Costa Rica: Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Costa Rica's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) fell 15% on 2024 (from 2 to 1.7).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −3.1% and a typical year strayed about 10.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below 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 30.4% in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 24.6% 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 downward, about 0.06 a year. A straight line explains 33% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Costa Rica in the 2025 ranking

• Indonesia — 1st of 3: 4.5
• Ecuador — 2nd of 3: 3.1

What this measures

The average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28 per day (adjusted for differences in purchasing power parity across countries). It is measured as the average factor by which incomes fall short of $28.

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

All 39 values

Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 2.1 (2024)
• Bolivia — 2.4 (2024)
• Brazil — 2.7 (2024)
• Chile — 1.6 (2024)
• Colombia — 4.7 (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 2.1 (2024)
• Ecuador — 3.1 (2025)
• El Salvador — 3.6 (2023)
• Honduras

More poverty data for Costa Rica

• Income share held by second 20% — 9% (2025)
• Income share held by third 20% — 13.8% (2025)
• Income share held by fourth 20% — 21.5% (2025)
• Income share held by highest 20% — 50.9% (2025)
• Income share held by highest 10% — 34.3% (2025)
• Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income (%) — 20% (2025)
• Income share held by lowest 10% — 1.8% (2025)
• Income share held by lowest 20% — 4.7% (2025)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 0.8% (2025)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Costa Rica's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day)?

1.7 in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1981?

It is down 84.68% from 11.1 in 1981 (4.17% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 11.1 in 1981 and the lowest 1.7 in 2025.

Is the latest change in prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) unusual for Costa Rica?

In 2025, Costa Rica's prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) fell 15% on 2024 (from 2 to 1.7). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −3.1% and a typical year strayed about 10.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.1 standard deviations below 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 SI.SPR.PGAP, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. 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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