The president is directly elected for a four-year term and can seek a nonconsecutive second term. Presidential candidates must win 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff. In 2022, Rodrigo Chaves of the center-right Social Democratic Progress Party (PPSD) was elected president, winning 53 percent of the vote in the runoff to defeat former president José María Figueres of the National Liberation Party (PLN). Both rounds of voting featured a low voter turnout.

Elections for the 57-seat unicameral Legislative Assembly occur every four years. Deputies, elected by proportional representation, may not run for two consecutive terms, but may run again after skipping a term. No party won a majority in the 2022 general elections, which saw the PLN become the largest party in the legislature by winning 19 seats, followed by the PPSD, which won 10. Four other parties entered the legislature with fewer than 10 seats each.

A special chamber of the Supreme Court appoints the independent national election commission, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which is responsible for administering elections. The TSE carries out its functions impartially, and the electoral framework is fair.

People have the right to organize in different political parties without undue obstacles. The historical dominance of the PLN and the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) has waned in recent years as new parties have gained traction, leading to the collapse of the traditional two-party system. Both the Liberal Progressive Party (PLP), founded in 2016, and the New Republic Party (PNR), founded in 2018, won legislative representation for the first time in the 2022 elections. During those elections, 25 parties presented a presidential candidate on the ballot, an all-time record.

Power regularly alternates in Costa Rica, and opposition parties compete fiercely in presidential and legislative elections.

Citizens’ political choices are free from domination by unelected elites and other undemocratic powers.

Members of religious, racial, ethnic, and other minority groups enjoy full political rights. Some groups remain underrepresented in government. Indigenous rights have not historically been prioritized, and there is little representation of Indigenous Costa Ricans, who comprise 2.4 percent of the population. Sonia Rojas Méndez, who was elected to the legislature in 2022, is the country’s first deputy who identifies as an Indigenous woman. Afro–Costa Ricans, who make up almost 8 percent of the population, are also underrepresented in government. Women and their interests are represented in government; approximately 47 percent of seats in the Legislative Assembly are held by women.

Costa Rica’s freely elected government and lawmakers set and implement state policy without interference. However, legislative gridlock remains a systemic issue.

Costa Rica’s anticorruption laws are generally well enforced, and the country has functional anticorruption mechanisms.

Several high-profile corruption investigations involving bribery, misuse of public funds, and influence peddling were ongoing at the end of 2023. The Diamante corruption case—an alleged bribery scheme related to public works contracts that led to the 2021 arrests of several politicians—implicated six mayors who remained in office at the end of 2023.

As of the end of 2023, the prosecutor’s office was investigating allegations that President Chaves’s presidential campaign had been supported by several donors who were allegedly promised that they would be rewarded when Chaves assumed power, including with funds from the potential sale of the Costa Rican Bank.

Citizens generally have access to government information. There are some shortcomings in the way budgets are reported to the public, including a lack of transparency in communicating the objectives of the annual budget. Senior government officials are required to make financial disclosures, but that information is not available to the public.

Freedom of the press is largely respected in Costa Rica. Defamation laws are on the books, but imprisonment was removed as a punishment for defamation in 2010.

However, President Chaves has verbally attacked journalists and used public institutions to target media owners, particularly those who have spoken out against him. In 2022, Chaves compared some journalists to rats. In January 2023, Chaves said that the journalists of CRHoy.com, a news outlet that has served as one of his strongest critics, were “political assassins.” In August, Chaves allegedly attempted to intervene in a child custody dispute involving CRHoy.com’s owner. In January of 2023, it was revealed that the health minister, Joselyn Chacón, had paid online trolls to harass journalists and media outlets. She subsequently resigned.

Despite Chaves’s verbal and political attacks on the media, independent institutions have acted as a safeguard for freedom of speech. In 2022, the Chaves administration suspended the operating permit for an events arena owned by the newspaper La Nación. The suspension was perceived by many as retribution for the outlet’s critical reporting on the administration, and was later annulled by the Constitutional Chamber.

Roman Catholicism is the official religion, but the constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, which is generally respected in practice.

Academic freedom is constitutionally protected and generally upheld.

Private discussion is free, and the government is not known to surveil the electronic communications of Costa Ricans.

Freedom of assembly is constitutionally protected. This right is largely upheld in practice. A diverse range of groups hold regular rallies and protests without government interference.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), including those engaged in human rights work, are active and do not encounter undue obstacles.

Although labor unions are free to organize and mount frequent protests and strikes with minimal governmental interference, the law requires a minimum of 12 employees to form a union, which may impact union rights at small enterprises. Rates of union membership in the private sector are low, due in part to employers who discriminate against union members and occasionally fire workers who attempt to form unions. A 2020 reform introduced a series of restrictions on strikes, including limits on their legal justifications and salary suspensions for those who participate in illegal strikes.

The judicial branch is generally independent and impartial. Supreme Court judges are elected by a supermajority of the legislature. Prosecutors and judges are able to investigate public officials.

However, there are concerns that judges may be vulnerable to bribes or threats from drug cartels. In March 2023, a judge who was dismissed for freeing two Colombian nationals who were caught smuggling cocaine kept his position after petitioning the Contentious Administrative Court.

Due process rights are enshrined in the constitution and are generally protected. However, there are often substantial delays in judicial processes, sometimes resulting in lengthy pretrial detention.

Violent crime has increased in recent years. As of September 2023, Costa Rica had recorded 630 homicides, surpassing the record high of 628 homicides in 2022. Territory disputes between drug traffickers contributed to the increase in homicides, and Costa Rican authorities struggled to coordinate their efforts to contain the rising violence.

The United States has given Costa Rica millions of dollars in assistance to combat drug trafficking. In July 2023, the Costa Rican government installed drug scanners at the port of Moín as part of the newly launched “Operation Sovereignty.”

In September 2023, the Mexican newspaper El Universal alleged that the Chaves administration was negotiating directly with drug cartels in an attempt to reduce the unprecedented wave of violence. The government denied doing so and launched an investigation into the allegations.

The constitution grants equal rights to all people, but rights are upheld unevenly. Indigenous people face discrimination, particularly regarding land rights and access to basic services. In recent years, land disputes have led to Indigenous groups being targeted by lawsuits and violence. In 2022, an Indigenous rights organization reported that Indigenous communities and individuals in Costa Rica had been subjected to at least 63 violent attacks in 2021, including incidents of harassment, arson, and physical assault. At least 26 attacks were reportedly perpetrated or permitted by police forces.

Costa Ricans of African descent have faced discrimination in health care, education, and employment. A law recognizing historical discrimination against Afro–Costa Ricans stipulates that public institutions must allocate at least 7 percent of vacant positions to people of African descent, and that the history of Afro–Costa Ricans in the country must be included in public education curriculums. Recently, the Costa Rican soccer league has experienced an uptick in the number of incidents where fans have yelled racial slurs at Black players. Antiracism campaigns on social media have sought to combat racism both in stadiums and in Costa Rican society in general.

Women experience discrimination due to entrenched stereotypes, which can limit their equal access to employment, health services, and the justice system.

Executive orders prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. However, law enforcement officials discriminate against LGBT+ people, and there have been reports that police have attacked transgender sex workers.

Although asylum seekers are legally entitled to access public services, discrimination sometimes prevents them from doing so. The number of people seeking asylum in Costa Rica has risen sharply in recent years. In June 2023, government officials confirmed that there were over 250,000 pending asylum applications, more than 90 percent of which were from Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Cubans. The minister of foreign affairs stated that the increase in migration had overwhelmed the administrative capacity of the government, and President Chaves signed an executive decree declaring a national emergency in September.

Freedom of movement is constitutionally guaranteed. Costa Ricans enjoy relative freedom in their choice of residence and employment.

In November 2022, President Chaves signed a decree prohibiting asylum seekers from leaving the country while their applications were being processed. The decree was annulled after it was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Chamber in February 2023.

Property rights are generally protected. The business climate is relatively open, and individuals are free to establish businesses, although bureaucratic obstacles often delay the process of acquiring permits.

Land disputes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples have been a source of conflict for years, and Indigenous groups sometimes face harassing lawsuits and violence. A 1977 law formalized Indigenous groups’ exclusive rights to some territories, but the government has failed to implement the law or provide compensation to the non-Indigenous settlers who continue to occupy the land.

Despite the existence of domestic violence protections, violence against women and children remains a problem. In recent years, femicide laws have been expanded and penalties for the crime have been increased.

In 2020, Costa Rica became the first Central American country to permit same-sex marriage.

Abortion is illegal unless a pregnancy poses serious health risks. In September 2023, Chaves’s administration clarified that it would review the technical standard for abortions, as his electoral campaign had promised religious groups and conservative political parties, but that its review would not change the current law.

Despite legal protections, domestic workers are subject to exploitation and forced labor. Employers often ignore minimum wage and social security laws, and fines for violations are insignificant. Child labor is a problem in the informal economy.

Sex trafficking and child sex tourism are serious problems. The US State Department’s 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report highlighted the government’s efforts to combat trafficking, including implementing a national antitrafficking action plan. However, the report also noted that antitrafficking efforts are underfunded, and the government failed to prosecute or convict any labor traffickers in 2021 or 2022.