Costa Rica vs United States of America: General government total expenditure
Costa Rica
9.29 trillion current LCU
in 2025
United States of America
11.57 trillion current LCU
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
34th
United States of America rank
32nd
General government total expenditure over time
- Costa Rica
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 11.57 trillion current LCU against 9.29 trillion current LCU in Costa Rica, a difference of 2.28 trillion current LCU.
That makes United States of America's figure about 1.2 times Costa Rica's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 46 shared years of data; in 1980 it was United States of America ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 34th and United States of America ranks 32nd of 195 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 44.36 billion current LCU | 0 current LCU | 44.36 billion current LCU | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 492.97 billion current LCU | 0 current LCU | 492.97 billion current LCU | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 2.40 trillion current LCU | 4.07 trillion current LCU | 1.67 trillion current LCU | United States of America |
| 2010s | 7.74 trillion current LCU | 6.53 trillion current LCU | 1.21 trillion current LCU | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 9.74 trillion current LCU | 10.42 trillion current LCU | 679.28 billion current LCU | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher general government total expenditure, Costa Rica or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 11.57 trillion current LCU against 9.29 trillion current LCU in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in general government total expenditure between Costa Rica and United States of America?
- 2.28 trillion current LCU, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and United States of America?
- 46 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and United States of America rank globally for general government total expenditure?
- Costa Rica ranks 34th and United States of America ranks 32nd of 195 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as General government total expenditure (current LCU). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
February 2026 Data Release