Costa Rica

For cities in other countries, see Costa Rica, Sinaloa and Costa Rica, Mato Grosso do Sul. For other uses, see Costa Rica (disambiguation).

Republic of Costa Rica
República de Costa Rica (Spanish)
Anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish)
"National Anthem of Costa Rica"
Location of Costa Rica
Capital
and largest city
San José
9°56′N 84°5′W / 9.933°N 84.083°W / 9.933; -84.083
Official languagesSpanish
Recognized regional languages
Ethnic groups
(2021[1])
Religion
(2021)[3]
  • 27.0% no religion
  • 0.4% others
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic
• President
Rodrigo Chaves
Stephan Brunner
Mary Munive
LegislatureLegislative Assembly
Independence from
• from Spain
15 September 1821
1 July 1823
14 November 1838
7 November 1949[1]
• Recognized by Spain
10 May 1850
Area
• Total
51,179.92 km2 (19,760.68 sq mi) (126th)
• Water (%)
1.05 (as of 2015)[5]
Population
• 2022 census
5,044,197[6]
• Density
220/sq mi (84.9/km2) (107th)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $158.645 billion[7] (90th)
• Per capita
Increase $29,779[7] (66th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $95.149 billion[7] (85th)
• Per capita
Increase $17,860[7] (64th)
Gini (2022)Positive decrease 47.2[8]
high inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.806[9]
very high (64th)
CurrencyCosta Rican colón (CRC)
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
Drives onright
Calling code+506
ISO 3166 codeCR
Internet TLD.cr
.co.cr

Costa Rica (UK: /ˌkɒstə ˈriːkə/, US: /ˌkoʊstə-/ ⓘ; Spanish: [ˈkosta ˈrika]; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica,[10] is a country in the Central American region of North America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million[11][12] in a land area of nearly 51,180 km2 (19,760 sq mi).[13] An estimated 352,381 people live in the capital and largest city, San José, with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.[14]

The sovereign state is a presidential republic. It has a long-standing and stable constitutional democracy and a highly educated workforce.[15] The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%.[15] Its economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include sectors such as finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. Many foreign manufacturing and services companies operate in Costa Rica's Free Trade Zones (FTZ) where they benefit from investment and tax incentives.[16]

Costa Rica was inhabited by indigenous peoples before coming under Spanish rule in the 16th century. It remained a peripheral colony of the empire until independence as part of the First Mexican Empire, followed by membership in the Federal Republic of Central America, from which it formally declared independence in 1847. Following the brief Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, it permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army.[17][18][19]

The country has consistently performed favorably in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing 58th in the world as of 2022, and fifth in Latin America.[20] It has also been cited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as having attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, with a better record on human development and inequality than the median of the region.[21] It also performs well in comparisons of democratic governance, press freedom, subjective happiness and sustainable wellbeing. It has the 8th freest press according to the Press Freedom Index, it is the 35th most democratic country according to the Freedom in the World index, and it is the 23rd happiest country in the 2023 World Happiness Report.[22][23] It is also a major tourist destination in the continent.[24]

  1. ^ a b "Costa Rica". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 4 October 2011. (Archived 2011 edition.)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference livepopulation.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Murillo, Alvaro (7 July 2021). "Encuesta CIEP-UCR evidencia a una Costa Rica estatista y menos religiosa". Semanario Universidad. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. ^ "International Religious Freedom Report for 2017". www.state.gov. 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  6. ^ "National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos de Costa Rica, or INEC. 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (CR)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Gini Index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  10. ^ (Spanish: República de Costa Rica), [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkosta ˈrika]
  11. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  12. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  13. ^ Instituto Geográfico Nacional del Registro Nacional (2 July 2021). "Actualización en el Cálculo de las Áreas Continental e Insular de Costa Rica" [Update on the Calculation of the Continental and Insular Areas of Costa Rica] (PDF). Sistema Nacional de Información Territorial (in Spanish). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Capital Facts for San José, Costa Rica". 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2017.[full citation needed]
  15. ^ a b "Amazon invests in Costa Rica as tiny nation carves out profitable niche in world economy". 11 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  16. ^ "The Investment Promotion Agency of Costa Rica". www.cinde.org. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Abolición del Ejército". El Espíritu del 48 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  18. ^ "Costa Rica". World Desk Reference. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  19. ^ "Costa Rica". Uppsala University. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
  20. ^ "Human Development Report 2019". United Nations Development Programme. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Table 1: Human development index 2010 and its components". UNDP Human Development Report 2010 (PDF). January 2010. pp. 5, 49, 144. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  22. ^ "World Happiness, Trust and Social Connections in Times of Crisis". worldhappiness.report. 20 March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Costa Rica World Happiness Index". countryeconomy.com. 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  24. ^ Brierley, Tor (29 September 2023). "Why This Popular Central American Country Is Breaking All Tourism Records Right Now". Travel Off Path. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.