Share of global plastic waste imports in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.1% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in Costa Rica, 1994–2023
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of global plastic waste imports in Costa Rica stood at 0.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 43.0% on the previous year and up 113.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Costa Rica peaked at 0.4% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1994.
Costa Rica ranks 52nd of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0.0% | — |
| 1995 | 0.0% | +19.1% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | +1576.3% |
| 1997 | 0.0% | -92.6% |
| 1998 | 0.0% | +60.3% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | -49.5% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | -0.7% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | +48.5% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | -40.6% |
| 2003 | 0.0% | +76.5% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | -21.8% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | +19.1% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | +27.1% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | -19.1% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | -18.8% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | -13.3% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | +65.8% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | -6.8% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | -15.8% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | +46.9% |
| 2014 | 0.1% | +9.7% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | +14.2% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | +17.9% |
| 2018 | 0.1% | +39.3% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | -20.7% |
| 2020 | 0.1% | -32.5% |
| 2021 | 0.1% | +34.5% |
| 2023 | 0.1% | +43.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.0%, 5.4× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.1% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.0%, 354.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global plastic waste imports 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +1576.3% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 6 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 3 |
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)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of global plastic waste imports in Costa Rica?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in Costa Rica was 0.1% in 2023, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4% in 1996.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1994.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Costa Rica ranks 52nd out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 113.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.