Agricultural water withdrawals in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Agricultural water withdrawals was 2.09 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Agricultural water withdrawals in Costa Rica, 2012–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 2.09 billion cubic meters for agricultural water withdrawals in 2023.
That represents a change of up 20.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural water withdrawals in Costa Rica peaked at 2.30 billion cubic meters in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1.67 billion cubic meters, in 2012.
Costa Rica ranks 72nd of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Agricultural water withdrawals in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1.67 billion cubic meters | — |
| 2013 | 1.73 billion cubic meters | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 1.94 billion cubic meters | +11.9% |
| 2015 | 2.30 billion cubic meters | +18.8% |
| 2016 | 2.15 billion cubic meters | -6.6% |
| 2017 | 2.00 billion cubic meters | -7.0% |
| 2018 | 2.10 billion cubic meters | +4.8% |
| 2019 | 2.07 billion cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2020 | 2.08 billion cubic meters | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 2.09 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 2.09 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 2.09 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.00 billion cubic meters | 1.67 billion cubic meters | 2.30 billion cubic meters | 8 |
| 2020s | 2.09 billion cubic meters | 2.08 billion cubic meters | 2.09 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 69 Armenia 2.38 billion cubic meters compare
- 70 Niger 2.35 billion cubic meters compare
- 71 United Arab Emirates 2.12 billion cubic meters compare
- 73 Cambodia 2.05 billion cubic meters compare
- 74 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 1.92 billion cubic meters compare
- 75 Paraguay 1.90 billion cubic meters compare
More agriculture & rural data for Costa Rica
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0337 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 672.15 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.57 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.2027 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural water withdrawals in Costa Rica?
- Agricultural water withdrawals in Costa Rica was 2.09 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural water withdrawals recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.30 billion cubic meters in 2015.
- What is the lowest agricultural water withdrawals recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.67 billion cubic meters in 2012.
- How does Costa Rica rank for agricultural water withdrawals?
- Costa Rica ranks 72nd out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural water withdrawals rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural water withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture.