Life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Life expectancy at birth was 80.8 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
80.8 years
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
51st
of 236 countries
All-time high
80.8 years
in 2023
All-time low
57.46 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica is 80.8 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica peaked at 80.8 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 57.46 years, in 1950.
Costa Rica ranks 51st of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 57.46 years | — |
| 1951 | 57.82 years | +0.6% |
| 1952 | 58.11 years | +0.5% |
| 1953 | 59.06 years | +1.6% |
| 1954 | 59.85 years | +1.3% |
| 1955 | 60.45 years | +1.0% |
| 1956 | 61.2 years | +1.2% |
| 1957 | 61.58 years | +0.6% |
| 1958 | 62.26 years | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 62.91 years | +1.0% |
| 1960 | 63.46 years | +0.9% |
| 1961 | 63.86 years | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 64.23 years | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 64.33 years | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 64.49 years | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 64.76 years | +0.4% |
| 1966 | 65.1 years | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 65.55 years | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 65.78 years | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 66.36 years | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 66.79 years | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 67.41 years | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 68.01 years | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 68.73 years | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 69.45 years | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 70.25 years | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 70.95 years | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 71.52 years | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 72.03 years | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 72.54 years | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 73.03 years | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 73.44 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 73.86 years | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 74.25 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 74.58 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 74.77 years | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 74.95 years | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 75.22 years | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 75.55 years | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 75.85 years | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 76.09 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 76.24 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 76.39 years | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 76.31 years | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 76.33 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 76.44 years | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 76.43 years | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 76.6 years | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 76.87 years | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 77.06 years | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 77.32 years | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 77.61 years | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 77.94 years | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 78.21 years | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 78.51 years | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 78.88 years | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 79.05 years | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 79.1 years | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 79.18 years | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 79.37 years | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 79.35 years | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 79.62 years | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 79.92 years | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 80.19 years | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 80.23 years | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 80.41 years | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 79.99 years | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 79.99 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 80.09 years | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 80.3 years | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 79.72 years | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 78.05 years | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 79.32 years | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 80.8 years | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 60.07 years | 57.46 years | 62.91 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 64.79 years | 63.46 years | 66.36 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 69.77 years | 66.79 years | 72.54 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.55 years | 73.03 years | 75.85 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.48 years | 76.09 years | 77.06 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.52 years | 77.32 years | 79.37 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.01 years | 79.35 years | 80.41 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.47 years | 78.05 years | 80.8 years | 4 |
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)
- 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 0-14, female, annual growth rate -2.17 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.0896 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate -2.18 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.0935 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica?
- Life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica was 80.8 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 80.8 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.46 years in 1950.
- How does Costa Rica rank for life expectancy at birth?
- Costa Rica ranks 51st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy at birth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Period life expectancy at birth.