Population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Population growth rate with and without migration was 0.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
0.5%
Change on year
up 11.6%
World rank
147th
of 236 countries
All-time high
3.8%
in 1959
All-time low
0.4%
in 2021
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica, 1950–2023

01234195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica is 0.5%, measured in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.6% on the previous year and down 54.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica peaked at 3.8% in 1959 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2021.

That places Costa Rica 147th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica, 1950 to 2023.
Year % Change
1950 3.3% —
1951 3.4% +2.3%
1952 3.5% +1.6%
1953 3.5% +2.1%
1954 3.6% +1.4%
1955 3.6% +1.0%
1956 3.7% +1.1%
1957 3.7% +1.1%
1958 3.7% +1.2%
1959 3.8% +0.5%
1960 3.8% -0.2%
1961 3.7% -1.1%
1962 3.6% -1.9%
1963 3.5% -2.8%
1964 3.4% -3.4%
1965 3.3% -3.7%
1966 3.2% -4.0%
1967 3.0% -4.1%
1968 2.8% -6.4%
1969 2.8% -1.8%
1970 2.7% -3.2%
1971 2.6% -2.4%
1972 2.6% -2.2%
1973 2.5% -1.3%
1974 2.6% +0.9%
1975 2.6% +0.8%
1976 2.6% +1.4%
1977 2.6% +1.2%
1978 2.7% +1.2%
1979 2.7% +1.7%
1980 2.7% -0.2%
1981 2.7% +0.5%
1982 2.7% +0.5%
1983 2.8% +0.3%
1984 2.8% +0.1%
1985 2.7% -0.5%
1986 2.7% -2.2%
1987 2.6% -2.7%
1988 2.5% -2.6%
1989 2.5% -1.5%
1990 2.6% +2.1%
1991 2.5% -0.5%
1992 2.5% -0.6%
1993 2.5% -1.8%
1994 2.4% -1.9%
1995 2.4% -2.1%
1996 2.3% -3.1%
1997 2.2% -4.1%
1998 2.1% -4.0%
1999 2.0% -4.7%
2000 1.9% -8.3%
2001 1.7% -6.8%
2002 1.6% -8.9%
2003 1.5% -5.0%
2004 1.4% -3.6%
2005 1.4% +0.3%
2006 1.4% -6.5%
2007 1.4% +0.0%
2008 1.4% +0.3%
2009 1.3% -3.2%
2010 1.2% -11.3%
2011 1.2% +1.5%
2012 1.1% -2.9%
2013 1.1% -6.3%
2014 1.1% -0.4%
2015 1.1% -2.0%
2016 1.0% -7.8%
2017 0.9% -5.3%
2018 0.9% -3.2%
2019 0.8% -11.6%
2020 0.6% -23.8%
2021 0.4% -30.3%
2022 0.4% +5.5%
2023 0.5% +11.6%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.5%, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.5%, 99% of the median. (42 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2021 -30.3% 0.6% 0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 3.6% 3.3% 3.8% 10
1960s 3.3% 2.8% 3.8% 10
1970s 2.6% 2.5% 2.7% 10
1980s 2.7% 2.5% 2.8% 10
1990s 2.4% 2.0% 2.6% 10
2000s 1.5% 1.3% 1.9% 10
2010s 1.0% 0.8% 1.2% 10
2020s 0.5% 0.4% 0.6% 4

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 144 Fiji 0.5% compare
  2. 145 Nauru 0.5% compare
  3. 146 Antigua and Barbuda 0.5% compare
  4. 148 Cape Verde 0.5% compare
  5. 149 Guernsey 0.5% compare
  6. 150 Micronesia (country) 0.5% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica?
Population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica was 0.5% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population growth rate with and without migration recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 1959.
What is the lowest population growth rate with and without migration recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2021.
How does Costa Rica rank for population growth rate with and without migration?
Costa Rica ranks 147th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is population growth rate with and without migration rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 54.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Population growth rate with and without migration. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Population growth rate with and without migration in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/population-growth-rate-with-and-without-migration/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Population growth rate with and without migration
Unit
%
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Annual rate at which the population is growing, expressed as a percentage.