Costa Rica vs United States: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Costa Rica
79.7%
in 2025
United States
80.2%
in 2025
Costa Rica rank
71st
United States rank
69th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- Costa Rica
- United States
How they compare
United States currently reports 80.2% against 79.7% in Costa Rica, a difference of 0.5%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Costa Rica ahead.
Costa Rica ranks 71st and United States ranks 69th of 238 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Costa Rica averaged higher in 22 and United States in 18.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Costa Rica | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1100s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1400s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1500s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1600s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 0.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1700s | 3.4% | 2.0% | 1.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1710s | 3.8% | 2.0% | 1.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1720s | 4.2% | 2.2% | 1.9% | Costa Rica |
| 1730s | 4.6% | 2.5% | 2.0% | Costa Rica |
| 1740s | 5.0% | 2.8% | 2.2% | Costa Rica |
| 1750s | 5.5% | 3.2% | 2.3% | Costa Rica |
| 1760s | 6.0% | 3.6% | 2.4% | Costa Rica |
| 1770s | 6.6% | 4.0% | 2.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1780s | 7.2% | 4.5% | 2.7% | Costa Rica |
| 1790s | 7.9% | 5.1% | 2.8% | Costa Rica |
| 1800s | 8.6% | 6.1% | 2.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1810s | 9.4% | 7.3% | 2.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1820s | 10.3% | 7.2% | 3.1% | Costa Rica |
| 1830s | 11.3% | 8.8% | 2.5% | Costa Rica |
| 1840s | 12.4% | 10.8% | 1.6% | Costa Rica |
| 1850s | 13.6% | 15.3% | 1.7% | United States |
| 1860s | 14.9% | 19.8% | 4.9% | United States |
| 1870s | 16.3% | 25.7% | 9.4% | United States |
| 1880s | 17.8% | 28.2% | 10.4% | United States |
| 1890s | 19.5% | 35.1% | 15.6% | United States |
| 1900s | 21.4% | 39.6% | 18.2% | United States |
| 1910s | 23.4% | 45.6% | 22.2% | United States |
| 1920s | 25.7% | 51.2% | 25.5% | United States |
| 1930s | 28.1% | 56.2% | 28.1% | United States |
| 1940s | 30.8% | 60.0% | 29.2% | United States |
| 1950s | 33.7% | 66.9% | 33.2% | United States |
| 1960s | 35.5% | 71.9% | 36.4% | United States |
| 1970s | 41.0% | 73.6% | 32.6% | United States |
| 1980s | 44.9% | 74.3% | 29.4% | United States |
| 1990s | 53.1% | 77.0% | 23.9% | United States |
| 2000s | 64.4% | 80.0% | 15.6% | United States |
| 2010s | 74.6% | 80.5% | 5.9% | United States |
| 2020s | 78.6% | 80.1% | 1.4% | United States |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, Costa Rica or United States?
- United States, at 80.2% against 79.7% in Costa Rica as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between Costa Rica and United States?
- 0.5%, with United States ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and United States?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Costa Rica and United States rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- Costa Rica ranks 71st and United States ranks 69th of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Do more people live in urban or rural areas?. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.