Costa Rica vs United States: Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita
Costa Rica
73.7%
in 2020
United States
74.0%
in 2020
Costa Rica rank
120th
United States rank
118th
Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita over time
- Costa Rica
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 74.0% against 73.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was United States ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 120th and United States ranks 118th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and United States in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 43.1% | 59.0% | 16.0% | United States |
| 1960s | 51.3% | 62.2% | 10.9% | United States |
| 1970s | 58.4% | 64.6% | 6.2% | United States |
| 1980s | 63.2% | 66.3% | 3.0% | United States |
| 1990s | 68.4% | 68.3% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 72.3% | 70.7% | 1.6% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 73.3% | 72.5% | 0.8% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 73.7% | 74.0% | 0.4% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita, Costa Rica or United States?
- United States, at 74.0% against 73.7% in Costa Rica as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita between Costa Rica and United States?
- 0.3%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and United States?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Costa Rica and United States rank globally for share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. gdp per capita?
- Costa Rica ranks 120th and United States ranks 118th 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 Share of population living in cities, towns and suburbs vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.