Compare
Costa Rica vs Panama
How Costa Rica and Panama compare on 38 measures, from 1820 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Costa Rica was higher: 80.8 years against 79.6 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Panama was higher: $17,650 against $15,670
- Population · In 2023, Costa Rica was higher: 5.11 million people against 4.46 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, both had 0% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Panama was higher: 2.74 tonnes against 1.63 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyCosta Rica: 80.8 years in 2023Panama: 79.6 years in 2023
- Child mortalityCosta Rica: 1 per 100 live births in 2024Panama: 1.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityCosta Rica: 6.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023Panama: 12.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionCosta Rica: 2.91% in 2017Panama: 2.68% in 2017
- Suicide rateCosta Rica: 7.8 per 100,000 people in 2017Panama: 5 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationCosta Rica: 5.11 million people in 2023Panama: 4.46 million people in 2023
- Population growthCosta Rica: 0.49% a year in 2023Panama: 1.29% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateCosta Rica: 1.33 births per woman in 2023Panama: 2.12 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationCosta Rica: 79.7% in 2025Panama: 66.2% in 2025
- Median ageCosta Rica: 34.1 years in 2023Panama: 29.6 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overCosta Rica: 11.7% in 2023Panama: 9.1% in 2023
- Net migration rateCosta Rica: 0.2 per 1,000 people in 2023Panama: 1.6 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingCosta Rica: 0% of GDP in 2025Panama: 0% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsCosta Rica: $0 in 2025Panama: $0 in 2025
- Military spending per personCosta Rica: $0 in 2025Panama: $0 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingCosta Rica: 0% of government spending in 2025Panama: 0% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelCosta Rica: 10,000 people in 2020Panama: 28,000 people in 2020
- National powerCosta Rica: 0.03% of world capability in 2022Panama: 0.03% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersCosta Rica: 0.41% of the labour force in 2020Panama: 1.33% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsCosta Rica: 8 million TIV in 2019Panama: 2 million TIV in 1989
- Arms exportsCosta Rica: 3 million TIV in 2009Panama: 1 million TIV in 2019
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, IHME, World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, Our World in Data, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time