Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Medical doctors per 1,000 people was 2.69 per 1,000 people in 2022. ▲ Rising
Latest (2022)
2.69 per 1,000 people
Change on year
up 4.8%
World rank
71st
of 194 countries
All-time high
2.69 per 1,000 people
in 2022
All-time low
0.391 per 1,000 people
in 1960
Years of data
33
1960–2022
Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Costa Rica, 1960–2022
Source: World Health Organization (Global Health Workforce Statistics), OECD, and country data, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in per 1,000 people.
Analysis
In 2022, medical doctors per 1,000 people in Costa Rica stood at 2.69 per 1,000 people. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.8% on the previous year and up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, medical doctors per 1,000 people in Costa Rica peaked at 2.69 per 1,000 people in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.391 per 1,000 people, in 1960.
That places Costa Rica 71st out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | per 1,000 people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 0.391 per 1,000 people | — |
| 1965 | 0.517 per 1,000 people | +32.2% |
| 1970 | 0.614 per 1,000 people | +18.8% |
| 1979 | 0.679 per 1,000 people | +10.6% |
| 1984 | 0.99 per 1,000 people | +45.8% |
| 1987 | 0.968 per 1,000 people | -2.2% |
| 1988 | 0.881 per 1,000 people | -9.0% |
| 1990 | 1.26 per 1,000 people | +43.0% |
| 1993 | 0.883 per 1,000 people | -29.9% |
| 1994 | 0.845 per 1,000 people | -4.3% |
| 1995 | 0.854 per 1,000 people | +1.1% |
| 1996 | 0.864 per 1,000 people | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 0.872 per 1,000 people | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 0.901 per 1,000 people | +3.3% |
| 1999 | 1.72 per 1,000 people | +90.8% |
| 2000 | 1.32 per 1,000 people | -23.1% |
| 2006 | 2.05 per 1,000 people | +55.3% |
| 2007 | 2.1 per 1,000 people | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 2.17 per 1,000 people | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 2.23 per 1,000 people | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 2.32 per 1,000 people | +4.0% |
| 2011 | 2.38 per 1,000 people | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 2.47 per 1,000 people | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 2.56 per 1,000 people | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 2.66 per 1,000 people | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 1.81 per 1,000 people | -32.1% |
| 2016 | 1.96 per 1,000 people | +8.3% |
| 2017 | 2.1 per 1,000 people | +7.5% |
| 2018 | 2.25 per 1,000 people | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 2.38 per 1,000 people | +5.5% |
| 2020 | 2.49 per 1,000 people | +5.0% |
| 2021 | 2.56 per 1,000 people | +2.8% |
| 2022 | 2.69 per 1,000 people | +4.8% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 2.69 per 1,000 people is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.59 per 1,000 people, 75% of the median. (66 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 2.69 per 1,000 people is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.9 per 1,000 people, 1.4× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Medical doctors per 1,000 people 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +90.8% | 0.901 per 1,000 people | 1.72 per 1,000 people |
| 2006 | +55.3% | 1.32 per 1,000 people | 2.05 per 1,000 people |
| 1984 | +45.8% | 0.679 per 1,000 people | 0.99 per 1,000 people |
| 1990 | +43.0% | 0.881 per 1,000 people | 1.26 per 1,000 people |
| 2015 | -32.1% | 2.66 per 1,000 people | 1.81 per 1,000 people |
| 1993 | -29.9% | 1.26 per 1,000 people | 0.883 per 1,000 people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.454 per 1,000 people | 0.391 per 1,000 people | 0.517 per 1,000 people | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.6465 per 1,000 people | 0.614 per 1,000 people | 0.679 per 1,000 people | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.9463 per 1,000 people | 0.881 per 1,000 people | 0.99 per 1,000 people | 3 |
| 1990s | 1.02 per 1,000 people | 0.845 per 1,000 people | 1.72 per 1,000 people | 8 |
| 2000s | 1.97 per 1,000 people | 1.32 per 1,000 people | 2.23 per 1,000 people | 5 |
| 2010s | 2.29 per 1,000 people | 1.81 per 1,000 people | 2.66 per 1,000 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.58 per 1,000 people | 2.49 per 1,000 people | 2.69 per 1,000 people | 3 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 68 Canada 2.82 per 1,000 people compare
- 69 Uzbekistan 2.81 per 1,000 people compare
- 70 Montenegro 2.78 per 1,000 people compare
- 72 Lebanon 2.68 per 1,000 people compare
- 73 Japan 2.65 per 1,000 people compare
- 74 South Korea 2.61 per 1,000 people 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)
- 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)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is medical doctors per 1,000 people in Costa Rica?
- Medical doctors per 1,000 people in Costa Rica was 2.69 per 1,000 people in 2022, according to World Health Organization (Global Health Workforce Statistics), OECD, and country data, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest medical doctors per 1,000 people recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.69 per 1,000 people in 2022.
- What is the lowest medical doctors per 1,000 people recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.391 per 1,000 people in 1960.
- How does Costa Rica rank for medical doctors per 1,000 people?
- Costa Rica ranks 71st out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
- Is medical doctors per 1,000 people rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization (Global Health Workforce Statistics), OECD, and country data, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Medical doctors per 1,000 people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).