Costa Rica vs Japan: Health spending as a share of total government spending
Costa Rica
24.9%
in 2023
Japan
23.3%
in 2023
Costa Rica rank
2nd
Japan rank
3rd
Health spending as a share of total government spending over time
- Costa Rica
- Japan
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 24.9% against 23.3% in Japan, a difference of 1.6%.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.1 times Japan's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 24 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 3rd of 195 countries.
Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Japan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 28.2% | 17.1% | 11.2% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 29.3% | 22.8% | 6.6% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 25.4% | 23.8% | 1.6% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher health spending as a share of total government spending, Costa Rica or Japan?
- Costa Rica, at 24.9% against 23.3% in Japan as of 2023.
- What is the difference in health spending as a share of total government spending between Costa Rica and Japan?
- 1.6%, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Japan?
- 24 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2023.
- How do Costa Rica and Japan rank globally for health spending as a share of total government spending?
- Costa Rica ranks 2nd and Japan ranks 3rd of 195 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Health spending as a share of total government spending. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Domestic general government health expenditure expressed as a percentage of total expenditure of the general government.