Medical Devices Overtake Services to Become Costa Rica’s Top Export in 2025

Medical devices have become Costa Rica’s top export in 2025, surpassing knowledge-intensive services after a decade of steady expansion in the country’s medical-technology clusters located largely in tax-free export zones.

The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER) estimates total exports this year at $34 billion, an increase of nearly 6% from about $32.8 billion in 2024. Strong growth in medical manufacturing reshaped the export mix: the sector now represents roughly 44% of goods exports and is the single largest export sector overall, overtaking knowledge-intensive services, which account for about one-quarter of total exports.

What’s Driving the Surge?

More than 70 multinational companies operate in Costa Rica’s medical manufacturing ecosystem, producing products such as catheters, diagnostic equipment, cardiovascular devices, prosthetics and surgical supplies. Many firms operate under free trade zone regimes that provide tax incentives for export-oriented businesses. These companies ship primarily to the United States, Europe and Asia and employ tens of thousands of skilled workers.

Analysts point to a combination of legal stability, targeted investment incentives, access to technical talent, growing local supplier networks and a more specialized workforce as key reasons for the sector’s rise. Compared with traditional agricultural exports, medical manufacturing delivers higher value added, greater technological intensity and stronger margins.

Outlook and Risks

Knowledge-intensive services — including information technology, corporate service centers, engineering and professional services — continue to grow in absolute value and employment, but at a slower pace than medical manufacturing. The emergence of medical devices as the top export underscores Costa Rica’s structural shift from a historic reliance on bananas, coffee and pineapples toward sophisticated goods and knowledge-based services.

Policy priorities: experts urge deeper diversification to avoid over-reliance on a single sector and continued investment in technical and higher education to sustain long-term growth.