Urban population in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Urban population was 4.11 million in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Urban population in Costa Rica, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, urban population in Costa Rica stood at 4.11 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 13.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Costa Rica peaked at 4.11 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 452,743, in 1960.
That places Costa Rica 111th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 554,984 | 452,743 | 680,707 | 10 |
| 1970s | 852,553 | 713,808 | 991,223 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.22 million | 1.03 million | 1.45 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.86 million | 1.52 million | 2.24 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.73 million | 2.33 million | 3.16 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.58 million | 3.26 million | 3.85 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.01 million | 3.90 million | 4.11 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More climate change data for Costa Rica
- Population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Population, total 5.15 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Urban population 79.7% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 29.2% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 3.45 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 3.1% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 26.6% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 28.2% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 28.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Costa Rica?
- Urban population in Costa Rica was 4.11 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 4.11 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 452,743 in 1960.
- How does Costa Rica rank for urban population?
- Costa Rica ranks 111th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.