Annual growth rate of urban population share in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Annual growth rate of urban population share was 0.5% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.5%
Change on year
down 3.6%
World rank
78th
of 236 countries
All-time high
2.1%
in 1968
All-time low
0.0%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Annual growth rate of urban population share in Costa Rica, 1950–2025
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for annual growth rate of urban population share in Costa Rica is 0.5%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.6% on the previous year and down 27.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual growth rate of urban population share in Costa Rica peaked at 2.1% in 1968 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
That places Costa Rica 78th out of 236 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Annual growth rate of urban population share in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.0% | — |
| 1951 | 0.0% | +15.8% |
| 1952 | 0.1% | +121.3% |
| 1953 | 0.1% | +44.1% |
| 1954 | 0.2% | +29.8% |
| 1955 | 0.2% | +22.1% |
| 1956 | 0.2% | +17.4% |
| 1957 | 0.2% | +14.1% |
| 1958 | 0.3% | +11.8% |
| 1959 | 0.3% | +10.0% |
| 1960 | 0.3% | +8.7% |
| 1961 | 0.4% | +7.5% |
| 1962 | 0.4% | +2.9% |
| 1963 | 0.6% | +54.4% |
| 1964 | 1.0% | +79.2% |
| 1965 | 1.5% | +48.3% |
| 1966 | 1.8% | +20.8% |
| 1967 | 2.0% | +10.7% |
| 1968 | 2.1% | +3.9% |
| 1969 | 2.1% | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 1.9% | -6.1% |
| 1971 | 1.7% | -11.3% |
| 1972 | 1.4% | -18.0% |
| 1973 | 1.1% | -22.3% |
| 1974 | 0.9% | -15.7% |
| 1975 | 0.8% | -11.6% |
| 1976 | 0.7% | -9.8% |
| 1977 | 0.7% | -7.0% |
| 1978 | 0.7% | -3.5% |
| 1979 | 0.7% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 0.7% | +4.4% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | +7.9% |
| 1982 | 0.8% | +10.6% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | +12.9% |
| 1984 | 1.1% | +13.1% |
| 1985 | 1.2% | +16.7% |
| 1986 | 1.4% | +13.4% |
| 1987 | 1.5% | +10.5% |
| 1988 | 1.7% | +8.0% |
| 1989 | 1.8% | +6.2% |
| 1990 | 1.9% | +4.7% |
| 1991 | 1.9% | +3.5% |
| 1992 | 2.0% | +2.4% |
| 1993 | 2.0% | +1.5% |
| 1994 | 2.0% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 2.0% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 2.0% | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 2.0% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 1.9% | -1.9% |
| 1999 | 1.9% | -2.7% |
| 2000 | 1.8% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 1.9% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 1.9% | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 1.9% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 1.9% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 1.9% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 2.0% | +4.7% |
| 2011 | 1.2% | -41.6% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -38.5% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -2.8% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | -3.0% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | -3.2% |
| 2023 | 0.6% | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 0.5% | -3.4% |
| 2025 | 0.5% | -3.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 75 North Macedonia 0.5% compare
- 76 North Korea 0.5% compare
- 77 East Timor 0.5% compare
- 79 Kazakhstan 0.5% compare
- 80 Tunisia 0.5% compare
- 81 Myanmar 0.5% compare
More population data for Costa Rica
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.9965 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.2884 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.9965 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.6681 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 5,703 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.5224 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.7399 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -1.0% (2100)
- Population density 73.96 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 123,827 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual growth rate of urban population share in Costa Rica?
- Annual growth rate of urban population share in Costa Rica was 0.5% in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual growth rate of urban population share recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.1% in 1968.
- What is the lowest annual growth rate of urban population share recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Costa Rica rank for annual growth rate of urban population share?
- Costa Rica ranks 78th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual growth rate of urban population share rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual growth rate of urban population share. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average annual rate of change of the share of the population living in urban areas.