Electricity generation in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Electricity generation was 12.81 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Electricity generation in Costa Rica, 2000–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in terawatt-hours.
Analysis
In 2025, electricity generation in Costa Rica stood at 12.81 terawatt-hours. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 16.5% on the previous year and up 18.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation in Costa Rica peaked at 12.81 terawatt-hours in 2025 and was at its lowest, 6.86 terawatt-hours, in 2000.
Costa Rica ranks 103rd of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Electricity generation in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.86 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | 6.9 terawatt-hours | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 7.42 terawatt-hours | +7.5% |
| 2003 | 7.3 terawatt-hours | -1.6% |
| 2004 | 7.98 terawatt-hours | +9.3% |
| 2005 | 8.19 terawatt-hours | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 8.62 terawatt-hours | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 8.98 terawatt-hours | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 9.4 terawatt-hours | +4.7% |
| 2009 | 9.24 terawatt-hours | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 9.51 terawatt-hours | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 9.75 terawatt-hours | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 10.11 terawatt-hours | +3.7% |
| 2013 | 10.19 terawatt-hours | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 10.17 terawatt-hours | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 10.77 terawatt-hours | +5.9% |
| 2016 | 10.86 terawatt-hours | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 11.28 terawatt-hours | +3.9% |
| 2018 | 11.44 terawatt-hours | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 11.42 terawatt-hours | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 11.72 terawatt-hours | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 12.73 terawatt-hours | +8.6% |
| 2022 | 12.44 terawatt-hours | -2.3% |
| 2023 | 11.72 terawatt-hours | -5.8% |
| 2024 | 11 terawatt-hours | -6.1% |
| 2025 | 12.81 terawatt-hours | +16.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 12.81 terawatt-hours is below the median for high income countries, which is 30.95 terawatt-hours, 41% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 12.81 terawatt-hours is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 6.46 terawatt-hours, 2.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.09 terawatt-hours | 6.86 terawatt-hours | 9.4 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.55 terawatt-hours | 9.51 terawatt-hours | 11.44 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.07 terawatt-hours | 11 terawatt-hours | 12.81 terawatt-hours | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More energy & mining data for Costa Rica
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate -2.57 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 10.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is electricity generation in Costa Rica?
- Electricity generation in Costa Rica was 12.81 terawatt-hours in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest electricity generation recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 12.81 terawatt-hours in 2025.
- What is the lowest electricity generation recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.86 terawatt-hours in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for electricity generation?
- Costa Rica ranks 103rd out of 214 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity generation rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Electricity generation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total electricity generated in each country or region, measured in terawatt-hours.