Costa Rica vs Nicaragua: Child mortality
Costa Rica
1.04 deaths per 100 live births
in 2024
Nicaragua
1.12 deaths per 100 live births
in 2024
Costa Rica rank
121st
Nicaragua rank
119th
Child mortality over time
- Costa Rica
- Nicaragua
How they compare
Nicaragua currently reports 1.12 deaths per 100 live births against 1.04 deaths per 100 live births in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.08 deaths per 100 live births.
That makes Nicaragua's figure about 1.1 times Costa Rica's.
Across all 225 years both countries report, Nicaragua has been ahead every year.
Costa Rica ranks 121st and Nicaragua ranks 119th of 203 countries.
Nicaragua has averaged higher in every one of the 23 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | Nicaragua | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1800s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1810s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1820s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1830s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1840s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1850s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1860s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1870s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1880s | 44.11 deaths per 100 live births | 50.94 deaths per 100 live births | 6.83 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1890s | 41.18 deaths per 100 live births | 50.92 deaths per 100 live births | 9.75 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1900s | 37.84 deaths per 100 live births | 50.54 deaths per 100 live births | 12.69 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1910s | 36.81 deaths per 100 live births | 49.68 deaths per 100 live births | 12.87 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1920s | 32.43 deaths per 100 live births | 47.1 deaths per 100 live births | 14.66 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1930s | 25.27 deaths per 100 live births | 38.2 deaths per 100 live births | 12.92 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1940s | 18.2 deaths per 100 live births | 28.59 deaths per 100 live births | 10.39 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1950s | 11.98 deaths per 100 live births | 20.66 deaths per 100 live births | 8.68 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1960s | 8.9 deaths per 100 live births | 18.48 deaths per 100 live births | 9.58 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1970s | 4.94 deaths per 100 live births | 15.35 deaths per 100 live births | 10.41 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1980s | 2.16 deaths per 100 live births | 8.55 deaths per 100 live births | 6.39 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 1990s | 1.51 deaths per 100 live births | 5.39 deaths per 100 live births | 3.88 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 2000s | 1.16 deaths per 100 live births | 3.05 deaths per 100 live births | 1.89 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 2010s | 0.9412 deaths per 100 live births | 1.81 deaths per 100 live births | 0.8678 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
| 2020s | 0.9866 deaths per 100 live births | 1.35 deaths per 100 live births | 0.3672 deaths per 100 live births | Nicaragua |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher child mortality, Costa Rica or Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua, at 1.12 deaths per 100 live births against 1.04 deaths per 100 live births in Costa Rica as of 2024.
- What is the difference in child mortality between Costa Rica and Nicaragua?
- 0.08 deaths per 100 live births, with Nicaragua ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and Nicaragua?
- 225 years are reported by both, from 1800 to 2024.
- How do Costa Rica and Nicaragua rank globally for child mortality?
- Costa Rica ranks 121st and Nicaragua ranks 119th of 203 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Child mortality. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five.