Costa Rica’s central bank attributed the worsened fiscal outlook and delayed debt reduction targets to opposition-led legislative initiatives. The debt-to-GDP ratio, previously expected to fall below 60% by 2025, is now likely to meet that target only in 2026, partly due to fiscally costly legislation like vehicle tax reductions and court rulings on increasing social transfers. Public debt was 61.1% of GDP at the end of 2023, down from 67.6% in 2021.