Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita was 79.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
79.7%
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
71st
of 236 countries
All-time high
79.7%
in 2025
All-time low
33.5%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Costa Rica, 1950–2025

020406080195019872025

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 share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica is 79.7%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.

The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica peaked at 79.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 33.5%, in 1950.

Costa Rica ranks 71st of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 33.7% 33.5% 34.0% 10
1960s 35.5% 34.1% 38.0% 10
1970s 41.0% 38.8% 42.6% 10
1980s 44.9% 42.9% 47.7% 10
1990s 53.1% 48.6% 58.0% 10
2000s 64.4% 59.0% 70.1% 10
2010s 74.6% 71.5% 77.0% 10
2020s 78.6% 77.5% 79.7% 6

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 68 American Samoa 80.5% compare
  2. 69 United States 80.2% compare
  3. 70 Mexico 80.0% compare
  4. 72 Belarus 79.5% compare
  5. 73 Oman 79.5% compare
  6. 74 Palau 79.3% compare

See the full ranking of 237 places →

More population data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica?
Share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Costa Rica was 79.7% 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 share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 79.7% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 33.5% in 1950.
How does Costa Rica rank for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
Costa Rica ranks 71st out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
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 Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
237 places, 18,012 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.