Costa Rica's population in the largest city (% of urban population) was 36.58% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.69 percentage points from 35.89% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 36.58% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 35.86% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 35.89% | 2015 |
| Highest | 51.46% | 1964 |
| Lowest | 35.77% | 2018 |
| Average since 2016 | 36.05% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 50.76% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Costa Rica's population in the largest city (% of urban population) rose 0.14 percentage points on 2024 (from 36.44% to 36.58%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.35 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.28 percentage points in 1973 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.93 percentage points in 2001. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.09 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 87% 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 2025, Costa Rica had the 52nd highest value of the 153 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 36.58% | 2025 |
| World | 16.16% | 2025 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 23.78% | 2025 |
| High income | 18.97% | 2025 |
Closest to Costa Rica in the 2025 ranking
- Equatorial Guinea — 49th of 153: 36.96%
- Tajikistan — 50th of 153: 36.85%
- Ireland — 51st of 153: 36.68%
- Burundi — 53rd of 153: 36.53%
- Angola — 54th of 153: 35.94%
- Jamaica — 55th of 153: 35.81%
What this measures
Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.
Limitations: Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverage. There is no consistent and universally accepted standard for distinguishing urban from rural areas, in part because of the wide variety of situations across countries. Most countries use an urban classification related to the size or characteristics of settlements. Some define urban areas based on the presence of certain infrastructure and services. And other countries designate urban areas based on administrative arrangements.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 66 values
| Year | Population in the largest city (% of urban population) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 36.58 |
| 2024 | 36.44 |
| 2023 | 36.3 |
| 2022 | 36.16 |
| 2021 | 36 |
| 2020 | 35.86 |
| 2019 | 35.79 |
| 2018 | 35.77 |
| 2017 | 35.79 |
| 2016 | 35.82 |
| 2015 |
Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in nearby economies
- Argentina — 37.2% (2025)
- Bolivia — 22.18% (2025)
- Brazil — 12.25% (2025)
- Chile — 39.52% (2025)
- Colombia — 28.03% (2025)
- Cuba — 25.53% (2025)
- Dominican Republic — 43.67% (2025)
- Ecuador — 27.99% (2025)
- El Salvador — 23.56% (2025)
- Guatemala
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Population in largest city — 1.5 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 1.5 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 29.16% (2025)
- Rural population — 1.04 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 20.27% (2025)
- Urban population — 4.11 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 79.73% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 12,168 (2024)
- Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 32,140 (2024)
- Total fisheries production (metric tons)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Costa Rica's population in the largest city (% of urban population)?
- 36.58% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 14.18 percentage points from 50.76% in 1960. The highest value was 51.46% in 1964 and the lowest 35.77% in 2018.
- How does Costa Rica rank?
- 52nd highest of 153 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in population in the largest city (% of urban population) unusual for Costa Rica?
- In 2025, Costa Rica's population in the largest city (% of urban population) rose 0.14 percentage points on 2024 (from 36.44% to 36.58%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.35 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EN.URB.LCTY.UR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wup/, publisher: UN Population Division, date published: 2018 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in