Land use in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Land use was 544,348 hectares in 2023. ▲ Rising
Land use in Costa Rica, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in hectares.
Analysis
In 2023, land use in Costa Rica stood at 544,348 hectares.
That represents a change of down 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land use in Costa Rica peaked at 551,000 hectares in 2013 and was at its lowest, 480,000 hectares, in 1961.
That places Costa Rica 128th out of 223 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 485,222 hectares | 480,000 hectares | 490,000 hectares | 9 |
| 1970s | 495,400 hectares | 490,000 hectares | 503,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1980s | 516,800 hectares | 506,000 hectares | 526,000 hectares | 10 |
| 1990s | 504,000 hectares | 490,000 hectares | 520,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2000s | 499,500 hectares | 490,000 hectares | 530,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2010s | 540,955 hectares | 527,567 hectares | 551,000 hectares | 10 |
| 2020s | 544,348 hectares | 544,348 hectares | 544,348 hectares | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 125 Congo 651,400 hectares compare
- 126 Guinea-Bissau 645,530 hectares compare
- 127 New Zealand 592,000 hectares compare
- 129 Armenia 503,400 hectares compare
- 130 Gabon 495,000 hectares compare
- 131 Mauritania 460,000 hectares compare
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 17.08 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.33 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 4.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0273 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0131 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 6.38 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0288 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.92 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land use in Costa Rica?
- Land use in Costa Rica was 544,348 hectares in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest land use recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 551,000 hectares in 2013.
- What is the lowest land use recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 480,000 hectares in 1961.
- How does Costa Rica rank for land use?
- Costa Rica ranks 128th out of 223 countries with data for 2023.
- Is land use rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.2%. 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 (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Land use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).