Costa Rica vs El Salvador: Share of population living in urbanized areas
Costa Rica
71.2%
in 2025
El Salvador
71.0%
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
85th
El Salvador rank
86th
Share of population living in urbanized areas over time
- Costa Rica
- El Salvador
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 71.2% against 71.0% in El Salvador, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 85th and El Salvador ranks 86th of 202 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 34 and El Salvador in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | El Salvador | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1100s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1400s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1500s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1600s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1700s | 3.4% | 2.0% | 1.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1710s | 3.8% | 2.2% | 1.6% | Costa Rica |
| 1720s | 4.2% | 2.4% | 1.7% | Costa Rica |
| 1730s | 4.6% | 2.7% | 1.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1740s | 5.0% | 3.1% | 1.9% | Costa Rica |
| 1750s | 5.5% | 3.5% | 2.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1760s | 6.0% | 3.9% | 2.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1770s | 6.6% | 4.4% | 2.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1780s | 7.2% | 4.9% | 2.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1790s | 7.9% | 5.5% | 2.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1800s | 8.6% | 6.2% | 2.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1810s | 9.4% | 7.0% | 2.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1820s | 10.3% | 7.9% | 2.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1830s | 11.3% | 8.9% | 2.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1840s | 12.4% | 10.0% | 2.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1850s | 13.6% | 11.2% | 2.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1860s | 14.9% | 12.6% | 2.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1870s | 16.3% | 14.2% | 2.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1880s | 17.8% | 16.0% | 1.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1890s | 19.5% | 18.0% | 1.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 21.4% | 20.3% | 1.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1910s | 23.4% | 22.8% | 0.7% | Costa Rica |
| 1920s | 25.7% | 25.6% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1930s | 28.1% | 28.8% | 0.7% | El Salvador |
| 1940s | 30.8% | 32.5% | 1.7% | El Salvador |
| 1950s | 34.1% | 37.4% | 3.3% | El Salvador |
| 1960s | 35.6% | 39.3% | 3.7% | El Salvador |
| 1970s | 40.8% | 41.6% | 0.8% | El Salvador |
| 1980s | 45.8% | 46.4% | 0.6% | El Salvador |
| 1990s | 55.1% | 53.6% | 1.6% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 61.5% | 61.1% | 0.5% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 66.6% | 66.4% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 70.2% | 70.0% | 0.2% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urbanized areas, Costa Rica or El Salvador?
- Costa Rica, at 71.2% against 71.0% in El Salvador as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urbanized areas between Costa Rica and El Salvador?
- 0.2%, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and El Salvador?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and El Salvador rank globally for share of population living in urbanized areas?
- Costa Rica ranks 85th and El Salvador ranks 86th of 202 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urbanized areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of population living in urban areas in a country over time.