Nations by Numbers

Latin America & Caribbean

Costa Rica in numbers

Costa Rica is in Latin America & Caribbean and is classed by the World Bank as high income. Its capital is San Jose. Its population was 5.15 million in 2025, ranking 126 of 217 countries. GDP per person was US$19,970 in 2025.

Population5.15 million2025
GDPUS$102.9 billion2025
GDP per personUS$19,9702025
Life expectancy81.02024
Area51,1002024
Urban share79.7%2025

People

Population

5.15 million
2025 · +31% since 2000 · Rank 126 of 217

Population growth (annual %)

0.45%
2025 · 1.94% in 2000 · Rank 143 of 217

Population density (people per km²)

101.5
2024 · +32% since 2000 · Rank 104 of 216

Urban population (% of total)

79.7%
2025 · 59.0% in 2000 · Rank 59 of 217

Population aged 0 to 14 (% of total)

18.3%
2025 · 31.1% in 2000 · Rank 136 of 217

Population aged 65 and over (% of total)

12.8%
2025 · 5.6% in 2000 · Rank 77 of 217

Fertility rate (births per woman)

1.32
2024 · -45% since 2000 · Rank 189 of 217

Health and living standards

Life expectancy at birth (years)

81.0
2024 · +5% since 2000 · Rank 47 of 217

Under-5 mortality (per 1,000 live births)

10.4
2024 · -21% since 2000 · Rank 118 of 196

Health spending per person (current US$)

US$1,163
2023 · +365% since 2000 · Rank 60 of 193

Access to electricity (% of population)

99.8%
2024 · 96.9% in 2000 · Rank 128 of 215

Internet users (% of population)

87.2%
2024 · 5.8% in 2000 · Rank 75 of 186

Primary school enrolment (% gross)

104.8%
2024 · 105.3% in 2002 · Rank 53 of 190

Economy

GDP (current US$)

US$102.9 billion
2025 · +585% since 2000 · Rank 74 of 210

GDP per person (current US$)

US$19,970
2025 · +424% since 2000 · Rank 75 of 210

GDP per person, PPP (current international $)

Int$33,815
2025 · +329% since 2000 · Rank 76 of 199

GDP growth (annual %)

4.56%
2025 · 3.80% in 2000 · Rank 61 of 210

Inflation, consumer prices (annual %)

-0.07%
2025 · 10.96% in 2000 · Rank 168 of 180

Unemployment (% of labour force, ILO estimate)

6.8%
2025 · 5.1% in 2000 · Rank 64 of 187

Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)

38.8%
2025 · 42.9% in 2000 · Rank 87 of 183

Personal remittances received (% of GDP)

0.8%
2025 · 0.9% in 2000 · Rank 123 of 176

Land and environment

Land and water area (km²)

51,100
2024 · +0% since 2000 · Rank 128 of 216

Forest area (% of land area)

59.1%
2024 · 55.8% in 2000 · Rank 32 of 214

CO₂ emissions per person (tonnes)

1.63
2024 · +25% since 2000 · Rank 122 of 203

Elsewhere in Latin America & Caribbean

ArubaArgentinaAntigua and BarbudaBahamas, TheBelizeBoliviaBrazilBarbadosChileColombiaCubaCuracao

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, updated 8 October 2026. Each figure is the latest year available for Costa Rica. Rankings compare countries with data from the same or recent years.