Share of population living below national poverty lines in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of population living below national poverty lines was 17.1% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Share of population living below national poverty lines in Costa Rica, 1989–2025
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living below national poverty lines in Costa Rica is 17.1%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 15.8% on the previous year and down 27.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living below national poverty lines in Costa Rica peaked at 31.9% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 16.7%, in 2007.
Costa Rica ranks 37th of 70 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Share of population living below national poverty lines in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 28.3% | — |
| 1990 | 27.1% | -4.2% |
| 1991 | 31.9% | +17.7% |
| 1992 | 29.4% | -7.8% |
| 1993 | 23.2% | -21.1% |
| 1994 | 20.0% | -13.8% |
| 1995 | 20.4% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 21.5% | +5.4% |
| 1997 | 20.7% | -3.7% |
| 1998 | 19.7% | -4.8% |
| 1999 | 20.6% | +4.6% |
| 2000 | 20.6% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 20.3% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 20.6% | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 18.5% | -10.2% |
| 2004 | 21.7% | +17.3% |
| 2005 | 21.2% | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 20.2% | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 16.7% | -17.3% |
| 2008 | 17.7% | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 18.5% | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 24.2% | +30.8% |
| 2011 | 24.8% | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 23.5% | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 23.3% | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 24.6% | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 23.6% | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 22.9% | -3.0% |
| 2017 | 22.1% | -3.5% |
| 2018 | 22.9% | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 23.9% | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 30.0% | +25.5% |
| 2021 | 26.2% | -12.7% |
| 2022 | 25.5% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 24.4% | -4.3% |
| 2024 | 20.3% | -16.8% |
| 2025 | 17.1% | -15.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 28.3% | 28.3% | 28.3% | 1 |
| 1990s | 23.4% | 19.7% | 31.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.6% | 16.7% | 21.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.6% | 22.1% | 24.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.9% | 17.1% | 30.0% | 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 share of population living below national poverty lines in Costa Rica?
- Share of population living below national poverty lines in Costa Rica was 17.1% in 2025, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 31.9% in 1991.
- What is the lowest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.7% in 2007.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of population living below national poverty lines?
- Costa Rica ranks 37th out of 70 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living below national poverty lines rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living below national poverty lines. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.