Share of women using contraceptives in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of women using contraceptives was 70.9% in 2018. ▲ Rising
Share of women using contraceptives in Costa Rica, 1976–2018
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and UN Population Division, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of women ages 15-49.
Analysis
In 2018, share of women using contraceptives in Costa Rica stood at 70.9%.
That represents a change of down 8.9% on the previous year and down 13.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women using contraceptives in Costa Rica peaked at 82.1% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 63.5%, in 1978.
Costa Rica ranks 18th of 116 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 10 years of available data.
Share of women using contraceptives in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % of women ages 15-49 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 64.4% | — |
| 1978 | 63.5% | -1.4% |
| 1981 | 65.2% | +2.7% |
| 1986 | 69.0% | +5.8% |
| 1993 | 75.0% | +8.7% |
| 1999 | 80.0% | +6.7% |
| 2010 | 82.1% | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 76.2% | -7.1% |
| 2015 | 77.8% | +2.0% |
| 2018 | 70.9% | -8.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 64.0% | 63.5% | 64.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 67.1% | 65.2% | 69.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 77.5% | 75.0% | 80.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 76.8% | 70.9% | 82.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More gender data for Costa Rica
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 838.24 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -2.49 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 4,413 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 4,413 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.8911 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 24,787 (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 25,901 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 25,098 (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 26,214 (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 25,387 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women using contraceptives in Costa Rica?
- Share of women using contraceptives in Costa Rica was 70.9% in 2018, according to Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and UN Population Division, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of women using contraceptives recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 82.1% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of women using contraceptives recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 63.5% in 1978.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of women using contraceptives?
- Costa Rica ranks 18th out of 116 countries with data for 2018.
- Is share of women using contraceptives rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and UN Population Division, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of women using contraceptives. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 10 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Contraceptive prevalence rate is the percentage of women who are practicing, or whose sexual partners are practicing, any form of contraception. It is usually measured for women ages 15-49 who are married or in union.