Costa Rica vs Greece: Share of population living below national poverty lines
Costa Rica
17.1%
in 2025
Greece
18.8%
in 2021
Costa Rica rank
37th
Greece rank
34th
Share of population living below national poverty lines over time
- Costa Rica
- Greece
How they compare
Greece currently reports 18.8% against 17.1% in Costa Rica, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes Greece's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 20 shared years of data; in 2002 it was Greece ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 37th and Greece ranks 34th of 70 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 2 and Greece in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Greece | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.4% | 20.1% | 0.7% | Greece |
| 2010s | 23.6% | 20.7% | 2.9% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 28.1% | 19.2% | 8.9% | Costa Rica |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living below national poverty lines, Costa Rica or Greece?
- Greece, at 18.8% against 17.1% in Costa Rica as of 2021.
- What is the difference in share of population living below national poverty lines between Costa Rica and Greece?
- 1.7%, with Greece ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Greece?
- 20 years are reported by both, from 2002 to 2021.
- How do Costa Rica and Greece rank globally for share of population living below national poverty lines?
- Costa Rica ranks 37th and Greece ranks 34th of 70 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living below national poverty lines. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.