Population in the largest city in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Population in the largest city was 36.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
36.6%
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
52nd
of 153 countries
All-time high
51.5%
in 1964
All-time low
35.8%
in 2018
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Population in the largest city in Costa Rica, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 36.6% for population in the largest city in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in the largest city in Costa Rica peaked at 51.5% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 35.8%, in 2018.
Costa Rica ranks 52nd of 153 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Population in the largest city in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 50.8% | — |
| 1961 | 50.9% | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 51.1% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 51.3% | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 51.5% | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 51.4% | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 51.1% | -0.4% |
| 1967 | 50.9% | -0.6% |
| 1968 | 50.6% | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 50.4% | -0.4% |
| 1970 | 50.2% | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 50.2% | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 50.4% | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 50.6% | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 50.7% | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 50.7% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 50.8% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 51.0% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 51.1% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 51.2% | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 51.3% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 51.4% | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 51.4% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 51.4% | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 51.3% | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 51.0% | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 50.6% | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 50.2% | -0.8% |
| 1988 | 49.8% | -0.9% |
| 1989 | 49.3% | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 48.8% | -1.0% |
| 1991 | 48.3% | -1.1% |
| 1992 | 47.7% | -1.1% |
| 1993 | 47.2% | -1.2% |
| 1994 | 46.7% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 46.1% | -1.1% |
| 1996 | 45.7% | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 45.3% | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 44.9% | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 44.6% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 44.4% | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 43.5% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 42.6% | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 41.8% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 41.0% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 40.3% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 39.5% | -1.8% |
| 2007 | 38.9% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 38.2% | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 37.5% | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 36.9% | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 36.3% | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 36.2% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 36.1% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 36.0% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 35.9% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 35.8% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 35.8% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 35.8% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 35.8% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 35.9% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 36.0% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 36.2% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 36.3% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 36.4% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 36.6% | +0.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 36.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 28.2%, 1.3× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 36.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 35.8%, 1.0× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 51.0% | 50.4% | 51.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 50.7% | 50.2% | 51.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 50.8% | 49.3% | 51.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.5% | 44.6% | 48.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 40.8% | 37.5% | 44.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.1% | 35.8% | 36.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.2% | 35.9% | 36.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More urban development data for Costa Rica
- Population density 99.99 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 17.7 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.2916 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 1.50 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 1.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per unit 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per square 28.63 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 1.50 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 0 Tonnes (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 23 - Ecological 32.51 Hectares (2020)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in the largest city in Costa Rica?
- Population in the largest city in Costa Rica was 36.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in the largest city recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 51.5% in 1964.
- What is the lowest population in the largest city recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.8% in 2018.
- How does Costa Rica rank for population in the largest city?
- Costa Rica ranks 52nd out of 153 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population in the largest city rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in the largest city (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.