Costa Rica
CRICosta Rica generates no oil electricity at all, in a region built on it.
69% of grids in Latin America and the Caribbean draw more than a tenth of their power from oil.
What this grid depends on
Three measures that say more about a country than how much power it makes. Open “what this means” on any of them if the term is new.
Among the cleanest electricity anywhere.
What this means
How much planet-warming gas is released to make one unit of electricity. Two countries can generate exactly the same amount and one of them be ten times dirtier doing it. Lower is better.
Costa Rica generates a surplus and sells it on.
What this means
The share of what this country generates that is sold abroad rather than used at home. A country can only export if it produces more than it needs, which usually means plentiful hydro, nuclear or wind.
Also true of Costa Rica
Costa Rica runs one of the cleanest grids in Latin America and the Caribbean.
100% of its electricity is low-carbon, first of 42.
Costa Rica is second in the OECD for hydro.
Hydro supplies 75% of its electricity.
Wind overtook geothermal on Costa Rica's grid in 2025.
Today wind supplies 12% and geothermal 12%.
Costa Rica’s neighbours
PanamaGas overtook oil on Panama's grid in 2019.
NicaraguaNicaragua has cleaned up its grid faster than most people realise.
HondurasHonduras has cleaned up its grid faster than most people realise.
El SalvadorHydro overtook geothermal on El Salvador's grid in 2024.
GuatemalaBioenergy overtook coal on Guatemala's grid in 2020.
Figures are for 2025, the most recent year reported for Costa Rica. Generation shares are a percentage of electricity generated, not of energy used. How this is calculated.