Costa Rica vs Panama: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day
Costa Rica
61.7%
in 2025
Panama
70.2%
in 2024
Costa Rica rank
80th
Panama rank
79th
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day over time
- Costa Rica
- Panama
How they compare
Panama currently reports 70.2% against 61.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 8.5%.
That makes Panama's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
The two have swapped places 7 times across 29 shared years of data; in 1989 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 80th and Panama ranks 79th of 120 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 2 and Panama in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Panama | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 95.2% | 92.5% | 2.7% | Costa Rica |
| 1990s | 91.4% | 89.1% | 2.3% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 82.5% | 86.5% | 3.9% | Panama |
| 2010s | 72.8% | 75.1% | 2.3% | Panama |
| 2020s | 69.8% | 71.8% | 1.9% | Panama |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day, Costa Rica or Panama?
- Panama, at 70.2% against 61.7% in Costa Rica as of 2024.
- What is the difference in poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day between Costa Rica and Panama?
- 8.5%, with Panama ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Panama?
- 29 years are reported by both, from 1989 to 2024.
- How do Costa Rica and Panama rank globally for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day?
- Costa Rica ranks 80th and Panama ranks 79th of 120 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $30 per day.