Costa Rica has a population of 5.13M (ranked 126/197), compared with 1K in The Vatican (ranked 197/197). Costa Rica's land area is 19,714 sq mi versus 0.17 sq mi for The Vatican (ranked 126th vs. 197th).
By GDP, Costa Rica ranks 72/197 ($95.4B) and The Vatican ranks 197/197 ($19.8M). By GDP per capita, Costa Rica ranks 62/197 ($18,587), while The Vatican ranks 59/197 ($19,800).
Main facts and rankings
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Population |
5170484
|
949
|
| Population rank | 126/197 | 197/197 |
| GDP |
$95.4B
2024 |
$19.8M
2025 |
| GDP rank | 72/197 | 197/197 |
| GDP per capita |
$18,587
2024 |
$19,800
2025 |
| GDP per capita rank | 62/197 | 59/197 |
| GDP per capita, PPP |
$30,063
2024 |
$39,191
2025 |
| Government debt |
$57B
2024 |
n/a |
| Debt-to-GDP ratio |
59.7%
2025 |
n/a |
| Government debt per person |
$11,106
2024 |
n/a |
| Government debt per person rank | 51/185 | n/a |
| Average annual personal income after taxes |
$12,322
2025 |
$17,307
2025 |
| Land area |
19,714 sq mi
2025 |
0.17 sq mi
2025 |
| Population density |
260.2 ppl/mi²
2024 |
5,886 ppl/mi²
2019 |
| Fertility rate |
1.33
2023 |
n/a |
| Median age |
35.6 years
2024 |
n/a |
| Life expectancy |
81.2 years
2025 |
83.3 years
2025 |
Costa Rica and Vatican: Comparison Charts
Costa Rica vs. Vatican life expectancy calculator
Life expectancy
Costa Rica
Vatican
| Year | Life expectancy, years | |
|---|---|---|
|
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
| 1950 | 57.5 | 65.9 |
| 1951 | 57.8 | 65.3 |
| 1952 | 58.1 | 65.7 |
| 1953 | 59.1 | 66.3 |
| 1954 | 59.9 | 67.5 |
| 1955 | 60.5 | 67.8 |
| 1956 | 61.2 | 67.3 |
| 1957 | 61.6 | 67.5 |
| 1958 | 62.3 | 68.7 |
| 1959 | 62.9 | 69.2 |
| 1960 | 63.5 | 69.2 |
| 1961 | 63.9 | 69.8 |
| 1962 | 64.2 | 69.2 |
| 1963 | 64.3 | 69.3 |
| 1964 | 64.5 | 70.3 |
| 1965 | 64.8 | 70.1 |
| 1966 | 65.1 | 70.9 |
| 1967 | 65.6 | 70.9 |
| 1968 | 65.8 | 70.7 |
| 1969 | 66.4 | 70.7 |
| 1970 | 66.8 | 71.5 |
| 1971 | 67.4 | 71.7 |
| 1972 | 68 | 72 |
| 1973 | 68.7 | 71.9 |
| 1974 | 69.4 | 72.7 |
| 1975 | 70.3 | 72.6 |
| 1976 | 70.9 | 72.9 |
| 1977 | 71.5 | 73.3 |
| 1978 | 72 | 73.7 |
| 1979 | 72.5 | 74 |
| 1980 | 73 | 74.1 |
| 1981 | 73.4 | 74.3 |
| 1982 | 73.9 | 74.8 |
| 1983 | 74.2 | 74.7 |
| 1984 | 74.6 | 75.1 |
| 1985 | 74.8 | 75.5 |
| 1986 | 74.9 | 75.7 |
| 1987 | 75.2 | 76.2 |
| 1988 | 75.5 | 76.4 |
| 1989 | 75.9 | 76.8 |
| 1990 | 76.1 | 76.9 |
| 1991 | 76.2 | 76.9 |
| 1992 | 76.4 | 77.3 |
| 1993 | 76.3 | 77 |
| 1994 | 76.3 | 77.7 |
| 1995 | 76.4 | 77.8 |
| 1996 | 76.4 | 78.5 |
| 1997 | 76.6 | 78.2 |
| 1998 | 76.9 | 78.3 |
| 1999 | 77.1 | 78.7 |
| 2000 | 77.3 | 79.3 |
| 2001 | 77.6 | 79.9 |
| 2002 | 77.9 | 80 |
| 2003 | 78.2 | 79.8 |
| 2004 | 78.5 | 80.2 |
| 2005 | 78.9 | 80.6 |
| 2006 | 79 | 81.2 |
| 2007 | 79.1 | 81.3 |
| 2008 | 79.2 | 81.4 |
| 2009 | 79.4 | 81.3 |
| 2010 | 79.4 | 81.5 |
| 2011 | 79.6 | 81.7 |
| 2012 | 79.9 | 82 |
| 2013 | 80.2 | 82.5 |
| 2014 | 80.2 | 82.6 |
| 2015 | 80.4 | 82.5 |
| 2016 | 80 | 82.9 |
| 2017 | 80 | 82.7 |
| 2018 | 80.1 | 83.3 |
| 2019 | 80.3 | 83.6 |
| 2020 | 79.7 | 83 |
| 2021 | 78.1 | 82.9 |
| 2022 | 79.3 | 83.3 |
| 2023 | 80.8 | 83 |
| 2024 | 81 | 83.1 |
| 2025 | 81.2 | 83.3 |
Costa Rica and Vatican population clocks and comparison
Population
Costa Rica
Vatican
| Year | Population | |
|---|---|---|
|
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
| 1960 | 1,327,496 | - |
| 1961 | 1,377,920 | - |
| 1962 | 1,429,445 | - |
| 1963 | 1,481,604 | - |
| 1964 | 1,533,960 | - |
| 1965 | 1,586,208 | - |
| 1966 | 1,638,116 | - |
| 1967 | 1,689,523 | - |
| 1968 | 1,739,731 | - |
| 1969 | 1,789,276 | - |
| 1970 | 1,838,949 | - |
| 1971 | 1,888,539 | - |
| 1972 | 1,938,248 | - |
| 1973 | 1,988,343 | - |
| 1974 | 2,039,643 | - |
| 1975 | 2,092,719 | - |
| 1976 | 2,147,774 | - |
| 1977 | 2,205,025 | - |
| 1978 | 2,264,510 | - |
| 1979 | 2,326,490 | - |
| 1980 | 2,390,633 | - |
| 1981 | 2,456,637 | - |
| 1982 | 2,524,806 | - |
| 1983 | 2,595,153 | - |
| 1984 | 2,667,595 | - |
| 1985 | 2,741,894 | - |
| 1986 | 2,817,216 | - |
| 1987 | 2,892,699 | - |
| 1988 | 2,968,103 | - |
| 1989 | 3,043,827 | - |
| 1990 | 3,121,706 | - |
| 1991 | 3,202,176 | - |
| 1992 | 3,284,258 | - |
| 1993 | 3,367,434 | - |
| 1994 | 3,451,122 | - |
| 1995 | 3,535,176 | - |
| 1996 | 3,619,013 | - |
| 1997 | 3,701,711 | - |
| 1998 | 3,782,838 | - |
| 1999 | 3,862,101 | - |
| 2000 | 3,937,739 | 880 |
| 2001 | 4,008,947 | 890 |
| 2002 | 4,075,705 | 900 |
| 2003 | 4,138,784 | 911 |
| 2004 | 4,200,078 | 921 |
| 2005 | 4,261,240 | 921 |
| 2006 | 4,321,340 | 932 |
| 2007 | 4,380,248 | 821 |
| 2008 | 4,440,056 | 824 |
| 2009 | 4,499,791 | 826 |
| 2010 | 4,555,962 | 829 |
| 2011 | 4,609,833 | 832 |
| 2012 | 4,663,934 | 836 |
| 2013 | 4,716,147 | 839 |
| 2014 | 4,767,119 | 842 |
| 2015 | 4,818,038 | 1,000 |
| 2016 | 4,866,998 | - |
| 2017 | 4,913,177 | 1,000 |
| 2018 | 4,957,818 | - |
| 2019 | 4,999,553 | 1,000 |
| 2020 | 5,034,320 | - |
| 2021 | 5,059,988 | - |
| 2022 | 5,081,765 | - |
| 2023 | 5,105,525 | - |
| 2024 | 5,129,910 | - |
Interactive Maps
Use the buttons below to switch between world maps comparing statistics for Costa Rica and the Vatican.
GDP per capita
GDP
Life expectancy
Population
Population density
Fertility rate
Median age
Land area
National statistics comparison
Finance
|
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
|---|---|---|
| GNI, Atlas method |
$80.2B
2024 |
n/a |
| Government expenditure, % of GDP |
18.3%
2025 |
n/a |
| Education expenditure, % of GDP |
6.25%
2021 |
n/a |
| Armed forces personnel |
10,000
2020 |
n/a |
| Deficit/surplus, % of GDP |
-3.23%
2025 |
n/a |
| Unemployment rate |
6.94%
2024 |
n/a |
| Services, % of GDP |
68.8%
2024 |
n/a |
| Industry, % of GDP |
19.7%
2024 |
n/a |
| Economic freedom index |
68.6
2025 |
65
2025 |
| Income share by richest 10% |
34.2%
2024 |
n/a |
| Income share by poorest 10% |
1.7%
2024 |
n/a |
| Listed domestic companies |
9
2022 |
n/a |
| Market capitalization of domestic companies |
$2.23B
2022 |
n/a |
| Total reserves including gold |
$14.2B
2024 |
n/a |
| Personal remittances received |
$725M
2024 |
n/a |
| International tourist arrivals |
1,146,500
2020 |
n/a |
| International tourism as share of exports |
7.41%
2020 |
n/a |
| Banked people share |
71.4%
2024 |
n/a |
Energy
|
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Energy use, kg of oil equivalent per capita |
1,025 kg
2023 |
n/a |
| GDP PPP per kg equivalent of energy use |
$27.4
2023 |
n/a |
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions |
8.57 megatons
2023 |
n/a |
| CO2 emissions per capita |
1.68 tons
2023 |
n/a |
| Fossil fuel energy use share |
51.6%
2023 |
n/a |
| Renewable energy use share |
34.2%
2021 |
n/a |
| Alternative and nuclear energy use share |
37.7%
2023 |
n/a |
| Net energy imports use share |
60.4%
2023 |
n/a |
| Electric power consumption per capita |
2,206 kWh
2023 |
n/a |
| Renewable electricity output share |
99.4%
2021 |
n/a |
| Hydroelectric share |
69.3%
2023 |
n/a |
| Nuclear share |
0%
2021 |
n/a |
| Electricity access |
100%
2023 |
n/a |
Society
|
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
|---|---|---|
| % of world population |
0.06%
2024 |
0.00001%
2024 |
| Annual migration change |
+967
2024 |
n/a |
| Urban population |
83.2%
2024 |
n/a |
| Male:Female ratio |
50:50
2024 |
n/a |
| Average male height |
5.71 ft
2025 |
n/a |
| Average female height |
5.26 ft
2025 |
n/a |
| Quality of life index |
65
2025 |
76
2025 |
| Corruption Perceptions Index |
58
2024 |
60
2025 |
| Higher education index |
73
2025 |
32
2025 |
| Homicides per 100K people |
17.7
2023 |
0
2023 |
| Road traffic mortality per 100K people |
14.8
2019 |
0.5
2025 |
| Visa free countries |
144
2025 |
150
2025 |
| Adult literacy rate |
98%
2021 |
100%
2013 |
| English speaking |
8.15%
2023 |
20%
2025 |
| People using the Internet |
85.4%
2023 |
n/a |
Health
|
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Government health expenditure per capita |
$979
2022 |
n/a |
| Out-of-pocket health expenditure per capita |
$219.6
2022 |
n/a |
| Life expectancy |
81.2 years
2025 |
83.3 years
2025 |
| Foreign aid share of health expenditure |
0.03%
2022 |
n/a |
| Physicians per 1,000 people |
2.64
2022 |
n/a |
| Maternal mortality per 100K births |
24
2023 |
n/a |
| Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births |
10.5
2023 |
n/a |
| Obesity rate |
32.3%
2022 |
n/a |
| Diabetes prevalence |
9.8%
2024 |
n/a |
| Air quality index |
80
2025 |
72
2025 |
| Tobacco use prevalence |
8.9%
2022 |
n/a |
| Pure alcohol consumption per capita |
3.4 liters
2020 |
n/a |
Territory
|
Costa Rica
|
Vatican
|
|
|---|---|---|
| % of world land |
0.03%
2025 |
0.0000003%
2025 |
| Land area per capita |
3,843 sq mi
2024 |
169.9 sq mi
2019 |
| Agricultural land area |
6,534 sq mi
2025 |
n/a |
| Forest area |
11,907 sq mi
2025 |
n/a |
| Roads length |
3,129 mi
2017 |
5.59 mi
2003 |
In-depth comparisons
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