Urban population growth in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Urban population growth was 1.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Costa Rica, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Costa Rica stood at 1.0%. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.6% on the previous year and down 45.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Costa Rica peaked at 5.0% in 1967 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2025.
That places Costa Rica 125th out of 217 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.1% | — |
| 1962 | 4.0% | -0.8% |
| 1963 | 4.0% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 4.2% | +6.2% |
| 1965 | 4.6% | +9.4% |
| 1966 | 4.9% | +5.4% |
| 1967 | 5.0% | +2.6% |
| 1968 | 5.0% | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 4.9% | -1.9% |
| 1970 | 4.7% | -3.0% |
| 1971 | 4.5% | -5.3% |
| 1972 | 4.2% | -7.2% |
| 1973 | 3.8% | -9.2% |
| 1974 | 3.5% | -6.7% |
| 1975 | 3.4% | -2.8% |
| 1976 | 3.4% | -2.0% |
| 1977 | 3.3% | -0.9% |
| 1978 | 3.3% | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 3.4% | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 3.4% | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 3.4% | +1.4% |
| 1982 | 3.5% | +2.4% |
| 1983 | 3.6% | +2.9% |
| 1984 | 3.7% | +3.3% |
| 1985 | 3.9% | +3.7% |
| 1986 | 4.0% | +3.6% |
| 1987 | 4.1% | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 4.2% | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 4.2% | +1.4% |
| 1990 | 4.3% | +2.4% |
| 1991 | 4.4% | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 4.5% | +0.9% |
| 1993 | 4.5% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 4.5% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 4.4% | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 4.3% | -1.6% |
| 1997 | 4.2% | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 4.1% | -2.9% |
| 1999 | 4.0% | -3.3% |
| 2000 | 3.8% | -4.7% |
| 2001 | 3.6% | -4.2% |
| 2002 | 3.5% | -3.0% |
| 2003 | 3.4% | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 3.4% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 3.4% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 3.3% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 3.3% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 3.3% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 3.3% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 3.2% | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 3.0% | -4.7% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | -36.7% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 1.7% | -4.0% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | -5.0% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 1.5% | -5.5% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | -11.1% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | -15.5% |
| 2022 | 1.0% | -8.9% |
| 2023 | 1.0% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | -0.9% |
| 2025 | 1.0% | -4.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.5% | 4.0% | 5.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.8% | 3.3% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.8% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.3% | 4.0% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.4% | 3.3% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.5% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
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 urban population growth in Costa Rica?
- Urban population growth in Costa Rica was 1.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 5.0% in 1967.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2025.
- How does Costa Rica rank for urban population growth?
- Costa Rica ranks 125th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban 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 urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.