Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Central America

Central America
68
Overall score
Strong overall
Language
Spanish
Currency
CRC
Citizenship
7 years (5 for Ibero-American/Spanish)
Personal tax
0–25% (territorial)
Cost of living
$1,400 / mo (single)

The 'pura vida' nature destination with territorial taxation, a dedicated digital-nomad visa and stable democracy - though local salaries are modest and naturalisation takes seven years.

Pros

  • Territorial tax on foreign income
  • Digital-nomad visa (tax-free remote income)
  • Stable, safe, biodiverse

Cons

  • 7-year citizenship path
  • Modest local wages
  • Bureaucracy can be slow

Best for

Nomads & remote earnersNature-loving retireesInvestors (rentista/inversionista)

Score profile

Status & mobility
Passport
84
Citizenship
71
Residence
53
Money & business
Taxes
78
Corporate tax
14
Business
56
Investment
44
Economy
77
Wealth building
60
Living, study & work
Education
74
Salary & work
59
Cost of living
63
Buying power
66
Quality of life
Safety
47
Healthcare
71
Infrastructure
69
HDI
83

Status & mobility

Passport

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any travel or visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Passport power
Excellent
84

Passport-index style mobility for the Costa Rica passport. The score above is its world reach: the share of 198 destinations reachable without a prior visa.

166 / 198
Mobility
#24
Global rank
Yes
Biometric
  • Visa-free116
  • On arrival42
  • eTA8
  • Visa required32

Passport Index style mobility data (2024–2025 estimate). Placeholder figures; verify current entry rules with each destination’s authority before travelling.

Citizenship

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any citizenship decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Citizenship accessibility
Good
71
Years required7 years (5 for nationals of Ibero-American countries & Spain)
Dual allowedtrue
LanguageSpanish + Costa Rican history/values exam
ResidenceLegal residence for the qualifying period
NotesChildren born in Costa Rica acquire citizenship by birth (jus soli).
Residence

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any residence / visa decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Openness to residents
Moderate
53
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines how international the population already is (migrant stock at 45%), governance quality (regulatory quality at 25%), and the curated residence-pathway signal (30%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Migrant stock12.2% of population (2024)
Regulatory quality0.58 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main pathways
Digital Nomad (Estancia)RentistaInversionista (US$150k)Pensionado
StudentStudent residency for enrolled students.
WorkWork permits restricted; employer sponsorship required.
Self-employedInversionista or rentista routes; local company formation.
PermanentPermanent residency after ~3 years of temporary residency.

Money & business

Taxes

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Tax friendliness
Good
78
Personal0–25% on Costa Rica-source income (territorial)
Corporate30% (lower brackets for small companies)
Capital gains15%
Dividends15%
Exit taxNone
Foreign cosNo CFC regime (territorial)
Personal tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Personal tax
Moderate
55
Personal0–25% on Costa Rica-source income (territorial)
FreelanceForeign-source income untaxed; local activity registered with tax authority
Capital gains15%
Dividends15%
Exit taxNone
Corporate tax

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Corporate tax
Low
14
Corporate30% (lower brackets for small companies)
Capital gains15%
Dividends15%
Foreign cosNo CFC regime (territorial)
Business
Business friendliness
Moderate
56
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score leans on the two things founders ask about most: the tax burden (headline corporate rate at 20%, broader tax friendliness at 15%, and freedom from exit-tax / CFC rules at 10%) plus the regulatory and bureaucratic environment (regulatory quality 15%, government effectiveness 15%), on top of the curated company-rules signal (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the values are shown below.

Regulation & bureaucracy
Regulatory quality0.58 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Government effectiveness0.29 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rules & taxes
Foreign co.Yes: foreign ownership permitted
Local co.Sociedad Anónima or S.R.L. via notary
FreelanceForeign-source income untaxed; local activity registered with tax authority
Corporate tax30% (lower brackets for small companies)
Capital gains15%
Exit taxNone
Foreign cosNo CFC regime (territorial)
Investment

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any investment / tax decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Investing environment
Limited
44
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score is mostly the investor-tax signal (capital-gains treatment, broker access, wealth tax, and ETF or other taxes on investment, 70%), lightly contextualised by equity-market depth (market cap / GDP at 18%) and credit depth (domestic credit to the private sector / GDP at 12%). Available indicators are reweighted.

Market cap3% of GDP (2022)
Private credit52% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capital gains15% CGT; foreign-source gains generally outside scope
DividendsData not available yet
ETFs & fundsData not available yet
Wealth taxNone (property/luxury-home tax only)
BrokersLimited locally; foreign brokers commonly used
Foreign accessData not available yet
Tax-advantagedData not available yet
Economy
Economic strength
Good
77
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines income level (GDP and GNI per capita, output per worker), growth momentum (real GDP growth), price stability (inflation) and labour utilisation (unemployment). Available indicators are reweighted; the sector split and industry profile below are descriptive, not scored.

Output & income
GDP$95.4B (2024)
GDP / person$18,587 (2024)
GNI / person$28,840 PPP (2024)
GDP growth4.3% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Stability & labour
Inflation-0.4% / yr (2024)
Unemployment6.8% (2025)
Output per worker$61,875 PPP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Sector composition
Agriculture3.6% of GDP (2024)
Industry19.7% of GDP (2024)
Services68.8% of GDP (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Main industries
Medical devicesTourismAgricultureBusiness servicesTechnology
Top exports
Medical devicesBananas, coffee & pineapplesBusiness services
TypeUpper-middle-income, services- and high-tech-manufacturing-led
Key sectorsMedtech free zones, Eco-tourism, Shared-services & IT
SummaryA stable economy that moved up the value chain into medical-device manufacturing, services and eco-tourism.
CurrencyCosta Rican colon (US dollars widely accepted)
Wealth building

Rules change often and depend on your situation. Confirm any tax / investment decision with a qualified professional, or do your own research, before acting.

Wealth accumulation
Moderate
60
How this score is calculated

How favourable Costa Rica is for building wealth: earnings and business/investment upside, tax drag, and how much a typical income keeps after living costs. Estimated from the factors below.

Salary & work
Moderate
48
Business
Moderate
57
Investment
Moderate
56
Tax friendliness
Good
78
Cost of living
Moderate
63

Living, study & work

Education
Education score
Good
74
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines attainment (expected schooling at 30% and mean schooling at 25%) with participation (tertiary enrolment at 25%) and public investment (government education spending at 20%). Available indicators are reweighted; tuition and study rules remain separate profile fields below.

Attainment
Expected schooling16.3 years (2023)
Mean schooling8.8 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Participation & investment
Tertiary enrolment55% gross (2019)
Education spending5.3% of GDP (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Tuition$3,000–9,000 / yr (private)
Public uniPublic universities (UCR) low-cost for residents
LanguagesSpanish, English (some private)
Student workLimited work for students
Salary & work
Labour-market strength
Moderate
59
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines output per worker (a proxy for wage potential at 40%), unemployment (35%) and labour-force participation (25%). Available indicators are reweighted; the curated profile fields remain below.

Output per worker$61,875 PPP (2024)
Unemployment6.8% (2025)
Participation57.7% of 15+ (2025)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Mean monthly earnings of employees
Overall$841 · $1,359 PPP (2024)
Tech (IT & comms)$1,747 · $2,453 PPP (2024)

Source: ILOSTAT (International Labour Organization)

FreelanceStrong nearshoring & call-centre/services market
Job marketIntel, Amazon and medical-device firms anchor the San José hub.
Cost of living
Affordability
Moderate
63

Our 0–100 affordability score is derived from the local consumer price level (World Bank, US = 100): the cheaper everyday prices are, the higher it scores. Lower price level means your money goes further here.

Price level64 (US = 100) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Rent$600–1,100 (1BR San José)
Monthly$1,400
CitiesSan José, Tamarindo, Atenas
Buying power
Purchasing power score
Good
66
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score estimates how far money goes for the typical person here. It combines GNI per capita at PPP (30%) and actual household consumption per person at PPP (15%) with a price-advantage term from the local price level (25%) that rewards lower prices, then adjusts for income equality via the Gini index (20%), so unequal economies don't ride a high average, plus price stability via consumer inflation (10%). Available indicators are reweighted; it is a comparison, not a personal budget estimate.

GNI / person$28,840 PPP (2024)
Consumption / person$18,656 PPP (2024)
Price level64 (US = 100) (2024)
Income inequality45.5 Gini (2025)
Inflation-0.4% / yr (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Quality of life

Safety
Safety & stability
Moderate
47
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines personal safety (intentional homicide rate at 35%), institutional quality (rule of law at 25% and control of corruption at 20%), and political stability and absence of violence (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below. Always check current government travel and security advice before relocating.

Personal safety
Homicide rate17.7 per 100,000 (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Institutions & stability
Rule of law0.62 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Control of corruption0.68 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)
Political stability1.18 (−2.5 to 2.5) (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Healthcare
Healthcare score
Good
71
How this score is calculated

Our 0–100 score combines health outcomes (life expectancy at 25% and under-5 mortality at 20%) with system capacity (physicians at 20% and hospital beds at 15% per 1,000 people) and health spending per capita (20%). Available indicators are reweighted; the published values are shown below.

Outcomes
Life expectancy81.0 years (2024)
Under-5 mortality10.4 per 1,000 births (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Capacity & resourcing
Physicians2.69 per 1,000 (2022)
Hospital beds1.14 per 1,000 (2022)
Health spending$1,928 PPP / person (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

System & costs
SystemUniversal public (Caja/CCSS) + private
InsuranceResidents pay into the Caja; private care affordable
Avg costCaja contribution income-based; private cheap by US standards
Infrastructure
Infrastructure score
Good
69
How this score is calculated

The score combines digital access, resilience and download performance (30%), electricity access and network losses (30%), and transport infrastructure covering rail, logistics and aviation (40%). Available inputs are reweighted, but a country needs both digital and transport data to receive a score.

Digital infrastructure
Internet use87.2% (2024)
Internet resilience60 / 100 (2026)
Fixed speed84 / 100 download index (2026)
Mobile speed64 / 100 download index (2026)

Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators · Internet Society Pulse Internet Resilience Index

Utilities
Electricity access100.0% (2023)
Grid losses9.1% of output (2024)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

Transport
Transport quality2.70 / 5 (2022)
Rail density16.6 km / 1,000 km² (2001)
Air connectivity3,060 departures / million people (2023)

Source: World Bank World Development Indicators

HDI
Human development score
Excellent
83
How this score is calculated

The UN Human Development Index is the geometric mean of three dimension indices (a long and healthy life, knowledge, and a decent standard of living), shown on a 0–100 map scale (HDI × 100). The 2023 UNDP inputs behind each dimension are listed below.

HDI0.833 (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Long & healthy life
Life expectancy80.8 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Knowledge
Expected schooling16.3 years (2023)
Mean schooling8.8 years (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Standard of living
GNI / person$23,417 PPP (2023)

Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025

Resources

Mock data for demonstration only. Not legal or tax advice.