Infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Infant health: low birthweight was 8.8 Percentage of live births in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
8.8 Percentage of live births
Change on year
up 7.3%
World rank
9th
of 41 countries
All-time high
8.8 Percentage of live births
in 2023
All-time low
6.6 Percentage of live births
in 2000
Years of data
24
2000–2023

Infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica, 2000–2023

024682000201120232000: 6.6 Percentage of live births2001: 6.9 Percentage of live births2002: 7 Percentage of live births2003: 7 Percentage of live births2004: 6.7 Percentage of live births2005: 6.9 Percentage of live births2006: 6.9 Percentage of live births2007: 7 Percentage of live births2008: 7 Percentage of live births2009: 6.9 Percentage of live births2010: 7.3 Percentage of live births2011: 7.2 Percentage of live births2012: 7.3 Percentage of live births2013: 7.3 Percentage of live births2014: 7.3 Percentage of live births2015: 7.2 Percentage of live births2016: 7.3 Percentage of live births2017: 7.5 Percentage of live births2018: 7.2 Percentage of live births2019: 7.5 Percentage of live births2020: 7.1 Percentage of live births2021: 8 Percentage of live births2022: 8.2 Percentage of live births2023: 8.8 Percentage of live births

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of live births.

Analysis

The most recent figure for infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica is 8.8 Percentage of live births, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.

That represents a change of up 7.3% on the previous year and up 20.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica peaked at 8.8 Percentage of live births in 2023 and was at its lowest, 6.6 Percentage of live births, in 2000.

That places Costa Rica 9th out of 41 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica, 2000 to 2023.
Year Percentage of live births Change
2000 6.6 Percentage of live births
2001 6.9 Percentage of live births +4.5%
2002 7 Percentage of live births +1.4%
2003 7 Percentage of live births +0.0%
2004 6.7 Percentage of live births -4.3%
2005 6.9 Percentage of live births +3.0%
2006 6.9 Percentage of live births +0.0%
2007 7 Percentage of live births +1.4%
2008 7 Percentage of live births +0.0%
2009 6.9 Percentage of live births -1.4%
2010 7.3 Percentage of live births +5.8%
2011 7.2 Percentage of live births -1.4%
2012 7.3 Percentage of live births +1.4%
2013 7.3 Percentage of live births +0.0%
2014 7.3 Percentage of live births +0.0%
2015 7.2 Percentage of live births -1.4%
2016 7.3 Percentage of live births +1.4%
2017 7.5 Percentage of live births +2.7%
2018 7.2 Percentage of live births -4.0%
2019 7.5 Percentage of live births +4.2%
2020 7.1 Percentage of live births -5.3%
2021 8 Percentage of live births +12.7%
2022 8.2 Percentage of live births +2.5%
2023 8.8 Percentage of live births +7.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.89 Percentage of live births 6.6 Percentage of live births 7 Percentage of live births 10
2010s 7.31 Percentage of live births 7.2 Percentage of live births 7.5 Percentage of live births 10
2020s 8.03 Percentage of live births 7.1 Percentage of live births 8.8 Percentage of live births 4

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 6 Greece 9.8 Percentage of live births compare
  2. 6 Japan 9.8 Percentage of live births compare
  3. 6 Latvia 4.2 Percentage of live births compare
  4. 7 Estonia 4.1 Percentage of live births compare
  5. 8 Bulgaria 9.4 Percentage of live births compare
  6. 10 Brazil 8.7 Percentage of live births compare
  7. 11 United States of America 8.5 Percentage of live births compare
  8. 12 Portugal 8.3 Percentage of live births compare

See the full ranking of 51 places →

More health data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica?
Infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica was 8.8 Percentage of live births in 2023, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest infant health: low birthweight recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 8.8 Percentage of live births in 2023.
What is the lowest infant health: low birthweight recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 6.6 Percentage of live births in 2000.
How does Costa Rica rank for infant health: low birthweight?
Costa Rica ranks 9th out of 41 countries with data for 2023.
Is infant health: low birthweight rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Infant health: low birthweight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Infant health: low birthweight in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 31 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/infant-health-low-birthweight/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Infant health: low birthweight
Unit
Percentage of live births
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
51 places, 2,043 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset presents time series on the number of live births weighing less than 2500 grams as a percentage of the total number of live births. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.