Population growth in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Population growth was 0.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population growth in Costa Rica, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 0.4% for population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of down 6.0% on the previous year and down 57.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Costa Rica peaked at 3.7% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2022.
Costa Rica ranks 143rd of 217 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.3% | 2.8% | 3.7% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.7% | 2.5% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 140 Cape Verde 0.5% compare
- 141 Antigua and Barbuda 0.5% compare
- 142 Micronesia (Federated States of) 0.5% compare
- 144 Bahamas 0.4% compare
- 145 Azerbaijan 0.4% compare
- 146 El Salvador 0.4% compare
More climate change data for Costa Rica
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 3,751 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 942.79 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,808 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 100.29 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 688.78 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 623.33 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 65.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 2.35 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 2.34 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Costa Rica?
- Population growth in Costa Rica was 0.4% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 3.7% in 1961.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2022.
- How does Costa Rica rank for population growth?
- Costa Rica ranks 143rd out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 57.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.