Barbados vs Costa Rica: Share of population living in the capital city
Barbados
43.0%
in 2020
Costa Rica
41.7%
in 2020
Barbados rank
16th
Costa Rica rank
19th
Share of population living in the capital city over time
- Barbados
- Costa Rica
How they compare
Barbados currently reports 43.0% against 41.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 1.3%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Barbados has been ahead every year.
Barbados ranks 16th and Costa Rica ranks 19th of 170 countries.
Barbados has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Barbados | Costa Rica | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 42.6% | 20.6% | 22.0% | Barbados |
| 1960s | 45.3% | 22.8% | 22.5% | Barbados |
| 1970s | 48.2% | 25.6% | 22.6% | Barbados |
| 1980s | 49.5% | 29.0% | 20.5% | Barbados |
| 1990s | 48.3% | 35.1% | 13.2% | Barbados |
| 2000s | 46.7% | 39.7% | 7.0% | Barbados |
| 2010s | 45.7% | 39.9% | 5.7% | Barbados |
| 2020s | 43.0% | 41.7% | 1.3% | Barbados |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in the capital city, Barbados or Costa Rica?
- Barbados, at 43.0% against 41.7% in Costa Rica as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in the capital city between Barbados and Costa Rica?
- 1.3%, with Barbados ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Barbados and Costa Rica?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Barbados and Costa Rica rank globally for share of population living in the capital city?
- Barbados ranks 16th and Costa Rica ranks 19th of 170 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in the capital city. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the total population living in the country's capital city. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.