Life expectancy at birth (UNICEF) in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Life expectancy at birth (UNICEF) was 81.19 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
81.19
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
2nd
of 36 countries
All-time high
81.19
in 2025
All-time low
57.46
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica, 1950–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 81.19 for life expectancy at birth in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica peaked at 81.19 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 57.46, in 1950.
That places Costa Rica 2nd out of 36 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth (UNICEF) in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 57.46 | — |
| 1951 | 57.82 | +0.6% |
| 1952 | 58.11 | +0.5% |
| 1953 | 59.06 | +1.6% |
| 1954 | 59.85 | +1.3% |
| 1955 | 60.45 | +1.0% |
| 1956 | 61.2 | +1.2% |
| 1957 | 61.58 | +0.6% |
| 1958 | 62.26 | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 62.91 | +1.0% |
| 1960 | 63.46 | +0.9% |
| 1961 | 63.86 | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 64.23 | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 64.33 | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 64.49 | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 64.76 | +0.4% |
| 1966 | 65.1 | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 65.55 | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 65.78 | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 66.36 | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 66.79 | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 67.41 | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 68.01 | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 68.73 | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 69.45 | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 70.25 | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 70.95 | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 71.52 | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 72.03 | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 72.54 | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 73.03 | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 73.44 | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 73.86 | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 74.25 | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 74.58 | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 74.76 | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 74.95 | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 75.22 | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 75.55 | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 75.85 | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 76.09 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 76.24 | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 76.38 | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 76.32 | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 76.33 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 76.44 | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 76.43 | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 76.6 | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 76.87 | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 77.06 | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 77.32 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 77.61 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 77.94 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 78.21 | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 78.51 | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 78.88 | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 79.05 | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 79.1 | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 79.18 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 79.37 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 79.35 | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 79.62 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 79.92 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 80.19 | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 80.23 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 80.41 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 79.99 | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 79.99 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 80.09 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 80.3 | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 79.73 | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 78.05 | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 79.32 | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 80.8 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 81 | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 81.19 | +0.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 81.19 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 74.69, 1.1× the median. (34 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 81.19 is above the median for high income countries, which is 77.94, 1.0× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 60.07 | 57.46 | 62.91 | 10 |
| 1960s | 64.79 | 63.46 | 66.36 | 10 |
| 1970s | 69.77 | 66.79 | 72.54 | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.55 | 73.03 | 75.85 | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.48 | 76.09 | 77.06 | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.52 | 77.32 | 79.37 | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.01 | 79.35 | 80.41 | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.01 | 78.05 | 81.19 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
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 life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica?
- Life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica was 81.19 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 81.19 in 2025.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.46 in 1950.
- How does Costa Rica rank for life expectancy at birth?
- Costa Rica ranks 2nd out of 36 countries with data for 2025.
- Is life expectancy at birth 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 UNICEF, published as part of Life expectancy at birth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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