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Country import demand

Costa Rica
import demand

A reported view of Costa Rica's import scale, sector demand, supplier breadth, economy, and trade history.

Explore import sectors Open country workspace
CRI1995-2024 coverage270 active partner marketsMacro trend resilient
Latest imports$23.4B2024 reported
Import growth+6.7%Year on year
Population5.1MReported population
GDP per capita$18.6KCurrent-dollar GDP
Trade openness77.5%Exports + imports / GDP

The country import read

What does Costa Rica import?

In 2024, Costa Rica recorded $23.4B in reported imports. Imports changed +6.7% year on year and +9.4% annualized over three years. Optical and medical instruments was the largest displayed import sector.

Import history

A long view of demand

Latest twelve years from the reported country series.

Reported imports by year

2013
$16.2B
2014
$15.8B
2015
$14.3B
2016
$14.4B
2017
$15.1B
2018
$15.7B
2019
$14.8B
2020
$13.8B
2021
$17.9B
2022
$20.6B
2023
$22.0B
2024
$23.4B

Demand drivers

The economy behind import demand

Macro and structural indicators add context to reported imports.

GDP$95.4B2024 macro context
GDP growth8.2%Five-year CAGR
Population growth0.5%Five-year CAGR
Investment rate20.5%National rate
Savings rate17.2%National rate
Trade openness77.5%Exports + imports / GDP

Import portfolio

The sectors shaping demand

All returned HS2 sectors ranked by latest import value.

Import demand by HS2All returned · 2024
Leading import sectors for Costa Rica
RankSectorImportsShareImport partnersActive HS6
1Optical and medical instrumentsHS2 90$1.5B6.4%119142
2Electrical machineryHS2 85$3.3B13.9%140260
3Edible fruit and nutsHS2 08$147.8M0.6%4567
4Miscellaneous edible preparationsHS2 21$271.2M1.2%7316
5PlasticsHS2 39$1.7B7.2%116128
6MachineryHS2 84$1.9B8.1%134515
7Pharmaceutical productsHS2 30$827.4M3.5%8541
8Preparations of vegetables and fruitHS2 20$208.8M0.9%6152
9Coffee, tea and spicesHS2 09$42.4M0.2%4639
10RubberHS2 40$257.7M1.1%9778

Import values are reported observations. Full rows remain in the downloads.

Supply diversification

Where import exposure is spread

Partner breadth, concentration, access, and distance add supplier context.

Supplier markets270Reported partner count
Partner concentration1,595.4Partner HHI
Top 3 partner share55%Reported concentration
FTA partner markets45Reported count
Average distance10,026 kmCalculated average
Macro resilienceMacro trend resilientCountry context
Complete country valuesOpen the full import evidenceFull profile, history, and HS2 sector fields remain available here and in the downloads.

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 Usd95,350.4 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 Usd533,678,518.3 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 Language8.9%
Pct Partners Shared Border0.7%
Avg Applied Tariff Pct0.1%
Avg Mfn Tariff Pct0.1%
Avg Preferential Tariff Pct0%
Tariff Advantage Pp0.1
Avg Distance All Partners Km9,810 km
Num Border Partners55
Num Colonial Partners25
Avg Substitution Elasticity-9.3
Pct Products High Elasticity72.2
Pct Products Low Elasticity3.4
Real Market Potential99,127.7
Foreign Market Potential9,493.9

Supplier context

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 Usd95,350.4 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 import history

YearImportsExportsBalanceImports YoY
1995$3.5B$3.2B-$274.7M+0%
1996$3.5B$3.3B-$195.1M+1.1%
1997$4.1B$4.1B-$38.0M+15.6%
1998$5.1B$5.5B$375.7M+25.3%
1999$5.7B$6.8B$1.2B+10.7%
2000$5.5B$6.6B$1.0B-2.2%
2001$5.9B$5.8B-$188.4M+7.2%
2002$6.7B$6.7B-$37.3M+13.5%
2003$7.1B$8.9B$1.8B+5.7%
2004$7.6B$9.7B$2.1B+7.1%
2005$8.7B$10.2B$1.5B+13.5%
2006$10.6B$11.3B$694.2M+22.5%
2007$12.2B$12.7B$464.1M+14.8%
2008$14.2B$13.1B-$1.0B+16.2%
2009$10.5B$14.1B$3.6B-26%
2010$12.6B$18.7B$6.1B+20.2%
2011$15.9B$22.3B$6.4B+26.4%
2012$16.4B$26.7B$10.3B+3%
2013$16.2B$27.0B$10.8B-1.2%
2014$15.8B$24.7B$8.9B-2.7%
2015$14.3B$11.5B-$2.8B-9.3%
2016$14.4B$11.4B-$3.0B+0.8%
2017$15.1B$12.3B-$2.8B+4.6%
2018$15.7B$12.6B-$3.1B+4.1%
2019$14.8B$13.0B-$1.8B-5.7%
2020$13.8B$13.7B-$124.8M-6.6%
2021$17.9B$18.3B$383.7M+29.5%
2022$20.6B$20.1B-$482.1M+14.8%
2023$22.0B$23.2B$1.2B+6.8%
2024$23.4B$27.5B$4.0B+6.7%

Import sectors

RankHS2SectorImportsShareImport partnersActive HS6
190Optical and medical instruments$1.5B6.4%119142
285Electrical machinery$3.3B13.9%140260
308Edible fruit and nuts$147.8M0.6%4567
421Miscellaneous edible preparations$271.2M1.2%7316
539Plastics$1.7B7.2%116128
684Machinery$1.9B8.1%134515
730Pharmaceutical products$827.4M3.5%8541
820Preparations of vegetables and fruit$208.8M0.9%6152
909Coffee, tea and spices$42.4M0.2%4639
1040Rubber$257.7M1.1%9778

Questions about this profile

Costa Rica import demand, in context

Short answers for import and supplier research.

What does the Costa Rica import profile measure?

It combines reported imports, annual history, HS2 sectors, supplier breadth, economy context, and calculated indicators for Costa Rica.

What is the latest reported import value for Costa Rica?

Costa Rica recorded $23.4B in reported imports in 2024.

Which sectors lead Costa Rica's imports?

Optical and medical instruments leads by reported import value at $1.5B.

How many years of Costa Rica import history are available?

This profile contains 30 annual rows covering 1995 through 2024.

What drives import demand?

GDP, population, investment, savings, and trade openness provide demand context.

Are the growth and concentration values forecasts?

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

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Data source

OECD trade statistics with CEPII context

OECD (2025), Balanced international merchandise trade statistics (BIMTS) - HS2017-6D, OECD Data Explorer (accessed on 2026-08-29). 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.