Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day was 61.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Costa Rica, 1981–2025
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Costa Rica is 61.7%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 39 years on record.
The figure is down 6.8% on the previous year and down 15.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Costa Rica peaked at 100.0% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 61.7%, in 2025.
That places Costa Rica 80th out of 120 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 39 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 98.5% | — |
| 1986 | 100.0% | +1.5% |
| 1989 | 95.2% | -4.8% |
| 1990 | 94.6% | -0.7% |
| 1991 | 95.4% | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 95.2% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 92.9% | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 91.1% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 91.8% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 91.9% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 91.7% | -0.3% |
| 1998 | 88.9% | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 89.3% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 89.9% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 83.0% | -7.7% |
| 2002 | 83.0% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 82.3% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 84.2% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 82.9% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 82.8% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 80.4% | -3.0% |
| 2008 | 79.7% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 77.3% | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 76.0% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 74.3% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 73.0% | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 71.7% | -1.7% |
| 2014 | 72.9% | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 73.3% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 71.7% | -2.2% |
| 2017 | 71.7% | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 71.6% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 72.3% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 76.1% | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 73.1% | -4.0% |
| 2022 | 73.1% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 70.2% | -4.0% |
| 2024 | 66.2% | -5.7% |
| 2025 | 61.7% | -6.8% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 61.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 19.3%, 3.2× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 61.7% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 84.3%, 73% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 97.9% | 95.2% | 100.0% | 3 |
| 1990s | 92.3% | 88.9% | 95.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.5% | 77.3% | 89.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.8% | 71.6% | 76.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.1% | 61.7% | 76.1% | 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Costa Rica?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Costa Rica was 61.7% in 2025, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1986.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 61.7% in 2025.
- How does Costa Rica rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day?
- Costa Rica ranks 80th out of 120 countries with data for 2025.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $30 per day.