Costa Rica vs Panama

Costa Rica and Panama compared on 10 key figures from official sources. Each value is the latest one published for that country, so the year is shown with it.

• Costa Rica has about 1.1 times as many people as Panama: 5.2 million against 4.6 million in 2025.
• GDP per person is about the same in Costa Rica ($19,970) and Panama ($19,790) in 2025.
• The economy grew faster in Costa Rica (4.6%) than in Panama (4.4%), a difference of 0.2 percentage points in 2025.
• Consumer prices rose faster in Costa Rica (-0.1%) than in Panama (-0.2%), a difference of 0.1 percentage points in 2025.
• The unemployment rate was higher in Panama (8.4%) than in Costa Rica (6.8%), a difference of 1.6 percentage points in 2025.
• A baby born in Costa Rica can expect to live 1.2 years longer than one born in Panama: 81 years against 79.8 years in 2024.
• The population of Costa Rica is older: half of its people are over 34.1 years, against 29.6 years in Panama in 2023.
• A larger share of people used the internet in Costa Rica (87.2%) than in Panama (72.8%), a difference of 14.4 percentage points in 2024.
• CO2 emissions per person in Panama (2.7 tonnes) are 69% higher than in Costa Rica (1.6 tonnes) in 2024.
• Forest covers a larger share of the land in Panama (62.2%) than in Costa Rica (59.1%), a difference of 3.1 percentage points in 2024.