Share of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected was 39.5% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
39.5%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
145th
of 240 countries
All-time high
39.5%
in 2020
All-time low
38.1%
in 2000
Years of data
26
2000–2025
Share of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected in Costa Rica, 2000–2025
Source: BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected in Costa Rica stood at 39.5%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected in Costa Rica peaked at 39.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 38.1%, in 2000.
That places Costa Rica 145th out of 240 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 38.1% | — |
| 2001 | 38.5% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 38.7% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 38.7% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 38.8% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 38.8% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 38.8% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 38.8% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 38.8% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 38.8% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 39.3% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 39.3% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 39.3% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 39.3% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 39.4% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 39.4% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 39.4% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 39.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 39.4% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 39.5% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 39.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 39.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 39.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 39.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 39.5% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 39.5% | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 39.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 52.5%, 75% of the median. (83 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 39.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 35.0%, 1.1× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 38.7% | 38.1% | 38.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.4% | 39.3% | 39.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.5% | 39.5% | 39.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 142 Mozambique 40.0% compare
- 143 Dominica 40.0% compare
- 143 Kiribati 40.0% compare
- 146 Egypt 38.8% compare
- 147 United States 38.4% compare
- 148 Switzerland 37.7% compare
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)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.09 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.3048 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected in Costa Rica?
- Share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected in Costa Rica was 39.5% in 2025, according to BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 39.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.1% in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected?
- Costa Rica ranks 145th out of 240 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of terrestrial key biodiversity areas that are protected rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas that are protected. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average proportion of Terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) covered by protected areas (%).