Costa Rica registers a significant growth in micro-entrepreneurship. According to the results of the most recent National Survey of Microenterprises of Households, According to ENAMEH 2025, there are 494,564 microenterprises in the country, which represents an increase of 13.5% with respect to 2024.
Of the total number of microenterprises, almost 74% are sole proprietorships, while 13.5% have two workers and the rest have three or more.
By sector, the services area accounts for the largest proportion, with 43.9%, followed by industry, commerce and agricultural and livestock activities.
The survey also estimates that these microenterprises generated close to 785,495 jobs, mainly permanent. However, a high proportion of informal employment is reported: only 3.2% of the jobs are considered formal, while the remaining 96.8% correspond to informal employment.
Among the reasons for starting a microenterprise are the identification of market opportunities and the search to supplement family income.
This is a news service prepared by ICS. For more information about the story, write to info@ics.cr or call 2519-9992 ICS, tax specialists.