Digital Government Outlook 2026: Costa Rica
Table of contents
This country note presents an overview of the digital government landscape in Costa Rica drawing on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI) and the 2025 OECD OURdata Index. The note outlines key policy developments in the country observed during the assessment period. It aims to inform policy dialogue and support Costa Rica in advancing a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation in the public sector.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD Digital Government Index, Costa Rica attained a score of 0.45, below the OECD average of 0.70. This represents a 0.23 increase since 2023 (Figure 1).
Costa Rica recorded its strongest performance in Digital by Design (0.60) and User-Driven (0.55), though both remain below OECD averages of 0.75 and 0.71, respectively. These results show that Costa Rica has made notable progress in integrating digital technologies and placing user needs at the centre of service design.
Costa Rica scored below the OECD average across all six dimensions. Its lowest scores were recorded in Open by Default (0.32 vs 0.59) and Government as a Platform (0.38 vs 0.71). This means that Costa Rica has significant room for improvement in promoting the openness and transparency of government data and in developing shared platforms for government-wide use.
In the 2025 edition of the OECD OURdata Index, Costa Rica attained a score of 0.14, below the OECD average of 0.53 (Figure 2). This represents a 0.05 decrease since 2023.
Costa Rica scored below the OECD average across all three pillars: 0.07 in Data availability, 0.33 in Data accessibility and 0.00 in Government support for data re-use, compared with OECD averages of 0.53, 0.67 and 0.40, respectively. These results suggest that Costa Rica faces substantial challenges in open government data provision.
Lower scores were recorded in Government support for data re-use (0.00) and Data availability (0.07). This suggests that Costa Rica has significant room for improvement in broadening the range of available datasets and in developing mechanisms to promote data re-use.
Costa Rica has established a digital government governance structure led by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications under the Digital Transformation Strategy. Co-ordination is ensured through the Directorate of Digital Governance and the High-Level Commission for Digital Government.
Data quality in Costa Rica is supported by the National Guide for the Publication of Open Data. The guide includes an assessment and status methodology for evaluating datasets against defined quality criteria, supporting consistent data standards across government.
Costa Rica’s national AI strategy is grounded in a strong ethical foundation. The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, led by MICITT, was validated jointly with the public sector, civil society, the private sector, and academia, coordinating national efforts under a long-term vision for responsible AI adoption.
While Costa Rica has a GovTech initiative in place, broader components of its digital investment framework could be strengthened. In particular, a standardised value proposition model, dedicated funding, impact evaluation methodology, project monitoring, and ex-post cost-benefit analysis are not yet in place. Developing these capabilities could support more strategic oversight of digital investments.
Costa Rica's human-centred services framework also presents opportunities for development. Service design standards, digital impact consultations, omni-channel delivery, performance metrics, and transaction cost measurement are not yet in place. Strengthening these capabilities could support more consistent and evidence-based service delivery.
The OECD Digital Government Outlook (DGO) provides a comprehensive assessment of digital government policies across OECD Members and accession candidate countries. It draws on the results of the 2025 OECD Digital Government Index (DGI) and the 2025 OECD Open, Useful and Re-usable Data (OURdata) Index to evaluate progress and identify persistent gaps in digital transformation across the public sector.
The DGI assesses the enabling foundations for digital transformation across six dimensions: Digital by Design, Data-driven Public Sector, Government as a Platform, Open by Default, User-Driven and Proactiveness. Rather than measuring the digitalisation of specific services, the DGI focuses on the strategies, policy levers, implementation practices and monitoring mechanisms that enable coherent, whole-of-government digital transformation.
The OURdata Index benchmarks the robustness of open government data policies across three pillars: data availability, data accessibility and government support for data re-use. It supports policymakers in monitoring the design and implementation of national open government data policies.
Both indices were developed with OECD Member countries through the OECD Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) and approved by the OECD Public Governance Committee.
Figure 1: The 2025 DGI OECD average does not include Germany and the United States. 2025 data cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. The 2023 OECD average does not include Germany, Greece, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United States. 2023 data cover the period from 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2022. The composite score is the unweighted average of the six-dimension scores.
Figure 2: The 2025 and 2023 OURdata Index OECD average does not include Denmark, Hungary and the United States. 2025 data cover the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024. 2023 data cover the period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. The composite score is the unweighted average of the three-pillar scores.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
The full book is available in English: OECD (2026), Digital Government Outlook 2026: From Foundations to Transformational Impact, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0496b2bc-en.
© OECD 2026
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Attribution – you must cite the work.
Translations – you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text: In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and the translation, only the text of the original work should be considered valid.
Adaptations – you must cite the original work and add the following text: This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed in this adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.
Third-party material – the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and for any claims of infringement.
You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.
Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shall be Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one.