Costa Rica vs New Zealand: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Costa Rica
1.33 million people
in 2020
New Zealand
1.20 million people
in 2020
Costa Rica rank
122nd
New Zealand rank
124th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Costa Rica
- New Zealand
How they compare
Costa Rica currently reports 1.33 million people against 1.20 million people in New Zealand, a difference of 122,920 people.
That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.1 times New Zealand's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was New Zealand ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 122nd and New Zealand ranks 124th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 4 and New Zealand in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 575,930 people | 730,660 people | 154,729 people | New Zealand |
| 1960s | 706,384 people | 826,117 people | 119,734 people | New Zealand |
| 1970s | 816,073 people | 912,127 people | 96,054 people | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 941,811 people | 952,838 people | 11,027 people | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 1.05 million people | 1.00 million people | 45,234 people | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 1.14 million people | 1.06 million people | 73,075 people | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 1.25 million people | 1.15 million people | 97,440 people | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 1.33 million people | 1.20 million people | 122,920 people | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Costa Rica or New Zealand?
- Costa Rica, at 1.33 million people against 1.20 million people in New Zealand as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 122,920 people, with Costa Rica ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Costa Rica and New Zealand rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Costa Rica ranks 122nd and New Zealand ranks 124th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.