Costa Rica vs Romania: Poverty gap index at $3 a day
Costa Rica
0.2%
in 2025
Romania
0.3%
in 2023
Costa Rica rank
79th
Romania rank
76th
Poverty gap index at $3 a day over time
- Costa Rica
- Romania
How they compare
Romania currently reports 0.3% against 0.2% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.1%.
That makes Romania's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 23 shared years of data; in 1989 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 79th and Romania ranks 76th of 120 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and Romania in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Romania | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 7.0% | 0.0% | 7.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 4.9% | 1.5% | 3.4% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 1.5% | 2.5% | 1.1% | Romania |
| 2010s | 0.8% | 2.4% | 1.5% | Romania |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher poverty gap index at $3 a day, Costa Rica or Romania?
- Romania, at 0.3% against 0.2% in Costa Rica as of 2023.
- What is the difference in poverty gap index at $3 a day between Costa Rica and Romania?
- 0.1%, with Romania ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Romania?
- 23 years are reported by both, from 1989 to 2023.
- How do Costa Rica and Romania rank globally for poverty gap index at $3 a day?
- Costa Rica ranks 79th and Romania ranks 76th of 120 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Poverty gap index at $3 a day. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The poverty gap index is a poverty measure that reflects both the prevalence and the depth of poverty. It is calculated as the share of population in poverty multiplied by the average shortfall from the poverty line (expressed as a % of the poverty line).