CRI · snapshot 2026-08-09
Costa Rica
MediumOverall risk score
37.9
Percentile of scored universe
33th
Data coverage
97%
vs Australia (16.1)
+21.8
Category breakdown
Political Stability & Governance
Low6 indicators · 100% coverage
Economic Resilience
Medium6 indicators · 85% coverage
Financial & Currency Risk
Medium5 indicators · 100% coverage
Business Environment
High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Security & Crime
Very High4 indicators · 100% coverage
Climate & Social Compliance
Low4 indicators · 100% coverage
Technology & Digital
Medium4 indicators · 100% coverage
Cultural Distance
Medium9 indicators · 100% coverage · not in overall score
Key risks and considerations
Costa Rica rates Medium for market entry — an overall risk score of 37.9, less risky than 67% of rated economies and 22 points riskier than Australia.
The main risk drivers are no double-tax agreement with Australia, no investment-treaty protection with Australia, violent crime (17.7 homicides per 100k) and armed conflict (0.8 battle deaths per 100k/yr).
Relative strengths: political stability & absence of violence/terrorism sits in the least-risky quarter of rated economies, and current account and currency stability both rate Low, the least-risky rating band.
Possible mitigations
- Political violence. Consider political-violence and political-risk insurance, keep asset footprints light, and maintain an exit/continuity plan with defined triggers.
- Withholding tax. No double-tax agreement with Australia: model withholding tax on dividends, interest, and royalties into the business case — it can decide the entity-vs-export question.
- Cultural bridging. Large cultural distance: invest in local partners, bilingual advisers, and longer relationship-building timelines — assume negotiation and management norms differ materially.
Generated automatically from this snapshot’s indicator data — a starting point for analysis, not advice.
Indicators
| Indicator | Value | Risk score | Rating | Australia | Data source year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political Stability & Governance | ||||||
| Voice & accountability (WGI) | 74.6 | 16.3 | Low | |||
| Government effectiveness (WGI) | 56.9 | 37.8 | Medium | |||
| Regulatory quality (WGI) | 64.0 | 27.6 | Medium | |||
| Rule of law (WGI) | 67.6 | 27.8 | Medium | |||
| Control of corruption (WGI) | 61.6 | 25.8 | Medium | |||
| Political stability & absence of violence/terrorism (WGI PV) | 86.0 | 11.4 | Low | |||
| Economic Resilience | ||||||
| GDP growth (3-yr average, %) | 4.5% (3-yr avg) | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| Growth volatility (10-yr std dev, pp) | ±3.1 pp | 44.5 | Medium | |||
| Government net debt (% of GDP) | 60.4 | 45.0 | Medium | |||
| Inflation (CPI %, vs income-group target) | -0.1 | 35.0 | Medium | |||
| Current account (3-yr average, % of GDP) | -1.0% (3-yr avg) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| FX reserves (months of import cover) | — | — | Insufficient data | |||
| GDP per capita (PPP, current intl $) | $33,815 | 37.9 | Medium | |||
| Financial & Currency Risk | ||||||
| Capital-account openness (Chinn-Ito KAOPEN) | 1.00 | 5.0 | Low | |||
| Currency stability (regime-aware classification) | Floating — low volatility (<8%) | 15.0 | Low | |||
| Sovereign credit risk (OECD country risk classification) | Category 3 / 7 | 28.0 | Medium | |||
| FATF listing (grey / black list status) | Not listed | 0.0 | Low | |||
| Double-tax agreement with Australia | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Business Environment | ||||||
| FDI regulatory restrictiveness (OECD FDIRRI) | 0.04 | 43.6 | Medium | |||
| Logistics performance (World Bank LPI) | 2.9 | 48.9 | Medium | |||
| Business readiness (World Bank B-READY pillar average) | 62.9 | 41.8 | Medium | |||
| Investment protection with Australia in force (BIT or FTA investment chapter) | None in force | 100.0 | Very High | |||
| Security & Crime | ||||||
| Armed-conflict intensity (battle deaths per 100k, 5-yr) | 0.8 | 85.9 | Very High | |||
| Intentional homicide rate (per 100k) | 17.7 | 87.2 | Very High | |||
| Organised crime pervasiveness (GI-TOC criminality score) | 5.9 | 69.8 | High | |||
| DFAT Smartraveller advisory level | Level 2 — Exercise a high degree of caution | 40.0 | Medium | |||
| Climate & Social Compliance | ||||||
| Physical climate vulnerability (ND-GAIN vulnerability) | 0.387 | 27.6 | Medium | |||
| Disaster risk (INFORM Risk Index) | 3.3 | 45.0 | Medium | |||
| Modern-slavery prevalence (per 1,000) | 3.2 | 22.8 | Low | |||
| Modern-slavery vulnerability score | 23.8 | 20.3 | Low | |||
| Technology & Digital | ||||||
| E-government development (UN EGDI) | 0.8 | 31.3 | Medium | |||
| Internet users (% of population) | 87.2 | 40.1 | Medium | |||
| Cybercrime origination (World Cybercrime Index) | 0.0 | 10.0 | Low | |||
| Secure internet servers (per million people) | 1999.8 | 42.1 | Medium | |||
Per-indicator ratings are quartile bands of the 0–100 risk score. The Australia column shows the same indicator’s raw value for the Australian baseline in this snapshot.
Cultural distance
GLOBE 2004 societal practices · rated on distance from Australia · not in the overall score
Context — not scored
Unemployment
6.8%
Displayed, never scored: ambiguous for an entrant and unreliable where informal employment dominates. (2025, ILO modelled)
Trade agreement
No Australian FTA in force
Market access is decision-relevant but a benefit, not a risk — kept out of the rating.
Regional advisories
No higher regional advisory levels
DFAT Smartraveller sub-national advice where it exceeds the overall level.
Compare with
A score means little on its own. These economies scored closest to Costa Rica in this snapshot, which is the fastest way to see whether the rating is telling you something specific or something regional.