- Policy
- Costa Rica’s support to sustainable development
- Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals
- Cross-border resources to TOSSD recipients (Pillar 1)
- Sectoral distribution Costa Rica: Sectoral distribution of TOSSD 2024
- Triangular co-operation
- Institutional set-up
- Other profiles
- Additional resources
Development Co‑operation Profiles: Costa Rica
Table of contents
International development co-operation is a key part of Costa Rica’s foreign policy and is guided by the 2030 Agenda and aligned with its National Development Plan. Costa Rica is projected to graduate from official development assistance (ODA) eligibility in 2028 and is currently participating in a Sustainable Graduation Strategy, the first of its kind, to support this transition, anticipate the implications of phasing out ODA flows and adapt accordingly. In its dual role as both a provider and recipient of co-operation, Costa Rica aims to implement development co-operation through multidimensional and inclusive approaches, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. The country delivers development co-operation primarily through triangular and South-South co-operation, and mostly through technical co-operation. Its partnerships are concentrated in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This profile presents verified data on Costa Rica’s development assistance allocation. See the Development Co-operation Profiles.
The National Development and Public Investment Plan (PNDIP) outlines Costa Rica’s main objectives, policies, goals, programmes and strategies related to development and public investment, under the leadership of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (MIDEPLAN). It presents poverty reduction, inequality and environmental sustainability as key policy priorities.
Costa Rica’s International Co-operation Policy 2024-2035 (POLCID-CR), released in January 2025, is the policy framework guiding the country’s development co-operation and implementation of the PNDIP, together with the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It prioritises sustainable and inclusive development, supporting green, digital and socio-economic transitions, mostly focusing its partnerships on Latin America. It also frames Costa Rica’s Sustainable Graduation Strategy as an opportunity to progressively reshape its development co-operation model towards a greater emphasis on partnerships, knowledge exchange and the mobilisation of diverse sources of finance. Results-based management, transparency and accountability are guiding principles of this approach. POLCID CR recognises multilateral co-operation as an important component of Costa Rica’s international engagement. Costa Rica also has dedicated partnerships with the European Union, Germany, France and Luxembourg.
Costa Rica’s new POLCID-CR 2024-2035 represents the official framework for its development co‑operation priorities. It was released in January 2025 and spans a 12-year period to provide a medium-term vision that articulates the various dimensions of international co-operation and transcends electoral cycles. This medium-term approach aims to provide greater consistency and sustainability in the implementation of development activities and maximise its impact on recipient institutions and populations.
Compared to the previous International Co-operation Policy, the purpose of the new POLCID-CR is to ensure that Costa Rica’s technical assistance and grants scheme are gradually redirected towards the most vulnerable regions and countries, as well as towards territories with lower levels of human development. It prioritises resource delivery to populations at social risk, including people living in poverty, women heads of household, children and adolescents, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, LGBTIQ+ populations, and migrants. Implementation is structured around six strategic areas: 1) environment and climate action; 2) sustainable and renewable energies; 3) social inclusion; 4) sustainable economic development; 5) digital infrastructure and innovation; and 6) justice and security. The policy is also based on cross‑cutting approaches and principles such as the Management for Development Results Approach; the Population-differential Approach; the Territorial Approach; Spatial Coverage; the Multi-Stakeholder Approach; and the premise of promoting a modern, green, emission‑free economy with social inclusion.
Source: Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (2024), International Co-operation Policy for the Development of Costa Rica and its Action Plan 2024-35.
Costa Rica is a member of the International Forum on Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD). As a provider of South-South co-operation, Costa Rica has been reporting on TOSSD since its inception in 2020 on 2019 activities.
In 2024, Costa Rica reported USD 108 000 in cross-border flows to TOSSD recipients.
In 2024, Costa Rica’s TOSSD‑reported activities contributed primarily to the achievement of SDG 17 (partnerships for the Goals), followed by SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), SDG 15 (life on land), SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth).
In 2024, cross-border resources provided by Costa Rica supported five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.
In 2024, approximately 58% of Costa Rica’s cross‑border support (USD 63 000) was directed to social infrastructure and services, for activities specifically related to government and civil society, water supply and sanitation, and health. An additional 39% was allocated to multi‑sector activities, primarily in the areas of general environmental protection and disaster risk reduction. The remaining 3% of activities supported agricultural education and training.
According to the Ibero-American General Secretariat, between 2022 and 2023, Costa Rica conducted 45 triangular co-operation activities (29 as a provider and 16 as a beneficiary), representing 28% of 161 activities conducted over the period (SEGIB, 2024).
Learn more about triangular co-operation.
MIDEPLAN provides strategic leadership for Costa Rica’s international development co-operation, ensuring alignment with the PNDIP 2023-2026. MIDEPLAN is specifically responsible for formulating, negotiating, co-ordinating, approving and evaluating technical assistance programmes in line with the National Development Plan. It is also responsible for registering and monitoring co-operation flows through its information management system (SIGECI). The Directorate General for International Co-operation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Co-operation Area of MIDEPLAN share responsibility for operational delivery of the country’s international development co-operation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs represents Costa Rica in international co‑operation fora, as it holds exclusive competence in diplomatic negotiations and in the formalisation of international agreements. Whole-of-government co‑ordination is ensured through the “National Co-operation Subsystem”, which is comprised of liaison units with ministries and public institutions to ensure that international co-operation initiatives are aligned with national priorities.
Access the full list of development co-operation providers at: Development Co-operation Profiles.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cult, Directorate of International Cooperation: https://www.rree.go.cr/?sec=ministerio&cat=cooperacion%20internacional (in Spanish).
MIDEPLAN (2024), International Co-operation Policy for the Development of Costa Rica and its Action Plan 2024-2035, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy, https://www.mopt.go.cr/sites/default/files/destacados/planificacion-sectorial/cooperacion-int/polcid-2024-2035.pdf (in Spanish).
SEGIB (2024), Report on South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Ibero-America 2024, Ibero-American General Secretariat, Madrid.
MIDEPLAN (2022), National Development and Public Investment Plan 2023-2026, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy, https://sites.google.com/expedientesmideplan.go.cr/pndip-2023-2026/pagina_principal (in Spanish).
Costa Rica is an Adherent to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness; the Declaration on Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Co-operation; the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development; the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas; the OECD Recommendation of the Council for Development Co-operation Actors on Managing the Risk of Corruption; and the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Environmental Assessment of Development Assistance Projects and Programmes. Learn more about OECD legal instruments and DAC Recommendations.
Costa Rica has been a member of the OECD since 2021. Costa Rica is not a member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC).
Costa Rica participates regularly in the DAC Senior-Level and High Level Meetings and participated in the 2025 DAC High Level Meeting. Costa Rica participated in the first Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Regional Programme Dialogue on Development Co-operation in 2024 and in the 2025 LAC-DAC Co-Lab on Multidimensional Metrics for Development.
Costa Rica is a member of the International Forum on TOSSD. It has been reporting to TOSSD since 2020 on 2019 data.
The methodological notes provide further details on the definitions and statistical methodologies applied.
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