Costa Rica

Legislative Assembly

Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Presidential system
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Unicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Data on women

empty

Basic information > About parliament

Speaker

Speaker
Rodrigo Arias Sánchez Sánchez (Male)
Year of birth
1946
Additional information
Elected on 1 May 2022, re-elected on 1 May 2023.
See historical data for this field.

Secretary general

Secretary General
Antonio Ayales Esna (Male)

Members

Current number of members, by sex
Men The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
30
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Women The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
27
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Percentage of women Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
47.37% See historical data for this field.

Age

Average age of all members Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
48.43
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Youngest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
25
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Youngest member
Carlos Felipe García Molina (Male)
Oldest member (years) Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
75
Oldest member
Rodrigo Arias Sánchez (Male)
Total number of MPs, 45 years of age or younger
25 See historical data for this field.
Total number of MPs, 46 years of age or older
32 See historical data for this field.
Total per sex
Total of male
30 See historical data for this field.
Total of female
27 See historical data for this field.
Total per age interval
18-20
0
21-30
4 See historical data for this field.
31-40
12 See historical data for this field.
41-45
9 See historical data for this field.
46-50
5 See historical data for this field.
51-60
18 See historical data for this field.
61-70
7 See historical data for this field.
71-80
2 See historical data for this field.
81-90
0
91 and over
0
Number of members, by age
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Totals per age interval 0 4 12 9 5 18 7 2 0 0
Total <= 45: 25 Total >= 46: 32
Male 0 2 7 4 4 7 5 1 0 0 30
Female 0 2 5 5 1 11 2 1 0 0 27
Percentage of members, by age
Age as last election or renewalOverallMaleFemale
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger7.02%3.51%3.51%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger28.07%15.79%12.28%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger43.86%22.81%21.05%

Reserved seats and quotas

Electoral quota for women Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Yes
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Notes
Both legislated and voluntary political party quotas are in place.
Elections > Historical data on women

Women's suffrage

Women’s right to vote
Women’s right to vote Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1949
National or local Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
Women’s right to stand for election
Women's right to stand for election Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1949
National or local Stand for Election: National or Local
National
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament Year in which first woman entered parliament
1953
First woman speaker
Year of first woman speaker Date at which, for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, a woman became Presiding Officer of Parliament or of one of its Houses.
1986

Specialized body - Women's caucus

Parliamentary Group of Women Deputies (GPMD)
(June 2015)
Formal or informal
Informal
The caucus is open to male MPs
No
The caucus is cross-party
Yes
Notes
The GPMD was established in compliance with actions outlined in the Gender Equality and Equity Policy of the Legislative Assembly (PIEGAL), via Article 24(1). The GPMD was established in compliance with the actions outlined in the Gender Equality and Equity Policy of the Legislative Assembly (PIEGAL), via Article 24(1).

During the first years of operation there were no internal operating regulations for the GPMD. Since July 2018 an internal operating regulation for the GPMD was approved.

Logistical and technical support is provided by the Technical Unit of Equality and Gender Equality.
There are rules governing the functioning of the caucus
Yes
Link to rules
http://196.40.23.179/ci/UTIEG/Documentos_UTIEG/Documentos%20de%20interes/Acta%20de%20creaci%C3%B3n%20del%20Grupo%20Parlamentario%20de%20Mujeres%20Diputadas%20Asamblea%20Legislativa%20Costa%20Rica%20GPMD.pdf

Activities

Issues dealt with by the caucus
In line with the Gender Equality and Equity Policy of the Legislative Assembly (PIEGAL), general aims of the GPMD are:
- To sensitize and raise awareness of all parliamentary members on gender equality and women’s rights.
- Formulate and promote a legislative agenda without distinction of political party, oriented toward strengthening initiatives for the defense of women’s rights, gender equality and the oversight of public policies promulgated with these objectives.
- Perform oversight for adherence to national and international regulations aimed at protecting women’s rights and gender equality

Specific objectives include:

- Establishing a space for Deputies across political parties, to consult with one another and discuss legislative actions which promote women's rights and gender equality
- Developing and advocating for a legislative agenda on the promotion of gender equality, equity and women’s rights
- Exchanging good practices for the promotion of gender equality, equity and women’s rights in legislative work
- Establishing advocacy strategies for the implementation of the Assembly's Gender Equality and Equity Policy Legislative (PIEGAL) and the approval of the legislative agenda on gender
- Carrying out political oversight from a gender perspective
- Strengthening the legislative work of Deputies on gender
- Strengthening the gender institutions within the Assembly which includes:


1) The Technical Unit of Equality and Gender Equality (UTIEG), a permanent technical administrative body established in 2007, charged with promoting gender mainstreaming in all legislative work
2) The Special Permanent Commission of Women, established in 1999, that dictates bills on women’s rights and gender equality and has oversight power

Draft rules (pending approval) seek to formalize the GPMD and provide the caucus with more of a voice and a vote when the parliament is considering agendas or projects related to gender equality and women’s rights.

The caucus has a strategic plan or plan of action
Yes
The caucus has a communication plan
No

Contact information for the Committee