Difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Difference in male and female life expectancy was 5.23 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5.23
Change on year
down 8.2%
World rank
99th
of 236 countries
All-time high
6.16
in 2021
All-time low
0.4202
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica, 1950–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica is 5.23, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 8.2% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica peaked at 6.16 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.4202, in 1950.
That places Costa Rica 99th 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.
Difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.4202 | — |
| 1951 | 0.5474 | +30.3% |
| 1952 | 0.6619 | +20.9% |
| 1953 | 1 | +51.5% |
| 1954 | 1.03 | +2.7% |
| 1955 | 1.29 | +25.0% |
| 1956 | 1.8 | +39.5% |
| 1957 | 1.89 | +5.2% |
| 1958 | 1.79 | -5.4% |
| 1959 | 2.05 | +14.7% |
| 1960 | 2.05 | -0.1% |
| 1961 | 1.83 | -10.3% |
| 1962 | 2.05 | +11.6% |
| 1963 | 2.26 | +10.6% |
| 1964 | 2.26 | -0.1% |
| 1965 | 2.25 | -0.4% |
| 1966 | 2.33 | +3.7% |
| 1967 | 2.47 | +6.0% |
| 1968 | 2.28 | -7.7% |
| 1969 | 2.41 | +5.6% |
| 1970 | 2.57 | +6.5% |
| 1971 | 2.7 | +5.3% |
| 1972 | 2.75 | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 2.94 | +7.1% |
| 1974 | 3.14 | +6.6% |
| 1975 | 3.46 | +10.2% |
| 1976 | 3.73 | +7.9% |
| 1977 | 3.89 | +4.3% |
| 1978 | 4.21 | +8.2% |
| 1979 | 4.16 | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 4.07 | -2.1% |
| 1981 | 3.96 | -2.8% |
| 1982 | 3.88 | -2.1% |
| 1983 | 3.66 | -5.5% |
| 1984 | 3.89 | +6.1% |
| 1985 | 3.83 | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 3.99 | +4.3% |
| 1987 | 4.15 | +4.1% |
| 1988 | 4.29 | +3.3% |
| 1989 | 4.23 | -1.4% |
| 1990 | 4.45 | +5.1% |
| 1991 | 4.5 | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 4.47 | -0.6% |
| 1993 | 4.44 | -0.8% |
| 1994 | 4.55 | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 4.66 | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 4.66 | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 4.84 | +3.8% |
| 1998 | 4.93 | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 4.99 | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 4.91 | -1.5% |
| 2001 | 5.01 | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 4.87 | -2.6% |
| 2003 | 4.83 | -0.9% |
| 2004 | 4.97 | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 4.96 | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 5.12 | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 5.31 | +3.7% |
| 2008 | 5.35 | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 5.29 | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 5.31 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 5.13 | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 5.06 | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 5.17 | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 5.21 | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 5.66 | +8.6% |
| 2016 | 5.34 | -5.7% |
| 2017 | 5.31 | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 5.65 | +6.3% |
| 2019 | 5.28 | -6.4% |
| 2020 | 5.9 | +11.7% |
| 2021 | 6.16 | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 5.69 | -7.6% |
| 2023 | 5.23 | -8.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 5.23 is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.91, 1.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 5.23 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 5.72, 91% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | +51.5% | 0.6619 | 1 |
| 1956 | +39.5% | 1.29 | 1.8 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.25 | 0.4202 | 2.05 | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.22 | 1.83 | 2.47 | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.35 | 2.57 | 4.21 | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.99 | 3.66 | 4.29 | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.65 | 4.44 | 4.99 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.06 | 4.83 | 5.35 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.31 | 5.06 | 5.66 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.75 | 5.23 | 6.16 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 96 Turkmenistan 5.3 compare
- 97 Saint Barthelemy 5.28 compare
- 98 Hong Kong 5.27 compare
- 100 British Virgin Islands 5.18 compare
- 101 Tunisia 5.09 compare
- 102 Papua New Guinea 5.09 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)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 35 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -3.42 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0248 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -3.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0259 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica?
- Difference in male and female life expectancy in Costa Rica was 5.23 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest difference in male and female life expectancy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 6.16 in 2021.
- What is the lowest difference in male and female life expectancy recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4202 in 1950.
- How does Costa Rica rank for difference in male and female life expectancy?
- Costa Rica ranks 99th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is difference in male and female life expectancy rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Difference in male and female life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).