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Costa Rica vs. Panama

Demographics

Costa RicaPanama
Population5,151,140 (July 2021 est.)3,928,646 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 22.08% (male 575,731/female 549,802)

15-24 years: 15.19% (male 395,202/female 379,277)

25-54 years: 43.98% (male 1,130,387/female 1,111,791)

55-64 years: 9.99% (male 247,267/female 261,847)

65 years and over: 8.76% (male 205,463/female 241,221) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 25.56% (male 508,131/female 487,205)

15-24 years: 16.59% (male 329,250/female 316,796)

25-54 years: 40.31% (male 794,662/female 774,905)

55-64 years: 8.54% (male 165,129/female 167,317)

65 years and over: 9.01% (male 160,516/female 190,171) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 32.6 years

male: 32.1 years

female: 33.1 years (2020 est.)
total: 30.1 years

male: 29.6 years

female: 30.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.04% (2021 est.)1.16% (2021 est.)
Birth rate14.53 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)16.67 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate4.86 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)5.01 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 8.59 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 9.66 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 7.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 11.25 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 12.37 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 10.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 79.41 years

male: 76.75 years

female: 82.22 years (2021 est.)
total population: 79.47 years

male: 76.66 years

female: 82.41 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.87 children born/woman (2021 est.)2.21 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.4% (2020 est.)1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Costa Rican(s)

adjective: Costa Rican
noun: Panamanian(s)

adjective: Panamanian
Ethnic groupsWhite or Mestizo 83.6%, Mulatto 6.7%, Indigenous 2.4%, Black or African descent 1.1%, other 1.1%, none 2.9%, unspecified 2.2% (2011 est.)Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Native American 12.3% (Ngabe 7.6%, Kuna 2.4%, Embera 0.9%, Bugle 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.2%), Black or African descent 9.2%, Mulatto 6.8%, White 6.7% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS16,000 (2020 est.)31,000 (2020 est.)

note: estimate does not include children
ReligionsRoman Catholic 71.8%, Evangelical and Pentecostal 12.3%, other Protestant 2.6%, Jehovah's Witness 0.5%, other 2.4%, none 10.4% (2016 est.)Roman Catholic 48.6%, Evangelical 30.2%, other 4.7%, agnostic 0.2%, atheist 0.2%, none 12.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2018 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths<500 (2020 est.)<500 (2020 est.)

note: estimate does not include children
LanguagesSpanish (official), English

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Spanish (official), indigenous languages (including Ngabere (or Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (or Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian English Creole (similar to Jamaican English Creole; a mixture of English and Spanish with elements of Ngabere; also known as Guari Guari and Colon Creole), English, Chinese (Yue and Hakka), Arabic, French Creole, other (Yiddish, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese); note - many Panamanians are bilingual

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.9%

male: 97.8%

female: 97.9% (2018)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.4%

male: 96%

female: 94.9% (2018)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
degree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 16 years

male: 17 years

female: 17 years (2019)
total: 13 years

male: 12 years

female: 14 years (2016)
Education expenditures7% of GDP (2019)3.2% of GDP (2011)
Urbanizationurban population: 81.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 68.8% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.92% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 94.8% of population

total: 98.3% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 5.2% of population

total: 1.7% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 98.4% of population

rural: 95.8% of population

total: 97.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.6% of population

rural: 4.2% of population

total: 2.2% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 97.2% of population

rural: 72.4% of population

total: 89.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.8% of population

rural: 27.6% of population

total: 10.9% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population1.421 million SAN JOSE (capital) (2021)1.899 million PANAMA CITY (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate27 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)52 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight2.9% (2018)3% (2019)
Health expenditures7.6% (2018)7.3% (2018)
Physicians density2.89 physicians/1,000 population (2018)1.57 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density1.1 beds/1,000 population (2017)2.3 beds/1,000 population (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate25.7% (2016)22.7% (2016)
Demographic profile

Costa Rica's political stability, high standard of living, and well-developed social benefits system set it apart from its Central American neighbors. Through the government's sustained social spending - almost 20% of GDP annually - Costa Rica has made tremendous progress toward achieving its goal of providing universal access to education, healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and electricity. Since the 1970s, expansion of these services has led to a rapid decline in infant mortality, an increase in life expectancy at birth, and a sharp decrease in the birth rate. The average number of children born per women has fallen from about 7 in the 1960s to 3.5 in the early 1980s to below replacement level today. Costa Rica's poverty rate is lower than in most Latin American countries, but it has stalled at around 20% for almost two decades.

Costa Rica is a popular regional immigration destination because of its job opportunities and social programs. Almost 9% of the population is foreign-born, with Nicaraguans comprising nearly three-quarters of the foreign population. Many Nicaraguans who perform unskilled seasonal labor enter Costa Rica illegally or overstay their visas, which continues to be a source of tension. Less than 3% of Costa Rica's population lives abroad. The overwhelming majority of expatriates have settled in the United States after completing a university degree or in order to work in a highly skilled field.

Panama is a country of demographic and economic contrasts. It is in the midst of a demographic transition, characterized by steadily declining rates of fertility, mortality, and population growth, but disparities persist based on wealth, geography, and ethnicity. Panama has one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and dedicates substantial funding to social programs, yet poverty and inequality remain prevalent. The indigenous population accounts for a growing share of Panama's poor and extreme poor, while the non-indigenous rural poor have been more successful at rising out of poverty through rural-to-urban labor migration. The government's large expenditures on untargeted, indirect subsidies for water, electricity, and fuel have been ineffective, but its conditional cash transfer program has shown some promise in helping to decrease extreme poverty among the indigenous population.

Panama has expanded access to education and clean water, but the availability of sanitation and, to a lesser extent, electricity remains poor. The increase in secondary schooling - led by female enrollment - is spreading to rural and indigenous areas, which probably will help to alleviate poverty if educational quality and the availability of skilled jobs improve. Inadequate access to sanitation contributes to a high incidence of diarrhea in Panama's children, which is one of the main causes of Panama's elevated chronic malnutrition rate, especially among indigenous communities.

Contraceptive prevalence rate70.9% (2018)50.8% (2014/15)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 45.1

youth dependency ratio: 30.2

elderly dependency ratio: 14.9

potential support ratio: 6.7 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 53.9

youth dependency ratio: 40.8

elderly dependency ratio: 13.1

potential support ratio: 7.6 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook