Type 1 diabetes in Costa Rica
T1D Index estimates for 2025 · IDF South and Central America region · Upper-Middle-Income country
An estimated 4,956 people are living with type 1 diabetes in Costa Rica in 2025. Each year about 249 people are newly diagnosed and 57 people with T1D die. A further 1,763 people would be alive today had they not died early from type 1 diabetes.
People living with T1D
4,956
New diagnoses this year
249
Deaths this year
57
Missing people
1,763
Expected age at death, diagnosed at 10
59.8years
How many people have type 1 diabetes in Costa Rica?
4,956 people in Costa Rica are living with type 1 diabetes in 2025, or 96.2 per 100,000 people. That is lower than the South and Central America average of 160.6 per 100,000 and lower than the global average of 115.5. Costa Rica has the 113th-largest number of people living with T1D of the 202 countries in the T1D Index, and the 15th-largest of the 20 countries in the IDF South and Central America region.
For every 100 people living with T1D in Costa Rica, another 36 are missing: people who would be alive today had they not died early from T1D.
Is type 1 diabetes increasing in Costa Rica?
The number of people living with T1D in Costa Rica went from 1,509 in 2000 to 4,956 in 2025, and is projected to rise to 7,902 by 2040 (+59%).
| Year | Living with T1D | New diagnoses | Deaths | Missing people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,509 | 121 | 41 | 742 |
| 2010 | 2,661 | 133 | 40 | 1,113 |
| 2020 | 4,073 | 227 | 63 | 1,535 |
| 2025 | 4,956 | 249 | 57 | 1,763 |
| 2030 (projected) | 5,971 | 304 | 72 | 2,003 |
| 2040 (projected) | 7,902 | 288 | 93 | 2,548 |
What is the life expectancy with type 1 diabetes in Costa Rica?
A 10-year-old diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in Costa Rica today is expected to live to 59.8, compared with 81.8 for a 10-year-old without T1D: 22.0 years of life lost. Counting years lived with complications as well, T1D costs 32.5 years of healthy life at today's level of care. If everyone received timely diagnosis, insulin and test strips, and insulin pumps and CGMs, that loss would fall to 14.9 years.
| Level of care | Healthy years restored | Healthy years of life | Healthy years still lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current level of care | – | 49.3 | 32.5 |
| + Timely diagnosis for everyone | +3.5 | 52.8 | 29.1 |
| + Insulin and test strips for everyone | +6.2 | 59.0 | 22.8 |
| + Insulin pumps and CGMs for everyone | +8.0 | 67.0 | 14.9 |
How does Costa Rica compare?
| 2025 | Costa Rica | South and Central America | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| People living with T1D per 100,000 | 96.2 | 160.6 | 115.5 |
| New diagnoses per 100,000 | 4.8 | 9.0 | 6.2 |
| Missing people per 100 living with T1D | 35.6 | 45.8 | 43.0 |
| Expected age at death, 10-year-old with T1D | 59.8 | 52.4 | 51.3 |
| Expected age at death, 10-year-old in general population | 81.8 | 77.7 | 77.0 |
Type 1 diabetes in other South and Central America countries
- Cuba6,553 living with T1D
- Paraguay6,219 living with T1D
- Nicaragua5,436 living with T1D
- El Salvador5,396 living with T1D
- Panama4,100 living with T1D
- Bolivia3,404 living with T1D
- Uruguay3,229 living with T1D
- Puerto Rico2,798 living with T1D
More data
All figures are T1D Index version 3.0 estimates for all ages. Missing people are those who would be alive today had they not died early from type 1 diabetes. Expected age at death is for a 10-year-old. See Data & Methods for how the estimates are made and the peer-reviewed publications behind them.