Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure was 800,000 people in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in Costa Rica, 2015–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in Costa Rica is 800,000 people, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in Costa Rica peaked at 800,000 people in 2019 and was at its lowest, 600,000 people, in 2015.
That places Costa Rica 90th out of 126 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 600,000 people | — |
| 2016 | 600,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 700,000 people | +16.7% |
| 2018 | 700,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 800,000 people | +14.3% |
| 2020 | 800,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 800,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 800,000 people | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 800,000 people | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 680,000 people | 600,000 people | 800,000 people | 5 |
| 2020s | 800,000 people | 800,000 people | 800,000 people | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More reference data data for Costa Rica
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2987 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.406 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0167 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3161 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.24 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 5.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0907 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in Costa Rica?
- Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure in Costa Rica was 800,000 people in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 800,000 people in 2019.
- What is the lowest number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 600,000 people in 2015.
- How does Costa Rica rank for number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure?
- Costa Rica ranks 90th out of 126 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people who are moderately or severely food insecure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Food insecurity is defined by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). Moderate food insecurity is associated with the inability to regularly eat healthy, nutritious diets. Severe food insecurity is related to insufficient quantity of food.