Costa Rica vs United States of America: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Costa Rica
73.7%
in 2020
United States of America
74.0%
in 2020
Costa Rica rank
120th
United States of America rank
118th
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Costa Rica
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 74.0% against 73.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was United States of America ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 120th and United States of America ranks 118th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 3 and United States of America in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 43.1% | 59.0% | 16.0% | United States of America |
| 1960s | 51.3% | 62.2% | 10.9% | United States of America |
| 1970s | 58.4% | 64.6% | 6.2% | United States of America |
| 1980s | 63.2% | 66.3% | 3.0% | United States of America |
| 1990s | 68.4% | 68.3% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
| 2000s | 72.3% | 70.7% | 1.6% | Costa Rica |
| 2010s | 73.3% | 72.5% | 0.8% | Costa Rica |
| 2020s | 73.7% | 74.0% | 0.4% | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Costa Rica or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 74.0% against 73.7% in Costa Rica as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Costa Rica and United States of America?
- 0.3%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and United States of America?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Costa Rica and United States of America rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Costa Rica ranks 120th and United States of America ranks 118th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.