Electricity generation from hydropower in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Electricity generation from hydropower was 9.58 terawatt-hours in 2025. ▲ Rising
Electricity generation from hydropower 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 from hydropower in Costa Rica stood at 9.58 terawatt-hours. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is up 19.8% on the previous year and up 19.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, electricity generation from hydropower in Costa Rica peaked at 9.58 terawatt-hours in 2025 and was at its lowest, 5.6 terawatt-hours, in 2001.
That places Costa Rica 56th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Electricity generation from hydropower in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | terawatt-hours | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.62 terawatt-hours | — |
| 2001 | 5.6 terawatt-hours | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 5.87 terawatt-hours | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 5.86 terawatt-hours | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 6.42 terawatt-hours | +9.6% |
| 2005 | 6.5 terawatt-hours | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 6.53 terawatt-hours | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 6.7 terawatt-hours | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 7.31 terawatt-hours | +9.1% |
| 2009 | 7.15 terawatt-hours | -2.2% |
| 2010 | 7.19 terawatt-hours | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 7.06 terawatt-hours | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 7.16 terawatt-hours | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 6.78 terawatt-hours | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 6.65 terawatt-hours | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 7.99 terawatt-hours | +20.2% |
| 2016 | 7.95 terawatt-hours | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 8.59 terawatt-hours | +8.1% |
| 2018 | 8.26 terawatt-hours | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 7.75 terawatt-hours | -6.2% |
| 2020 | 8.29 terawatt-hours | +7.0% |
| 2021 | 9.29 terawatt-hours | +12.1% |
| 2022 | 9.45 terawatt-hours | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 8.54 terawatt-hours | -9.6% |
| 2024 | 8 terawatt-hours | -6.3% |
| 2025 | 9.58 terawatt-hours | +19.8% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 9.58 terawatt-hours is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.23 terawatt-hours, 41.7× the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 9.58 terawatt-hours is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.24 terawatt-hours, 39.9× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.36 terawatt-hours | 5.6 terawatt-hours | 7.31 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.54 terawatt-hours | 6.65 terawatt-hours | 8.59 terawatt-hours | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.86 terawatt-hours | 8 terawatt-hours | 9.58 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 from hydropower in Costa Rica?
- Electricity generation from hydropower in Costa Rica was 9.58 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 from hydropower recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 9.58 terawatt-hours in 2025.
- What is the lowest electricity generation from hydropower recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.6 terawatt-hours in 2001.
- How does Costa Rica rank for electricity generation from hydropower?
- Costa Rica ranks 56th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is electricity generation from hydropower rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.9%. 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 from hydropower. 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
Measured in terawatt-hours.