Latin America & Caribbean
A life that begins in Costa Rica
One in every 2,605 babies in the world is born here: about 51,483 a year, 0.098 a minute.
- Population
- 5,152,950
- Births a year
- 51,483
- Life expectancy
- 81
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 10.4
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
83.6
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
78.4
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
9.1
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
10.4
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
24
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
0.6
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
8
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
3.4
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
14.8
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
17.8
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
1.32
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
17
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
97
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
100
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
55
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
1.3
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$28,443
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
46
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
0.8
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
6.8
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
11
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
46
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
24
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
80
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
100
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
100
World: 91
Internet users (%)
87
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
7.44
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0.77
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.01
World: 0.34
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 63.5 → 2026: 81.2 → 2050: 85.2
World
1960: 96 → 2026: 10 → 2050: 9
World
1960: 6.7 → 2026: 1.4 → 2050: 1.4
World
1960: 34 → 2026: 80 → 2050: 85
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Costa Rica comes up about once in every 2,605 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in Latin America & Caribbean
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.