0M1.8%9641
820Preparations of vegetables and fruit$472.1M1.7%11152
909Coffee, tea and spices$372.9M1.4%9639
1040Rubber$341.5M1.2%9178

Detailed HS4 export lines

RankHS4Parent HS2ExportsShareActive HS6
19018Optical and medical instruments (90)$7.2B26.2%13
28542Electrical machinery (85)$5.7B20.8%5
39021Optical and medical instruments (90)$2.1B7.6%8
40804Edible fruit and nuts (08)$1.5B5.4%5
50803Edible fruit and nuts (08)$1.3B4.8%2
62106Miscellaneous edible preparations (21)$842.6M3.1%2
70901Coffee, tea and spices (09)$357.3M1.3%5
88544Electrical machinery (85)$356.3M1.3%8
98473Machinery (84)$304.8M1.1%5
108536Electrical machinery (85)$241.6M0.9%10
112009Preparations of vegetables and fruit (20)$227.5M0.8%17
124011Rubber (40)$220.9M0.8%8

Top export destinations

RankDestinationISO3ExportsShareYoYCAGR 3Y
1USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsUSA$10.0B36.4%+12.3%+18.6%
2ChinaCHN$3.1B11.3%+50.1%+73.1%
3MexicoMEX$2.0B7.3%+59.4%+38%
4NetherlandsNLD$1.4B5%+25.4%-11.3%
5GuatemalaGTM$949.3M3.5%+16.2%+9.5%
6BelgiumBEL$693.0M2.5%+2.1%+4.8%
7NicaraguaNIC$683.3M2.5%+3.6%+8.6%
8PanamaPAN$550.5M2%-2.4%-0.8%
9HondurasHND$542.8M2%-3.2%+7.1%
10GermanyDEU$538.9M2%-7.3%-0.5%

Destination risk context

RankDestinationAttentionAttention shareBelow peakApplied tariffPrimary reason
1Malaysia (MYS)Critical attention98.3%66.7%13.4%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
2China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKG)Critical attention98.8%73.4%0%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
3Netherlands (NLD)Watch45.7%22.2%1.4%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
4India (IND)Critical attention79.9%33.1%53.2%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
5USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USA)Watch17.9%9.2%1.1%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
6China (CHN)Watch3.3%22.2%28.9%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
7Republic of Korea (KOR)High attention27.4%25.9%14.6%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
8Japan (JPN)High attention97%14.8%2%Tariff, distance or agreement conditions create market-access friction
9Mexico (MEX)Watch18.9%22.3%10%Volatile products account for the largest observed corridor exposure
10Panama (PAN)Watch20.8%22%12.1%Buyer-market concentration is the largest observed corridor exposure

Emerging corridor signals

RankDestinationHS6SignalMarket importsCurrent shareStrength
1Barbados (BRB)842890new$587.2K20.7%100
2Australia (AUS)310540new$715.9M0%100
3Bulgaria (BGR)382100new$3.0M4.5%100
4Bulgaria (BGR)701790new$1.8M10.9%100
5Bermuda (BMU)200949new$864.4K86.1%100
6Vanuatu (VUT)300691new$107.8K100%100
7Saudi Arabia (SAU)391211new$1.6M13.5%100
8World excl. Intra-EU (WXD)870590new$12.8M1.2%100
9Papua New Guinea (PNG)401699new$2.9M3.8%100
10Malaysia (MYS)400129new$419.7M0%100

Market opportunity signals

RankMarketHS6Buyer importsAddressable 3-year valueCurrent shareSignal
1USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USA)270900$165.0B$115.5B0%Declining (+1.1%)
2China (CHN)854231$158.0B$89.1B1.5%Accelerating (+10.5%)
3India (IND)270900$130.1B$73.0B0%Declining (-0.5%)
4China (CHN)854232$80.6B$65.7B0%Accelerating (+20.6%)
5China (CHN)854239$81.8B$61.4B0%Accelerating (+4%)
6USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USA)851712$53.9B$53.8B0%Growing (-8.8%)
7USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (USA)847150$53.9B$45.6B0%Growing (+60.2%)
8India (IND)710812$53.8B$33.8B0%Declining (+36.1%)

How to read this page

Separate reported scale from calculated context.

Reported exports, imports, trade balance, sector rows, destination rows, and annual history describe merchandise trade observations for the stated country and year.

CAGR, shares, concentration measures, tariff context, exposure shares, and momentum are calculated indicators built from the available observations. They help organize research but are not additional reported trade or forecasts.

Coverage runs from 1995 through 2024 for this profile. Missing values are shown as Not reported. Read the full methodology ↗

Reported observations

OECD BIMTS merchandise trade values are the primary series for this view.

Calculated indicators

Growth, share, HHI, tariff, and exposure fields are derived from available reported values.

Coverage limits

Unavailable values remain unavailable. No company sales, shipment records, or forecasts are implied.

Questions about this profile

Costa Rica export capability, in context

Short answers for readers comparing country export scale, partner breadth, and calculated trade indicators.

What does the Costa Rica export profile measure?

It combines reported exports, imports, history, destinations, HS2 sectors, partner context, and calculated indicators for Costa Rica.

What is the latest reported export value for Costa Rica?

Costa Rica recorded $27.5B in reported exports in 2024.

Which markets receive the most exports from Costa Rica?

USA, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands leads by reported export value at $10.0B in 2024. Five destination lanes are highlighted.

Which sectors lead Costa Rica's exports?

Optical and medical instruments leads by reported value at $9.7B. Five HS2 chapters are highlighted.

How many years of Costa Rica trade history are available?

This sample contains 30 observed annual rows covering 1995 through 2024. Missing observations are not estimated.

Are the growth and exposure values forecasts?

No. They are calculated or classified from reported observations, not forecasts or market-access guarantees.

Continue your research

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Compare countries, products, sectors, and routes using the available trade evidence and definitions.

Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-28). OECD BIMTS is the primary trade series for this view. Supporting bilateral trade context uses CEPII BACI bilateral trade flows (202601) under Etalab 2.0 Open Licence. Yugalinks presents derived views of reported observations and calculated indicators. Data terms: OECD Terms & Conditions.