What is child mortality rate in Costa Rica?

Child mortality rate in Costa Rica was 1.04 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest child mortality rate recorded in Costa Rica?

The highest recorded value was 13.22 deaths per 100 live births in 1949.

What is the lowest child mortality rate recorded in Costa Rica?

The lowest recorded value was 0.89 deaths per 100 live births in 2016.

How does Costa Rica rank for child mortality rate?

Costa Rica ranks 120th out of 200 countries with data for 2024.

Is child mortality rate rising or falling in Costa Rica?

Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this Costa Rica data come from?

The figures come from Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Child mortality rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Child mortality rate in Costa Rica

Name: Child mortality rate in Costa Rica
Creator: Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Costa Rica: Child mortality rate was 1.04 deaths per 100 live births in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)

1.04 deaths per 100 live births

Change on year

up 3.0%

World rank

120th

of 200 countries

All-time high

13.22 deaths per 100 live births

in 1949

All-time low

0.89 deaths per 100 live births

in 2016

Years of data

1949–2024

Child mortality rate in Costa Rica, 1949–2024

Source: Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in deaths per 100 live births.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 1.04 deaths per 100 live births for child mortality rate in 2024.

That represents a change of up 3.0% on the previous year and up 13.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, child mortality rate in Costa Rica peaked at 13.22 deaths per 100 live births in 1949 and was at its lowest, 0.89 deaths per 100 live births, in 2016.

Costa Rica ranks 120th of 200 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1940s	13.22 deaths per 100 live births	13.22 deaths per 100 live births	13.22 deaths per 100 live births	1
1950s	11.98 deaths per 100 live births	10.05 deaths per 100 live births	13.13 deaths per 100 live births	10
1960s	8.9 deaths per 100 live births	7.85 deaths per 100 live births	9.61 deaths per 100 live births	10
1970s	4.94 deaths per 100 live births	2.65 deaths per 100 live births	7.48 deaths per 100 live births	10
1980s	2.16 deaths per 100 live births	1.78 deaths per 100 live births	2.44 deaths per 100 live births	10
1990s	1.51 deaths per 100 live births	1.36 deaths per 100 live births	1.69 deaths per 100 live births	10
2000s	1.16 deaths per 100 live births	1.07 deaths per 100 live births	1.31 deaths per 100 live births	10
2010s	0.941 deaths per 100 live births	0.89 deaths per 100 live births	1.05 deaths per 100 live births	10
2020s	0.986 deaths per 100 live births	0.93 deaths per 100 live births	1.04 deaths per 100 live births	5

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

118 Nicaragua 1.12 deaths per 100 live births compare
119 Cape Verde 1.11 deaths per 100 live births compare
121 Oman 1.03 deaths per 100 live births compare
122 El Salvador 1 deaths per 100 live births compare
123 Brunei 0.99 deaths per 100 live births compare

See the full ranking of 200 places →

More health data for Costa Rica

Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,632 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
Number of infants who die before age 1 35 deaths (2100)
Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 40,311 (2025)
Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 38,872 (2025)
Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 39,752 (2025)
Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 38,260 (2025)
Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 38,402 (2025)
Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 36,873 (2025)

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is child mortality rate in Costa Rica?: Child mortality rate in Costa Rica was 1.04 deaths per 100 live births in 2024, according to Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest child mortality rate recorded in Costa Rica?: The highest recorded value was 13.22 deaths per 100 live births in 1949.
What is the lowest child mortality rate recorded in Costa Rica?: The lowest recorded value was 0.89 deaths per 100 live births in 2016.
How does Costa Rica rank for child mortality rate?: Costa Rica ranks 120th out of 200 countries with data for 2024.
Is child mortality rate rising or falling in Costa Rica?: Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?: The figures come from Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Child mortality rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Child mortality rate
Unit: deaths per 100 live births
Source: Gapminder (2015); UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 200 places, 16,161 data points, 1751–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

The long-run estimated share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five.