Costa Rica's economy demonstrated a year-on-year GDP growth of 3.9% in the first quarter of 2025, marking a decrease in pace from the 4.3% expansion noted in the previous quarter. Notably, growth picked up in sectors such as education, human health and social care, rising to 2.3% from 2.0% in Q4 of 2024, and in wholesale and retail trade, which saw an increase to 2.8% from 2.7%. The electricity, water, and sanitation services sector experienced a significant rebound, achieving 1.4% growth as opposed to the previous quarter's contraction of -2.4%.
In contrast, certain sectors saw a deceleration in growth. Manufacturing slowed to 5.8% from 6.3%, construction decreased to 2.8% from 4.4%, and transport and storage activities grew by 5.4%, down from 7.2%. Accommodation and food services activities nearly stagnated at 0.1%, dropping from 1.4%, while information and communications growth slowed to 4.2% from 5.5%. The real estate sector's growth eased to 2.6% from 3.4%, and financial and insurance activities slightly declined to 5.7% from 5.8%. The mining and quarrying sector faced a contraction, moving from a growth of 0.5% to a decline of -2.3%.
On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the overall economic expansion was recorded at 0.2%, down from the previous quarter's 1.6%.
