Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index was 14.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index in Costa Rica, 1981–2025
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 14.8% for share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 39 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.3% on the previous year and down 38.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in Costa Rica peaked at 81.3% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 14.8%, in 2025.
That places Costa Rica 75th 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.
Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 81.3% | — |
| 1986 | 80.2% | -1.4% |
| 1989 | 61.4% | -23.4% |
| 1990 | 60.0% | -2.4% |
| 1991 | 64.4% | +7.5% |
| 1992 | 62.3% | -3.3% |
| 1993 | 55.5% | -11.0% |
| 1994 | 50.3% | -9.3% |
| 1995 | 51.9% | +3.1% |
| 1996 | 55.1% | +6.3% |
| 1997 | 51.9% | -5.8% |
| 1998 | 46.6% | -10.3% |
| 1999 | 49.7% | +6.6% |
| 2000 | 49.7% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 40.7% | -18.1% |
| 2002 | 39.7% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 38.0% | -4.2% |
| 2004 | 40.3% | +6.2% |
| 2005 | 37.5% | -7.0% |
| 2006 | 37.9% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 32.1% | -15.2% |
| 2008 | 32.2% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 30.3% | -5.9% |
| 2010 | 26.7% | -11.8% |
| 2011 | 27.1% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 25.1% | -7.3% |
| 2013 | 24.6% | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 25.1% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 24.2% | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 23.6% | -2.3% |
| 2017 | 22.1% | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 22.2% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 23.5% | +6.1% |
| 2020 | 30.9% | +31.5% |
| 2021 | 24.7% | -20.2% |
| 2022 | 23.9% | -3.0% |
| 2023 | 21.5% | -10.2% |
| 2024 | 18.1% | -15.8% |
| 2025 | 14.8% | -18.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 74.3% | 61.4% | 81.3% | 3 |
| 1990s | 54.8% | 46.6% | 64.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.8% | 30.3% | 49.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.4% | 22.1% | 27.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.3% | 14.8% | 30.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 72 Bosnia and Herzegovina 19.7% compare
- 73 Uzbekistan 19.0% compare
- 74 Bhutan 16.4% compare
- 76 Serbia 12.6% compare
- 77 Russian Federation 9.3% compare
- 78 Uruguay 9.1% compare
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 share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in Costa Rica?
- Share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index in Costa Rica was 14.8% in 2025, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 81.3% in 1981.
- What is the lowest share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.8% in 2025.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index?
- Costa Rica ranks 75th out of 120 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of the population in poverty vs. electoral democracy index rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.8%. 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 Share of the population in poverty vs. Electoral Democracy Index. 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 $10 per day.