Costa Rica vs Mexico: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050
Costa Rica
79.7%
in 2025
Mexico
80.0%
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
71st
Mexico rank
70th
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 over time
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
How they compare
Mexico currently reports 80.0% against 79.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 71st and Mexico ranks 70th of 238 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 27 and Mexico in 13.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Mexico | 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% | 0.5% | 0.6% | Costa Rica |
| 1700s | 3.4% | 1.6% | 1.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1710s | 3.8% | 1.7% | 2.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1720s | 4.2% | 2.0% | 2.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1730s | 4.6% | 2.2% | 2.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1740s | 5.0% | 2.6% | 2.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1750s | 5.5% | 2.9% | 2.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1760s | 6.0% | 3.3% | 2.6% | Costa Rica |
| 1770s | 6.6% | 3.8% | 2.7% | Costa Rica |
| 1780s | 7.2% | 4.4% | 2.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1790s | 7.9% | 5.0% | 2.9% | Costa Rica |
| 1800s | 8.6% | 5.7% | 2.9% | Costa Rica |
| 1810s | 9.4% | 6.5% | 2.9% | Costa Rica |
| 1820s | 10.3% | 7.4% | 2.9% | Costa Rica |
| 1830s | 11.3% | 8.5% | 2.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1840s | 12.4% | 9.7% | 2.7% | Costa Rica |
| 1850s | 13.6% | 11.1% | 2.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1860s | 14.9% | 12.7% | 2.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1870s | 16.3% | 14.5% | 1.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1880s | 17.8% | 16.6% | 1.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1890s | 19.5% | 19.0% | 0.6% | Costa Rica |
| 1900s | 21.4% | 21.7% | 0.3% | Mexico |
| 1910s | 23.4% | 24.8% | 1.3% | Mexico |
| 1920s | 25.7% | 28.3% | 2.6% | Mexico |
| 1930s | 28.1% | 32.3% | 4.2% | Mexico |
| 1940s | 30.8% | 37.0% | 6.2% | Mexico |
| 1950s | 33.7% | 46.3% | 12.6% | Mexico |
| 1960s | 35.5% | 54.5% | 19.0% | Mexico |
| 1970s | 41.0% | 62.5% | 21.4% | Mexico |
| 1980s | 44.9% | 68.8% | 23.9% | Mexico |
| 1990s | 53.1% | 73.1% | 19.9% | Mexico |
| 2000s | 64.4% | 76.1% | 11.7% | Mexico |
| 2010s | 74.6% | 77.2% | 2.6% | Mexico |
| 2020s | 78.6% | 79.3% | 0.7% | Mexico |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050, Costa Rica or Mexico?
- Mexico, at 80.0% against 79.7% in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 between Costa Rica and Mexico?
- 0.3%, with Mexico ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Mexico?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and Mexico rank globally for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
- Costa Rica ranks 71st and Mexico ranks 70th of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.