Sex gap in life expectancy in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Sex gap in life expectancy was 5.29 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5.29 years
Change on year
down 7.6%
World rank
101st
of 236 countries
All-time high
6.21 years
in 2021
All-time low
1.06 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Sex gap in life expectancy in Costa Rica, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for sex gap in life expectancy in Costa Rica is 5.29 years, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 7.6% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sex gap in life expectancy in Costa Rica peaked at 6.21 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.06 years, in 1950.
That places Costa Rica 101st out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Sex gap in life expectancy in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.06 years | — |
| 1951 | 1.18 years | +10.9% |
| 1952 | 1.27 years | +8.3% |
| 1953 | 1.6 years | +25.9% |
| 1954 | 1.65 years | +2.9% |
| 1955 | 1.92 years | +16.1% |
| 1956 | 2.31 years | +20.6% |
| 1957 | 2.42 years | +4.7% |
| 1958 | 2.35 years | -2.7% |
| 1959 | 2.62 years | +11.4% |
| 1960 | 2.62 years | -0.2% |
| 1961 | 2.49 years | -4.9% |
| 1962 | 2.68 years | +7.6% |
| 1963 | 2.9 years | +8.5% |
| 1964 | 2.91 years | +0.2% |
| 1965 | 2.9 years | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 2.98 years | +2.6% |
| 1967 | 3.13 years | +5.2% |
| 1968 | 2.92 years | -6.8% |
| 1969 | 3.03 years | +3.9% |
| 1970 | 3.2 years | +5.7% |
| 1971 | 3.34 years | +4.1% |
| 1972 | 3.4 years | +2.0% |
| 1973 | 3.61 years | +6.1% |
| 1974 | 3.79 years | +5.0% |
| 1975 | 4.07 years | +7.4% |
| 1976 | 4.31 years | +5.9% |
| 1977 | 4.45 years | +3.1% |
| 1978 | 4.75 years | +6.7% |
| 1979 | 4.68 years | -1.4% |
| 1980 | 4.56 years | -2.6% |
| 1981 | 4.41 years | -3.2% |
| 1982 | 4.32 years | -2.2% |
| 1983 | 4.08 years | -5.5% |
| 1984 | 4.28 years | +5.0% |
| 1985 | 4.21 years | -1.7% |
| 1986 | 4.37 years | +3.8% |
| 1987 | 4.51 years | +3.2% |
| 1988 | 4.61 years | +2.3% |
| 1989 | 4.54 years | -1.7% |
| 1990 | 4.75 years | +4.7% |
| 1991 | 4.78 years | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 4.74 years | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 4.7 years | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 4.79 years | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 4.88 years | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 4.89 years | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 5.07 years | +3.7% |
| 1998 | 5.15 years | +1.6% |
| 1999 | 5.21 years | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 5.12 years | -1.7% |
| 2001 | 5.19 years | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 5.04 years | -2.9% |
| 2003 | 4.99 years | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 5.13 years | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 5.12 years | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 5.27 years | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 5.45 years | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 5.48 years | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 5.41 years | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 5.41 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5.23 years | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 5.16 years | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 5.28 years | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 5.31 years | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 5.76 years | +8.6% |
| 2016 | 5.43 years | -5.7% |
| 2017 | 5.36 years | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 5.74 years | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 5.36 years | -6.6% |
| 2020 | 5.99 years | +11.7% |
| 2021 | 6.21 years | +3.7% |
| 2022 | 5.73 years | -7.8% |
| 2023 | 5.29 years | -7.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.84 years | 1.06 years | 2.62 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.86 years | 2.49 years | 3.13 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.96 years | 3.2 years | 4.75 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.39 years | 4.08 years | 4.61 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.9 years | 4.7 years | 5.21 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.22 years | 4.99 years | 5.48 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.4 years | 5.16 years | 5.76 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.8 years | 5.29 years | 6.21 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 98 Saint Barthelemy 5.35 years compare
- 99 Papua New Guinea 5.35 years compare
- 100 Türkiye 5.33 years compare
- 102 Hong Kong, China 5.29 years compare
- 103 Niue 5.28 years compare
- 104 Tunisia 5.23 years compare
More health data for Costa Rica
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.78 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.4617 % change on previous year (2090)
- 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)
- Population ages 15-19, male, annual growth rate -0.1629 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 15-19, male, per capita 0.0358 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, annual growth rate -1.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 20-24, female, per capita 0.0352 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sex gap in life expectancy in Costa Rica?
- Sex gap in life expectancy in Costa Rica was 5.29 years in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 6.21 years in 2021.
- What is the lowest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.06 years in 1950.
- How does Costa Rica rank for sex gap in life expectancy?
- Costa Rica ranks 101st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sex gap in life expectancy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Sex gap in life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Difference in period life expectancy (females - males) at a given age.