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Costa Rica

Location

  • Geographical region: Latin America and the Caribbean, Americas
  • SDG region: SDG Latin America and the Caribbean

Land

  • Total area: --- km2
  • Land area: 51,060 km(2020)
  • Land use by sector: 35% agriculture, 59% forest and 6% other (2018 - 2020)

People

  • Total population: 5,180,829 people (2022)
  • Population density: 100 people per km2 (2020)  
  • Urbanisation: 79% lives in urban areas and 19% lives in rural areas (2020)  

Economy

  • Total GDP: 101,388,865,781 USD per year (2020)
  • GDP per capita: 19,570 USD per year (2020)
  • Value added by sector: 4% from agriculture, 68% from services and 21% from industry (2020 - 2022)
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SDG 6 snapshot in Costa Rica

  • Drinking water

    81 % of the population in Costa Rica uses a safely managed drinking water service (SDG indicator 6.1.1, 2022)
  • Sanitation

    25 % of the population in Costa Rica uses a safely managed sanitation service (SDG indicator 6.2.1a, 2022)
  • Hygiene

    86 % of the population in Costa Rica has a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home (SDG indicator 6.2.1b, 2022)
  • Wastewater

    25 % of domestic wastewater in Costa Rica is safely treated (SDG indicator 6.3.1, 2022)
  • Water quality

    64 % of monitored water bodies in Costa Rica has good ambient water quality (SDG indicator 6.3.2, 2023)
  • Efficiency

    17 $/m<sup>3</sup> is the value added from the use of water by people and the economy in Costa Rica (SDG indicator 6.4.1, 2021)
  • Water stress

    6 % of the renewable water resources in Costa Rica is being withdrawn, after taking into account environmental flow requirements (SDG indicator 6.4.2, 2021)
  • Water management

    51 % is the degree of implementation of integrated water resources management in Costa Rica (SDG indicator 6.5.1, 2023) 
  • Transboundary

    14 % of transboundary basin area has an operational arrangement for water cooperation (SDG indicator 6.5.2, 2023)
  • Ecosystems

    58 % of the water basins in Costa Rica is experiencing rapid changes in the area covered by surface waters (SDG 6 indicator 6.6.1, 2020)
  • Cooperation

    11 m$ is the amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance received by Costa Rica in 2022 (SDG indicator 6.a.1)
  • Participation

    + is the number of sub-sectors (out of 6) with a high level of participation by communities in Costa Rica (SDG indicator 6.b.1, 2021)

Drinking water

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Costa Rica, progress over time

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Costa Rica, by service level and location (2022)

Sanitation and hygiene

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Costa Rica, progress over time

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Costa Rica, by service level and location (2022)

6.2.1b Proportion of population with a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home in Costa Rica, by service level and location (2022)

Water quality and wastewater

6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater flow (safely) treated > Domestic in Costa Rica (2022), compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater flow (safely) treated in Costa Rica, by source (2015 - 2022)

6.3.2 Level 1 Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality in Costa Rica (2023), compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

Water use and scarcity

Water resources and withdrawal in Costa Rica, total and per capita

Long-term average annual precipitation in depth: 2,926 (mm/year) (2020)

Renewable water resources: 23,033 m3 per capita (2017)

Water withdrawal: 651 m3 per capita (2015)

Environmental flow requirements: % of the renewable water resources ()

6.4.2 Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources in Costa Rica, change over time, compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time in Costa Rica, by sector (2020)

Water-use efficiency for ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ only takes into account the proportion of gross value added that comes from irrigated agriculture, since that activity is associated with water withdrawal (other activities are rain-fed).

6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time in Costa Rica, progress over time, compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

Water resources management

6.5.1 Degree of integrated water resources management implementation (0-100) in Costa Rica, progress over time, by dimension

Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

6.5.2 Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation in Costa Rica, progress over time, by component

Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

International cooperation and capacity-building

6.a.1 Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance received by Costa Rica, over time

6.a.1 Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance received by Costa Rica in 2022, by sub-sector

Water and sanitation-related official development assistance includes water sector policy and governance, water supply, sanitation, water sector policy, water resources conservation, river basins development, waste management/disposal, education and training, agricultural water resources and hydroelectric power.

Annual expenditure for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in Costa Rica, by funding source

Community participation

6.b.1 Procedures in law or policy for participation by users/communities and level of participation in Costa Rica (2017-2021)

6.b.1 Level of participation by users/communities in Costa Rica, progress over time, by sub-sector