Life Expectancy at Birth in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Life Expectancy at Birth was 81 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
81
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
46th
of 216 countries
All-time high
81
in 2024
All-time low
63.46
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024
Life Expectancy at Birth in Costa Rica, 1960–2024
Source: International Monetary Fund.
Analysis
In 2024, life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica stood at 81. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica peaked at 81 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 63.46, in 1960.
That places Costa Rica 46th out of 216 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Life Expectancy at Birth in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 63.46 | — |
| 1961 | 63.86 | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 64.23 | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 64.33 | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 64.49 | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 64.76 | +0.4% |
| 1966 | 65.1 | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 65.55 | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 65.78 | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 66.36 | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 66.79 | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 67.41 | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 68.01 | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 68.73 | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 69.45 | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 70.25 | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 70.95 | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 71.52 | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 72.03 | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 72.54 | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 73.03 | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 73.44 | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 73.86 | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 74.25 | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 74.58 | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 74.77 | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 74.95 | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 75.22 | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 75.55 | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 75.85 | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 76.09 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 76.24 | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 76.39 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 76.31 | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 76.33 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 76.44 | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 76.43 | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 76.6 | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 76.87 | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 77.06 | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 77.32 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 77.61 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 77.94 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 78.21 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 78.51 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 78.88 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 79.05 | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 79.1 | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 79.18 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 79.37 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 79.35 | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 79.62 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 79.92 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 80.19 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 80.23 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 80.41 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 79.99 | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 79.99 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 80.09 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 80.3 | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 79.72 | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 78.05 | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 79.32 | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 80.8 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 81 | +0.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 81 is below the median for high income countries, which is 81.36, 100% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 81 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 75.69, 1.1× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 64.79 | 63.46 | 66.36 | 10 |
| 1970s | 69.77 | 66.79 | 72.54 | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.55 | 73.03 | 75.85 | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.48 | 76.09 | 77.06 | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.52 | 77.32 | 79.37 | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.01 | 79.35 | 80.41 | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.78 | 78.05 | 81 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 43 Chile 81.36 compare
- 44 Maldives 81.28 compare
- 45 Isle of Man 81.09 compare
- 47 Germany 80.79 compare
- 48 United States Virgin Islands 80.77 compare
- 49 Cayman Islands 80.54 compare
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 life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica?
- Life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica was 81 in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 81 in 2024.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 63.46 in 1960.
- How does Costa Rica rank for life expectancy at birth?
- Costa Rica ranks 46th out of 216 countries with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund, published as part of Life Expectancy at Birth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Gender-disaggregated data on health outcomes.