Number of people living in extreme poverty in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 5.11 million people in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
5.11 million people
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
92nd
of 120 countries
All-time high
5.11 million people
in 2025
All-time low
1.63 million people
in 1981
Years of data
39
1981–2025
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Costa Rica, 1981–2025
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 5.11 million people for number of people living in extreme poverty in 2025. That is the highest value across all 39 years on record.
The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Costa Rica peaked at 5.11 million people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.63 million people, in 1981.
That places Costa Rica 92nd out of 120 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 39 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1.63 million people | — |
| 1986 | 2.27 million people | +39.3% |
| 1989 | 2.61 million people | +14.6% |
| 1990 | 2.69 million people | +3.2% |
| 1991 | 2.65 million people | -1.3% |
| 1992 | 2.83 million people | +6.7% |
| 1993 | 2.97 million people | +4.9% |
| 1994 | 3.13 million people | +5.3% |
| 1995 | 3.16 million people | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 3.19 million people | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 3.37 million people | +5.4% |
| 1998 | 3.50 million people | +4.0% |
| 1999 | 3.50 million people | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 3.55 million people | +1.4% |
| 2001 | 3.70 million people | +4.3% |
| 2002 | 3.81 million people | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 3.85 million people | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 3.92 million people | +1.8% |
| 2005 | 4.05 million people | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 4.10 million people | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 4.24 million people | +3.5% |
| 2008 | 4.29 million people | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 4.34 million people | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 4.46 million people | +2.7% |
| 2011 | 4.48 million people | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 4.54 million people | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 4.59 million people | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 4.65 million people | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 4.70 million people | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 4.75 million people | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 4.83 million people | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 4.84 million people | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 4.91 million people | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 4.87 million people | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 4.95 million people | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 5.00 million people | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 5.03 million people | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 5.06 million people | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 5.11 million people | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.17 million people | 1.63 million people | 2.61 million people | 3 |
| 1990s | 3.10 million people | 2.65 million people | 3.50 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.99 million people | 3.55 million people | 4.34 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.68 million people | 4.46 million people | 4.91 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.00 million people | 4.87 million people | 5.11 million people | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More poverty & inequality data for Costa Rica
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 10 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.33 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 3,807 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -14.41 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 24.93 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 24.9% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in extreme poverty in Costa Rica?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Costa Rica was 5.11 million people in 2025, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 5.11 million people in 2025.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.63 million people in 1981.
- How does Costa Rica rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Costa Rica ranks 92nd out of 120 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 39 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption above $3 per day.