Costa Rica - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Costa Rica was 5,094,114 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 5,094,114 in 2020 and a minimum value of 1,330,787 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 1,330,787
1961 1,381,187
1962 1,433,346
1963 1,486,555
1964 1,539,942
1965 1,592,834
1966 1,645,076
1967 1,696,742
1968 1,747,690
1969 1,797,891
1970 1,847,394
1971 1,896,074
1972 1,944,170
1973 1,992,522
1974 2,042,242
1975 2,094,186
1976 2,148,681
1977 2,205,618
1978 2,264,942
1979 2,326,460
1980 2,389,973
1981 2,455,593
1982 2,523,358
1983 2,593,015
1984 2,664,220
1985 2,736,719
1986 2,810,245
1987 2,884,856
1988 2,960,932
1989 3,039,015
1990 3,119,436
1991 3,202,083
1992 3,286,525
1993 3,372,298
1994 3,458,829
1995 3,545,524
1996 3,632,361
1997 3,718,952
1998 3,803,893
1999 3,885,428
2000 3,962,369
2001 4,034,074
2002 4,100,922
2003 4,164,053
2004 4,225,156
2005 4,285,504
2006 4,345,421
2007 4,404,626
2008 4,463,123
2009 4,520,739
2010 4,577,371
2011 4,633,086
2012 4,688,003
2013 4,742,111
2014 4,795,390
2015 4,847,805
2016 4,899,336
2017 4,949,955
2018 4,999,443
2019 5,047,561
2020 5,094,114

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population