Costa Rica has strengthened its legal and regulatory framework to ensure and promote rights and women's empowerment. Laws and policies have been enacted that prohibit gender-based violence, including domestic violence and sexual harassment. In addition, measures have been promoted to encourage the political participation of women, increasing their representation in political decision-making positions. These actions have contributed to improving gender equity in the country and guaranteeing respect for and protection of women's rights.

The country will continue implementing programmes and projects to promote the education and empowerment of women and girls. Policies for equal access to education encourage the participation of girls at all educational levels and eliminate the barriers that limit their development. Likewise, training and entrepreneurship programmes have been established to support the economic autonomy of women, allowing them to access job opportunities and to strengthen their leadership in society. Recently the President of Costa Rica the First National Action Plan on Gender Equality in Climate Action, a public interest document, that aims to articulate a multisectoral response and to reduce the differentiated impacts of the climate crisis on women in six strategic sectors through gender-responsive and gender-transformative actions: in employability; strengthening of economic autonomy; capacity-building and innovation; risk management; the incorporation of an intersectional gender perspective on climate action; and the production of disaggregated information.

In 2022, the unemployment rate in Costa Rica reached 11.5% (World Bank) and the GDP per person employed slightly fell compared to 2021. Investing in initiatives to boost employment and decent work will help advance on target 8.5 while at the same time helping to ameliorate economic and social inequalities (Target 10.1). Developing sustainable economic activities that generate employment, with a special focus on benefiting traditionally marginalized regions, will also have positive impacts on economic growth (Target 8.1).

If these type of investments ensure women’s participation, these advances could also lead to an increase in women’s empowerment and autonomy (Targets 5.5, 10.2), which in turn could also translate into a higher proportion of women in managerial positions.

Focusing  these efforts on agricultural, commercial and touristic activities, with an emphasis on innovation and the adoption of new technology (Targets 8.2, 9.5), could lead to advancements in inclusion and in resilience to decrease poverty (Target 1.1 and 1.5).

The Government has set a goal to increase investment in research, development and innovation, going from 0.72% of GDP in 2018 to 0.76% by 2026 – with the objective of generating the necessary conditions to be both a knowledge-based economy and  one generating added value.

This effort is strengthened by financing the main social actors, and by generating other enabling conditions for innovation and development, such as guaranteeing connectivity throughout the national territory.

The reduction of inequalities represents an important challenge for Costa Rica. The National Development and Public Investment Plan 2023–2026 and the National Strategic Plan have established reducing inequality (based on the Gini Coefficient) as a national development goal.

To this end, the Government has committed to applying a multidimensional approach to understanding the basic conditions that generate inequality in the country in order to address the territorial and structural challenges, strengthening efforts and actions where there is a higher incidence of vulnerability and focusing public policies on populations that face more vulnerable situations.

The country has made efforts at consolidating an Open State and, in that regard, has promoted institutional reforms at all levels. Today the fight against corruption in the public service sector and in the context of the Open State are two key approaches adopted in the National Development and Public Investment Plan 2023-2026.

Additionally, Costa Rica has worked to strengthen the judicial system to guarantee impartiality and efficiency in the administration of justice. Training programmes and technological modernization have been implemented in the courts to expedite judicial processes and to improve transparency. In addition, measures have been established to prevent corruption and promote ethics in the judicial system, which contributes to the construction of solid and reliable institutions.

The country has promoted citizen participation and access to justice as fundamental pillars for strengthening democracy and peace. Initiatives have been promoted to foster the participation of civil society in decision-making and in the accountability of institutions. Likewise, human rights education and dissemination programmes have been implemented, seeking to empower citizens and to provide them with the necessary tools to access justice effectively.