Consumption-based CO₂ emissions in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Consumption-based CO₂ emissions was 14.69 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Consumption-based CO₂ emissions in Costa Rica, 1990–2023
Source: Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for consumption-based co₂ emissions in Costa Rica is 14.69 million tonnes, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 10.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, consumption-based co₂ emissions in Costa Rica peaked at 14.72 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 4.86 million tonnes, in 1990.
Costa Rica ranks 91st of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Consumption-based CO₂ emissions in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.86 million tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 5.06 million tonnes | +4.0% |
| 1992 | 5.62 million tonnes | +11.2% |
| 1993 | 5.60 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 6.63 million tonnes | +18.4% |
| 1995 | 6.52 million tonnes | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 6.17 million tonnes | -5.4% |
| 1997 | 7.18 million tonnes | +16.4% |
| 1998 | 7.41 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 7.68 million tonnes | +3.6% |
| 2000 | 8.28 million tonnes | +7.9% |
| 2001 | 8.40 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 11.58 million tonnes | +37.8% |
| 2003 | 10.43 million tonnes | -9.9% |
| 2004 | 10.51 million tonnes | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 10.68 million tonnes | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 11.72 million tonnes | +9.7% |
| 2007 | 13.15 million tonnes | +12.2% |
| 2008 | 13.87 million tonnes | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 11.24 million tonnes | -19.0% |
| 2010 | 11.90 million tonnes | +5.9% |
| 2011 | 13.03 million tonnes | +9.5% |
| 2012 | 12.96 million tonnes | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 13.26 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 13.26 million tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 13.18 million tonnes | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 13.94 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 2017 | 14.33 million tonnes | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 14.72 million tonnes | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 14.35 million tonnes | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 12.31 million tonnes | -14.3% |
| 2021 | 14.01 million tonnes | +13.8% |
| 2022 | 14.66 million tonnes | +4.6% |
| 2023 | 14.69 million tonnes | +0.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 14.69 million tonnes is below the median for high income countries, which is 77.36 million tonnes, 19% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 14.69 million tonnes is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 25.54 million tonnes, 58% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Consumption-based CO₂ emissions in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +37.8% | 8.40 million tonnes | 11.58 million tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.27 million tonnes | 4.86 million tonnes | 7.68 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.99 million tonnes | 8.28 million tonnes | 13.87 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.49 million tonnes | 11.90 million tonnes | 14.72 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.92 million tonnes | 12.31 million tonnes | 14.69 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More climate change data for Costa Rica
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 108.28 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 3,751 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 942.79 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,808 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 100.29 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 688.78 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 623.33 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 65.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 2.35 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is consumption-based co₂ emissions in Costa Rica?
- Consumption-based co₂ emissions in Costa Rica was 14.69 million tonnes in 2023, according to Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest consumption-based co₂ emissions recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 14.72 million tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest consumption-based co₂ emissions recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.86 million tonnes in 1990.
- How does Costa Rica rank for consumption-based co₂ emissions?
- Costa Rica ranks 91st out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is consumption-based co₂ emissions rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Global Carbon Budget (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Consumption-based CO₂ emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual consumption-based emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), measured in tonnes.