Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas was 86.5% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Costa Rica, 2005–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Costa Rica is 86.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Costa Rica peaked at 86.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 83.7%, in 2005.
That places Costa Rica 43rd out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 83.7% | — |
| 2006 | 83.7% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 83.7% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 83.7% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 83.7% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 83.9% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 84.2% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 84.4% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 84.7% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 85.0% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 85.2% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 85.5% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 85.8% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 86.0% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 86.3% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 86.5% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 86.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 88.7%, 98% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 86.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 85.4%, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 83.7% | 83.7% | 83.7% | 5 |
| 2010s | 85.1% | 83.9% | 86.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.5% | 86.5% | 86.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 40 Saint Lucia 87.9% compare
- 41 Syria 87.3% compare
- 42 Tajikistan 86.7% compare
- 44 Marshall Islands 86.4% compare
- 45 Tonga 85.5% compare
- 46 Trinidad and Tobago 85.5% compare
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 access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Costa Rica?
- Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Costa Rica was 86.5% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 86.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 83.7% in 2005.
- How does Costa Rica rank for access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas?
- Costa Rica ranks 43rd out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.