Costa Rica: Antiretroviral therapy coverage for PMTCT (% of pregnant women living with HIV)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Costa Rica's antiretroviral therapy coverage for PMTCT (% of pregnant women living with HIV) fell 42 percentage points on 2023 (from 84% to 42%).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +4.32 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 19.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 41 percentage points in 2023 and the biggest yearly fall was 57 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 4.39 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 36% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Costa Rica had the 62nd highest value of the 76 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Costa Rica in the 2024 ranking

• Mali — 60th of 76: 46%
• Somalia, Fed. Rep. — 61st of 76: 43%
• Congo, Rep. — 62nd of 76: 42%
• Honduras — 64th of 76: 42%
• Mauritania — 65th of 76: 39%
• Djibouti — 66th of 76: 38%

What this measures

Percentage of pregnant women with HIV who receive antiretroviral medicine for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 22 values

Antiretroviral therapy coverage for PMTCT (% of pregnant women living with HIV) in nearby economies

• Bolivia — 98% (2023)
• Colombia — 53% (2023)
• Cuba — 89% (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 68% (2024)
• Ecuador — 85% (2024)
• El Salvador — 66% (2024)
• Guatemala — 82% (2023)
• Guyana — 84% (2024)

More health data for Costa Rica

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 4.9% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 5.24% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 461,672 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 17.71% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 481,760 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 18.92% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 943,432 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 18.31% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 6.18% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Costa Rica's antiretroviral therapy coverage for PMTCT (% of pregnant women living with HIV)?

42% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 42 percentage points from 0% in 2000. The highest value was 100% in 2018 and the lowest 0% in 2000.

How does Costa Rica rank?

62nd highest of 76 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in antiretroviral therapy coverage for PMTCT (% of pregnant women living with HIV) unusual for Costa Rica?

In 2024, Costa Rica's antiretroviral therapy coverage for PMTCT (% of pregnant women living with HIV) fell 42 percentage points on 2023 (from 84% to 42%). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +4.32 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 19.51 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.HIV.PMTC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: UNAIDS estimates, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), uri: https://aidsinfo.unaids.org/, publisher: UNAIDS, date accessed: 2025-08-27, date published: 2025-07 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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