Carbon intensity of energy in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Carbon intensity of energy was 177.38 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour in 2024. ▼ Falling
Carbon intensity of energy in Costa Rica, 1980–2024
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour.
Analysis
The most recent figure for carbon intensity of energy in Costa Rica is 177.38 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 6.1% on the previous year and down 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, carbon intensity of energy in Costa Rica peaked at 242.25 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour in 1994 and was at its lowest, 163.99 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour, in 2019.
Costa Rica ranks 154th of 204 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 45 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 194.77 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 172.74 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 230.21 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 1990s | 203.28 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 184.76 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 242.25 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 2000s | 199.12 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 184.49 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 210.91 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 2010s | 181.79 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 163.99 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 195.02 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 2020s | 169.99 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 165.56 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 177.38 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 151 Slovenia 179.79 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour compare
- 152 Colombia 179.54 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour compare
- 153 Cote d'Ivoire 177.77 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour compare
- 155 Palestine 176.78 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour compare
- 156 United Kingdom 176.71 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour compare
- 157 Belarus 174.93 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour compare
More climate change data for Costa Rica
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.0% (2100)
- Population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Population, total 5.15 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Urban population 4.11 million (2025)
- Urban population 79.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 1.71 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 285.80 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 1.71 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 1.71 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is carbon intensity of energy in Costa Rica?
- Carbon intensity of energy in Costa Rica was 177.38 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest carbon intensity of energy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 242.25 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour in 1994.
- What is the lowest carbon intensity of energy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 163.99 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour in 2019.
- How does Costa Rica rank for carbon intensity of energy?
- Costa Rica ranks 154th out of 204 countries with data for 2024.
- Is carbon intensity of energy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Carbon intensity of energy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Fossil carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per unit of total energy supply, measured in grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour.