Costa Rica

Full name of country: Republic of Costa Rica

Region: Central America and Caribbean

Official language: Spanish

Population: 5,265,575 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Costa Rican(s) (noun), Costa Rican (adjective)

Land area: 51,060 sq km (19,714 sq miles)

Water area: 40 sq km (15 sq miles)

Capital: San Jose

National anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (National Anthem of Costa Rica), by José María Zeledón Brenes/Manuel María Gutiérrez

National holiday: Independence Day, September 15 (1821)

Population growth: 0.74% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC –6

Flag: The flag of Costa Rica features five horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, red, white, and blue (bottom), with the country’s coat of arms emblazoned to the left of center within the thicker central red stripe. The blue of the flag stands for the sky, opportunity, and perseverance; the white symbolizes peace and happiness; and the red signifies the blood shed for the country.

Motto: “Vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz” (Long live work and peace)

Independence: September 15, 1821 (from Spain)

Government type: presidential republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Legal system: civil law system based on Spanish civil code; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court

Costa Rica, which is Spanish for "rich coast," lies between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with Central American neighbors Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.

The country is known for its cash crops of coffee and bananas, and it is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in Central America.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: As of the 2011 census, 83.6 percent of Costa Ricans identified as White or Mestizo (of mixed European and Indigenous heritage) and 6.7 percent identified as being of mixed European and African heritage. Spanish is both the official and most common language, although English is widely used for business, particularly in the tourism industry. A Creole dialect is common among the minority of Jamaican immigrants who settled in Limón, along the Caribbean coast, in the 1800s.

A small portion of the population is Nicaraguan, most arriving in the latter 1900s to take advantage of the relative peace and prosperity of Costa Rica. There is also a small Chinese minority population.

An estimated 47.5 percent of Costa Ricans were Roman Catholics in 2021. Protestant groups were a 19.8 percent minority. Most of them were Pentecostal, Lutheran, or Baptist. There were also smaller numbers of Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Jews, Quakers, Muslims, Taoists, Baha'is, and animists, among others.

The capital, San José, accounts for one-fifth of the nation's population at about 1.46 million residents, in 2023. Other large urban centers include the Pacific port of Puntarenas and the Caribbean port city of Limón. An estimated 82.6 percent of the population is considered urban. Costa Rica receives more migrants than nearly all other Central American and Caribbean countries.

Costa Ricans often refer to themselves as Ticos (men) or Ticas (women).

Indigenous People: Costa Rica was once almost entirely forested. The dense hilly terrain did not support large Indigenous empires as in nearby Peru or Mexico. Spanish settlement displaced what few tribes were farming the central regions. Small groups remain in mountainous regions, such as the Chorotega in the Northern Guanacaste province, and the Bribri, Cabecar, and Boruca in the Southern Talamanca region.

A 1977 law created twenty-two small reserves in the country, recognizing eight different tribes. At the time of the 2011 census, Indigenous people made up 2.4 percent of Costa Rica's total population.

Education: Costa Rica has one of the most literate populations in Central America. Public education began in the late 1800s. In 1920, approximately half of the population was literate. By 2021, the adult literacy rate was 98 percent.

High school students in Costa Rica must pass a minimum skills exam, called the Bachillerato Test, to graduate and gain a chance at admission in one of the state universities. These include the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) in San Pedro, the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica in Heredia, the Tecnológico de Costa Rica (ITCR) in Cartago, and the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (the state correspondence university).

These state-sponsored schools are generally considered the nation's best, but there are numerous smaller private colleges, most in or around San José, including the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica and the Universidad Autónoma de Centro América.

Health Care: In 2024, Costa Rica's average life expectancy at birth was 80.3 years—77.7 for males and 82.9 for females.

A national health care plan initiated in the 1970s implemented two state systems to provide care. The Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS; Costa Rican Social Security System) provides low-cost access to clinics and emergency care at hospitals around the country. The Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS; National Insurance Institute) offers more options at greater cost. There are also private hospitals, such as Hospital Clínica Biblica (Biblical Hospital Clinic) and Hospital La Católica (Catholic Hospital).

Food: Traditional Costa Rican food relies on rice and beans as staples. The "national dish" is gallo pinto, which combines rice, beans, and vegetables and spices.

Chicken (pollo) is the preferred meat in Costa Rica, followed by lean beef. Vegetables are rarely eaten, and fried foods are common. Candy is often made with coconut in Costa Rica.

Non-alcoholic specialty drinks include the cinnamon-flavored horchata and the fruit drink fresco de frutas. Guaro is an inexpensive alcoholic drink of fermented sugarcane.

Food specialties include turtle eggs, and although some are harvested legally, there remain concerns over environmental protections for turtles.

Arts & Entertainment: Costa Rica generally does not have a strong visual art tradition. However, there is a longstanding support for theater, exemplified by the huge Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theater of Costa Rica) completed in San José in 1897. Since 1970, it has been the home of the well-regarded Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica (National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica).

The Teatro Nacional and other smaller theaters, such as the Teatro Popular Melico Salazar, also host local performing groups such as the National Opera Society, National Choir, National Youth Symphony, and dance troupes Compañia Nacional de Danza (National Dance Company) and Taller Nacional de Danza.

Spanish guitar-based music remains popular although Afro-Caribbean music is most common in San José nightclubs. Traditional folkloric dance groups include the highly regarded Fantasia Folklórica.

Interest in the visual arts is growing, as seen in collections of local artists at the Museo de Arte Costarricense (Costa Rican Art Museum). Most museums are known for their collections of pre-Columbian artifacts, especially the Museo Nacional (National Museum), the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum at the Museos Banco Central de Costa Rica, and the Museo del Jade Marco Fidel Tristán (Jade Museum), all in San José.

Festivals and festejos populares (city fairs) occur almost weekly across various cities and towns, typically in honor of a patron saint. Most focus on music, food, and parades with horses and sometimes oxcarts. Many feature bullfights, although the bulls are not harmed in these show fights.

Football (soccer), or fútbol, is the sport of choice among Costa Ricans. The national team is nicknamed La Sele.

Holidays:Easter is generally the most significant holiday in Costa Rica, and is celebrated throughout the country by its Christian majority. During the week preceding Easter Sunday, the nation practically shuts down, with many residents enjoying religious parades and taking advantage of the time off to visit popular beaches. Christmas is a similar celebration.

Other public holidays include Juan Santamaria (April); Labor Day (May 1); Annexation of Guanacaste (late July); Our Lady of Los Angeles Day (early August), in honor of the patron saint of Costa Rica; Assumption Day/Mother's Day (mid-August); Culture's Day (October 12); and Abolition of the Army (November 30). Costa Rica celebrates Independence Day on September 15.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Costa Rica is the second-smallest Central American country after El Salvador. In the south, the country is only 120 kilometers (75 miles) wide, stretching to about 265 kilometers (165 miles) wide to the north. The coastline, mostly along the Pacific Ocean, is roughly 1,290 kilometers (802 miles) long.

Plains along both coasts lead to central highlands that average 900 to 1,800 meters (about 3,000 to 6,000 feet) in elevation. San José is at 1,150 meters (3,773 feet). A segment of the Andean-Sierra Madre mountain range bisects the country from north to south. The highest mountain peak is Cerro Chirripó Grande at 3,819 meters (12,530 feet). It lies 56 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of San José.

The highest volcanic peak is Irazú at 3,432 meters (11,260 feet), just east of San José. There are more than one hundred volcanoes in Costa Rica, many of which are considered active. The Arenal volcano erupted in 2000, killing one person and leading to the evacuation of about 600. This active peak sits next to Lake Arenal, the country's largest natural lake. As with most areas of volcanic activity, the country is also susceptible to earthquakes; the April 1991 quake measured 7.4 on the Richter scale.

Numerous short rivers have become favorites for whitewater rafting and kayaking. Rio Reventazón (145 kilometers/90 miles) and Rio Pacuare (108 kilometers/67 miles) empty into the Caribbean Sea. Rivers draining to the Pacific include the Rio Corobicí, Rio Savegre, and Rio Naranjo.

Natural Resources: White water enthusiasts came into conflict with the government due to plans for additional dams to feed hydroelectric power plants. There are about a dozen such plants in operation, providing renewable energy for most of the country. Additional facilities could be used to export electricity to nearby nations.

Mineral and petroleum deposits remain largely untapped due to the difficulty of the surrounding terrain and government limits on exploration. Rainfall and fertile soil in the central plateau region are Costa Rica's most exploited natural resource.

The extensive rainforest is a resource for both products and tourism, while the coastline supports a small fishing industry.

Plants & Animals: Original stands of oak and other deciduous trees near the Pacific coast were almost completely wiped out by Spanish settlers, and replaced by more tenacious grasslands (savannahs). The Caribbean lowlands contain mangrove swamps.

The more impenetrable and inhospitable rainforests contain an overwhelming abundance of species, including about 800 varieties of ferns and more than 1,000 species of orchids. Common trees include balsa, cedar, ebony, and mahogany. Costa Rica also has seasonal moist forests, characterized by dramatic changes between wet and dry seasons; however, much of these forests has been lost to agricultural clearing.

Among wildlife, birds, and monkeys are most associated with Costa Rica. The country's hundreds of species of birds include the colorful quetzal, the macaw, and the toucan, along with eagles that prowl the upper reaches of the forest. Bats are also plentiful.

The four major species of monkeys in Costa Rica are the capuchin, howler, Geoffrey's spider, and squirrel. Capuchins have been kept as pets in the United States and Europe and are recognizable as the stereotypical "organ-grinder monkey." Squirrels are the smallest, Geoffrey's spiders are the most endangered, and howlers are the largest, typically weighing about ten pounds. Other generally vegetarian mammals include sloths and tapirs. The principal hunter of the jungle was once the jaguar, but it is now a threatened species. Likewise, the leatherback and Olive Ridley sea turtles that nest on the coasts are ecologically vulnerable.

In 2000, the country's National Biodiversity Institute created a park area called INBioparque, north of San José at Santo Domingo de Heredia, to increase awareness of the endangered resources of the rainforest. The institute also had an agreement with the Merck pharmaceutical company to collect plant samples that may be used to create new drugs. In 2015, the institute turned over its collections and park over to the government.

Climate: Average temperatures vary widely from coastal subtropical regions to temperate regions at higher elevations. Most areas receive abundant annual rainfall, and seasons are generally divided into wet (May through November) and dry (December through April, often referred to as the summer season).

Average temperature in tropical Pacific coastal regions is 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit) along the Caribbean coast, a mild 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit) in the central plateau, and about 17 degrees Celsius (62 degrees Fahrenheit) at higher elevations.

Annual rainfall along the Caribbean coast amounts to 2,500 millimeters (100 inches) or more, and about 2,000 millimeters (77 inches) in the central plateau. The higher elevations receive the most rainfall, up to 3,500 millimeters (140 inches). Extreme rainfall years in the coastal and mountainous regions can bring totals as much as 50 percent above normal.

Economy

Costa Rica is stable both politically and economically, making the country attractive to tourists and investors alike. The country was expected to benefit from the Central American-Dominican Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with the United States, which went into effect in 2009. However, a number of obstacles, including ambiguity in legal protections, bureaucracy, weak infrastructure, and high public debt, hampered the country's economic development.

In 2023, the country's gross domestic product (GDP, purchasing power parity) was estimated at $134.238 billion, with a per capita GDP of $25,800 .

The inflation rate for consumer prices in 2023 was 0.53% percent. The unemployment rate was estimated at 8.3 percent in 2023.

Industry: Industry overtook agriculture in the 1900s as the leading driver of Costa Rica's economy, due in large part to new incentives to spur foreign investment. High technology company Microsoft maintained a facility in the country. Procter and Gamble has an administrative center there that handles services from Canada through Argentina. Abbott Laboratories is a large health care products employer.

In additional to medical equipment, other industrial output includes food processing, textiles and apparel, construction materials, fertilizer, and plastics.

Agriculture: The central plateau region's mild climate and soils fertilized by volcanic ash are ideal for coffee production. Banana production, led by multinational firms, is concentrated on the tropical plains regions along the Caribbean Sea.

Other important crops are sugarcane, pineapples, melons, decorative plants, corn, beans, potatoes, and rice. Cattle ranching is widespread but controversial, as ranch lands increasingly encroach on forest reserves. Poultry and timber are other significant agricultural products.

Most of the country's large debt is tied to the 1978 collapse in worldwide coffee prices. Oil prices also soared at that time. The Costa Rican government began promoting foreign investment in order to diversify the economy, and more hydroelectric power plants were built to reduce dependence on imported oil. Both efforts have been successful.

Tourism: Tourism is a significant sector in the Costa Rican economy. The tourist trade grew rapidly in the 1990s as ecotourists flocked to Costa Rica's national parks and forests. In total, Costa Rica's national parks, forest reserves, and wildlife refuges that make up about 25 percent of its total land area. Some of the most popular parks include Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast, and Poás National Park north of San José, where tourists can drive almost all the way to the rim of the Poás volcano.

Government

Costa Rica is a presidential republic. It gained independence from Spain in 1821. The popularly elected president serves for four years and selects the ministers of the cabinet. There are two vice presidents who are also elected by popular majority. The president and vice presidents are both the chief of state and head of government.

Costa Rica's unicameral legislature consists of fifty-seven members elected to four-year terms. The Supreme Court's twenty-two magistrates are appointed to eight-year terms by the legislature. There are also appellate, trial, first-instance, and justice-of-the-peace courts.

Provinces are led by governor appointed by the president. The provinces are San José, Alajuela, Cartago, Puntarenas, Guanacaste, Heredia, and Limón. At the local level, popularly elected mayors govern along with city councils.

There are government-owned operations in power generation, petroleum, and much of the health care, banking, insurance, and telecommunications industries.

Fun Facts

• In 1987, President Oscar Arias Sánchez won the Nobel Peace Prize for moderating successful peace negotiations between Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
• Arenal is among the largest active volcanoes in the world.
• It is estimated that Costa Rica's rainforests account for about 5 percent of all worldwide plant and animal species.
• Tortuguero National Park, whose name can be translated as "full of turtles," is the most important nesting site for the endangered green turtle.

Bibliography

Baker, Christopher P. Costa Rica. Dorling Kindersley, 2014.

"Costa Rica." The World Bank, 2024, data.worldbank.org/country/costa-rica. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.

"Costa Rica." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 19 Oct. 2023, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/costa-rica/. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025

"Economic Impact Reports." World Travel and Tourism Council, 2020, wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact. Accessed 24 Jun. 2022.

"Costa Rica." Human Development Index, 2022, https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/CRI. Accessed 2 Jan. 2025.