Industrial water withdrawal in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Industrial water withdrawal was 245.34 million cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Industrial water withdrawal in Costa Rica, 2012–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
The most recent figure for industrial water withdrawal in Costa Rica is 245.34 million cubic meters, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
That represents a change of up 76.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, industrial water withdrawal in Costa Rica peaked at 245.34 million cubic meters in 2021 and was at its lowest, 86.00 million cubic meters, in 2012.
Costa Rica ranks 79th of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Industrial water withdrawal in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 86.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 2013 | 139.00 million cubic meters | +61.6% |
| 2014 | 174.00 million cubic meters | +25.2% |
| 2015 | 240.00 million cubic meters | +37.9% |
| 2016 | 230.00 million cubic meters | -4.2% |
| 2017 | 220.00 million cubic meters | -4.3% |
| 2018 | 228.87 million cubic meters | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 229.16 million cubic meters | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 232.84 million cubic meters | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 245.34 million cubic meters | +5.4% |
| 2022 | 245.34 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 245.34 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 245.34 million cubic meters is below the median for high income countries, which is 668.45 million cubic meters, 37% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 245.34 million cubic meters is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 128.90 million cubic meters, 1.9× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 193.38 million cubic meters | 86.00 million cubic meters | 240.00 million cubic meters | 8 |
| 2020s | 242.22 million cubic meters | 232.84 million cubic meters | 245.34 million cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.401 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is industrial water withdrawal in Costa Rica?
- Industrial water withdrawal in Costa Rica was 245.34 million cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest industrial water withdrawal recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 245.34 million cubic meters in 2021.
- What is the lowest industrial water withdrawal recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.00 million cubic meters in 2012.
- How does Costa Rica rank for industrial water withdrawal?
- Costa Rica ranks 79th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is industrial water withdrawal rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 76.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Industrial water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year by self-supplied industries.