Citizen security It is the worst valued area of the Rodrigo Chaves administrationwith a rating of 4.69 out of 10 points, and is also identified as the main problem in Costa Rica, according to the most recent survey by the Institute of Social Studies in Population (Idespo) of the National University (UNA).
The study consulted the population about the government’s work in different areas, on a scale of 1 to 10. The results show that none of the areas evaluated reach a grade higher than 7.
The highest grades They concentrate on economy (6.89), infrastructure (6.69) and education (6.06). In contrast, the lowest scores correspond to the fight against poverty and corruption, both with 5.46, as well as the fight against violence against women (5.14) and citizen security (4.69).
The perception of the current security situation in the country is mostly negative. 64.8% of the people surveyed rate it as bad or very bad, compared to 22.7% who consider it good or very good, while 12.3% rate it as average.
Furthermore, more than half of the population (54.6%) consider that security has worsened in the last year. On the contrary, 26.7% believe that it has improved and 18.3% indicate that it remains the same.
Costa Rica’s main problem
On the other hand, when consulting people about the main problem facing the country, Safety appears as the main concern.
A 65.8% of the people surveyed point it out as the greatest national challenge. At a considerable distance, 14.4% mentioned problems related to the economy, while 13.5% pointed to political management and the functioning of public institutions.
Regarding the question of whether the government has the capacity to solve the security problem, The study found divided opinions.
A 33.9% consider that the Executive has a lot of capacitywhile 31.7% think that they have little. Furthermore, 17.3% indicate that they have some capacity, compared to 9.1% who affirm that they have none. 6.7% indicate that they have neither much nor little capacity.
The data is part of the report Perception of the Costa Rican population on national politics and the work of the government. The survey was carried out between March 10 and 14, and from March 16 to 18, 2026, through telephone interviews with Costa Ricans or naturalized foreigners, over 18 years of age and cell phone users in the country.
In total, 710 complete interviews were applied. The study has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points and a confidence level of 95%.
