Country Foundations

Costa Rica

Constitution in force since 1949, 16,705 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Declared
79%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
84%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+5%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
71%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 86%, gap −14%Right to life100%86%−14%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Freedom from torture100%90%−10%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Freedom from slavery and forced labour100%89%−11%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%83%−17%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 17%, practiced 81%, gap +65%Right to a fair and public trial17%81%+65%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Due process of law0%80%+80%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 78%, gap −22%Freedom of expression100%78%−22%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 65%, gap −35%Freedom of the press100%65%−35%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom of thought and conscience100%85%−15%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom of religion100%85%−15%Separation of religion and state — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure0%——Academic freedom — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Academic freedom100%83%−17%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 86%, gap −14%Freedom of assembly100%86%−14%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 92%, gap −8%Freedom of association100%92%−8%Right to petition government — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure100%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 100%, practiced 87%, gap −13%Right to form and join trade unions100%87%−13%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 0%, practiced 93%, gap +93%Right to vote and universal suffrage0%93%+93%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 94%, gap −6%Right to privacy100%94%−6%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 87%, gap −13%Freedom of movement100%87%−13%Right to asylum — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure100%——Right to own property — declared 50%, practiced 91%, gap +41%Right to own property50%91%+41%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Equality before the law100%93%−7%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 73%, gap −27%Right to education100%73%−27%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 79%, gap +79%Right to health care0%79%+79%Right to shelter or housing — declared 50%, practiced 63%, gap +13%Right to shelter or housing50%63%+13%Independent judiciary — declared 100%, practiced 83%, gap −17%Independent judiciary100%83%−17%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001847: constitutional text changed (+25 pts declared)1869: constitutional text changed (+7 pts declared)1871: constitutional text changed (+5 pts declared)1919: constitutional text changed (−5 pts declared)1943: constitutional text changed (+6 pts declared)1949: constitutional text changed (+14 pts declared)1850190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1841–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom of expression −22%
  • Freedom of the press −35%
  • Right to education −27%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to a fair and public trial +65%
  • Due process of law +80%
  • Right to vote and universal suffrage +93%
  • Right to health care +79%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1968
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1968
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1967
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1986
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1993
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1990
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2008
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)ratified 2012
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.