Total population in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Total population was 5,142 thousands in 2025. β² Rising
Total population in Costa Rica, 1970β2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in thousands.
Analysis
The most recent figure for total population in Costa Rica is 5,142 thousands, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total population in Costa Rica peaked at 5,142 thousands in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1,814 thousands, in 1970.
That places Costa Rica 124th out of 230 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2,046 thousands | 1,814 thousands | 2,295 thousands | 10 |
| 1980s | 2,674 thousands | 2,358 thousands | 3,006 thousands | 10 |
| 1990s | 3,452 thousands | 3,082 thousands | 3,823 thousands | 10 |
| 2000s | 4,195 thousands | 3,901 thousands | 4,470 thousands | 10 |
| 2010s | 4,762 thousands | 4,529 thousands | 4,980 thousands | 10 |
| 2020s | 5,082 thousands | 5,019 thousands | 5,142 thousands | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More population data for Costa Rica
- Population growth rate by level of development -1 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 123,827 (2100)
- Population density 73.96 (2100)
- Population growth rate -1 (2100)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 1.32 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 31,632 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 1.32 (2024)
- Fertility vs contraception 1.32 (2024)
- Natural population growth 0.4722 (2023)
- Fertility rate with projections 1.33 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total population in Costa Rica?
- Total population in Costa Rica was 5,142 thousands in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest total population recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 5,142 thousands in 2025.
- What is the lowest total population recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1,814 thousands in 1970.
- How does Costa Rica rank for total population?
- Costa Rica ranks 124th out of 230 countries with data for 2025.
- Is total population rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Total population (thousands). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release