The economy of Costa Rica advanced 1.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, easing from a 1.9 percent expansion in the previous period. It was the weakest growth rate since the last quarter of 2009, as output shrank in agriculture (-0.6 percent vs 0.1 percent in Q4) and trade (-0.4 percent vs 0.5 percent). Also, mining output contract further (-6.6 percent vs -4 percent) and growth slowed in manufacturing (1.4 percent vs 1.9 percent); construction (1 percent vs 1.9 percent); and real estate (2 percent vs 2.2 percent). On the expenditure side, fixed investment shrank 1.4 percent, after expanding 1.3 percent in the prior quarter; household consumption grew 1.6 percent (the same as in Q4), while public spending rebounded (1.6 percent vs -2.1 percent). GDP Annual Growth Rate in Costa Rica averaged 4.37 percent from 1992 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 10.20 percent in the third quarter of 1992 and a record low of -2.40 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
GDP Annual Growth Rate in Costa Rica is expected to be 2.50 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate GDP Annual Growth Rate in Costa Rica to stand at 2.60 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Costa Rica GDP Annual Growth Rate is projected to trend around 3.00 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.