Labor force, total in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Labor force, total was 2.43 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Labor force, total in Costa Rica, 1990–2025
Source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.
Analysis
In 2025, labor force, total in Costa Rica stood at 2.43 million.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force, total in Costa Rica peaked at 2.53 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1.15 million, in 1990.
That places Costa Rica 122nd out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.33 million | 1.15 million | 1.57 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.83 million | 1.60 million | 2.03 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.29 million | 2.03 million | 2.53 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.43 million | 2.34 million | 2.50 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More education data for Costa Rica
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 18.3% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 68.9% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 104.8% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 43,058 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 104.7% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 104.9% (2024)
- Labor force, female 40.7% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 0.9913 GPI (2021)
Frequently asked questions
- What is labor force, total in Costa Rica?
- Labor force, total in Costa Rica was 2.43 million in 2025, according to International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.
- What is the highest labor force, total recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.53 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest labor force, total recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.15 million in 1990.
- How does Costa Rica rank for labor force, total?
- Costa Rica ranks 122nd out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is labor force, total rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database, published as part of Labor force, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.