Life expectancy at birth, total in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Life expectancy at birth, total was 81 years in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
81 years
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
46th
of 217 countries
All-time high
81 years
in 2024
All-time low
63.46 years
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Life expectancy at birth, total in Costa Rica, 1960–2024

020406080196019922024

Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2024, life expectancy at birth, total in Costa Rica stood at 81 years. That is the highest value across all 65 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, total in Costa Rica peaked at 81 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 63.46 years, in 1960.

That places Costa Rica 46th out of 217 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.

Life expectancy at birth, total in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Costa Rica, 1960 to 2024.
Year years Change
1960 63.46 years
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%
2024 81 years +0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
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 79.78 years 78.05 years 81 years 5

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 43 Chile 81.36 years compare
  2. 44 Maldives 81.28 years compare
  3. 45 Isle of Man 81.09 years compare
  4. 47 Germany 80.79 years compare
  5. 48 United States Virgin Islands 80.77 years compare
  6. 49 Cayman Islands 80.54 years compare

See the full ranking of 265 places →

More health data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy at birth, total in Costa Rica?
Life expectancy at birth, total in Costa Rica was 81 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 81 years in 2024.
What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 63.46 years in 1960.
How does Costa Rica rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
Costa Rica ranks 46th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
Is life expectancy at birth, total 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 World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Life expectancy at birth, total in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-at-birth-total-years/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
Unit
years
Source
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
265 places, 17,191 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.