Costa Rica vs New Zealand: The global population hockey stick
Costa Rica
5.11 million people
in 2023
New Zealand
5.17 million people
in 2023
Costa Rica rank
126th
New Zealand rank
124th
The global population hockey stick over time
- Costa Rica
- New Zealand
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 5.17 million people against 5.11 million people in Costa Rica, a difference of 67,310 people.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 239 shared years of data; in 1200 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 126th and New Zealand ranks 124th of 239 countries.
Across the 38 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 8 and New Zealand in 30.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | New Zealand | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1200s | 346,614 people | 16,000 people | 330,614 people | Costa Rica |
| 1300s | 378,125 people | 20,000 people | 358,125 people | Costa Rica |
| 1400s | 412,500 people | 20,000 people | 392,500 people | Costa Rica |
| 1500s | 450,000 people | 80,000 people | 370,000 people | Costa Rica |
| 1600s | 8,000 people | 140,000 people | 132,000 people | New Zealand |
| 1700s | 22,742 people | 200,000 people | 177,258 people | New Zealand |
| 1710s | 24,606 people | 187,739 people | 163,133 people | New Zealand |
| 1720s | 26,623 people | 185,880 people | 159,257 people | New Zealand |
| 1730s | 28,805 people | 184,040 people | 155,235 people | New Zealand |
| 1740s | 31,166 people | 182,218 people | 151,052 people | New Zealand |
| 1750s | 33,720 people | 180,414 people | 146,694 people | New Zealand |
| 1760s | 36,484 people | 178,627 people | 142,143 people | New Zealand |
| 1770s | 39,475 people | 176,859 people | 137,384 people | New Zealand |
| 1780s | 42,711 people | 175,108 people | 132,397 people | New Zealand |
| 1790s | 46,212 people | 173,374 people | 127,162 people | New Zealand |
| 1800s | 55,119 people | 171,968 people | 116,849 people | New Zealand |
| 1810s | 60,115 people | 121,814 people | 61,699 people | New Zealand |
| 1820s | 69,576 people | 100,214 people | 30,639 people | New Zealand |
| 1830s | 84,945 people | 85,520 people | 574.5 people | New Zealand |
| 1840s | 97,049 people | 79,003 people | 18,046 people | Costa Rica |
| 1850s | 110,070 people | 107,920 people | 2,150 people | Costa Rica |
| 1860s | 130,016 people | 194,655 people | 64,639 people | New Zealand |
| 1870s | 161,729 people | 383,286 people | 221,557 people | New Zealand |
| 1880s | 217,929 people | 580,553 people | 362,624 people | New Zealand |
| 1890s | 282,467 people | 725,569 people | 443,102 people | New Zealand |
| 1900s | 349,820 people | 908,057 people | 558,237 people | New Zealand |
| 1910s | 421,711 people | 1.13 million people | 705,745 people | New Zealand |
| 1920s | 496,435 people | 1.35 million people | 851,153 people | New Zealand |
| 1930s | 602,584 people | 1.55 million people | 949,158 people | New Zealand |
| 1940s | 791,640 people | 1.75 million people | 960,647 people | New Zealand |
| 1950s | 1.09 million people | 2.12 million people | 1.03 million people | New Zealand |
| 1960s | 1.56 million people | 2.60 million people | 1.04 million people | New Zealand |
| 1970s | 2.07 million people | 3.03 million people | 954,317 people | New Zealand |
| 1980s | 2.71 million people | 3.25 million people | 536,063 people | New Zealand |
| 1990s | 3.49 million people | 3.64 million people | 150,495 people | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 4.23 million people | 4.09 million people | 135,067 people | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 4.79 million people | 4.62 million people | 171,778 people | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 5.07 million people | 5.12 million people | 50,140 people | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher the global population hockey stick, Costa Rica or New Zealand?
- New Zealand, at 5.17 million people against 5.11 million people in Costa Rica as of 2023.
- What is the difference in the global population hockey stick between Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 67,310 people, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and New Zealand?
- 239 years are reported by both, from 1200 to 2023.
- How do Costa Rica and New Zealand rank globally for the global population hockey stick?
- Costa Rica ranks 126th and New Zealand ranks 124th of 239 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as The global population hockey stick. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.