People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: People not using safely managed drinking water sources was 1.00 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Costa Rica, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 1.00 million people for people not using safely managed drinking water sources in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Costa Rica peaked at 1.00 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 923,107 people, in 2000.
That places Costa Rica 71st out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 923,107 people | — |
| 2001 | 926,848 people | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 929,674 people | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 931,824 people | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 933,774 people | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 935,928 people | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 938,091 people | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 940,258 people | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 942,889 people | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 945,795 people | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 948,242 people | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 950,523 people | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 953,200 people | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 955,823 people | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 958,514 people | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 961,495 people | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 964,368 people | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 966,958 people | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 969,501 people | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 973,879 people | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 980,884 people | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 986,106 people | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 990,559 people | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 995,388 people | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 1.00 million people | +0.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.00 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 30,638 people, 32.7× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.00 million people is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.00 million people, 1.0× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 934,819 people | 923,107 people | 945,795 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 960,250 people | 948,242 people | 973,879 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 990,653 people | 980,884 people | 1.00 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More environment data for Costa Rica
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.09 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.3048 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Costa Rica?
- People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Costa Rica was 1.00 million people 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 people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 1.00 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 923,107 people in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for people not using safely managed drinking water sources?
- Costa Rica ranks 71st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using safely managed drinking water sources rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 People not using safely managed drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
People not using safely managed drinking water sources either use unimproved drinking water sources or the improved sources they use are not located on their premises, not available when needed, or not free of contamination.