Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Costa Rica. Four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 22 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama |
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Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean |
Tarrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major active volcanoes |
Natural Resources | hydropower |
Natural Hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes volcanism: Arenal (1,670 m), which erupted in 2010, is the most active volcano in Costa Rica; a 1968 eruption destroyed the town of Tabacon; Irazu (3,432 m), situated just east of San Jose, has the potential to spew ash over the capital city as it did between 1963 and 1965; other historically active volcanoes include Miravalles, Poas, Rincon de la Vieja, and Turrialba |
Irrigated Land | 1,015 sq km (2012) |
Major rivers (by length in km) | |
Major aquifers | |
Land Boundaries | 661 km |
Border Countries | Nicaragua 313 km; Panama 348 km |
Coastline | 1,290 km |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands |
Area | |
Total Area | |
Land Area | 51,060 sq km |
Water Area | 40 sq km |
comparative Area | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Maritime Claims | |
Territorial sea | 12 nm |
Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
Continental shelf | 200 nm |
Elevations | |
Highest point | Cerro Chirripo 3,819 m |
Lowest point | Pacific Ocean 0 m |
Mean elevation | 746 m |
Land Use | |
Agricultural land | 37.1% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 4.9% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 6.7% (2018 est.) |
Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 25.5% (2018 est.) |
Forest | 51.5% (2018 est.) |
Other | 11.4% (2018 est.) |
Roughly half of the nation's population resides in urban areas; the capital of San Jose is the largest city and home to approximately one-fifth of the population
In Costa Rica, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: White 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.)
Population | |
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Pop growth rate | 0.74% (2024 est.) |
Birth rate | 10.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Death rate | 5.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Health expenditure | 7.9% of GDP (2020) |
Physicians Density | |
Hospital bed Density | 1.1 beds/1,000 population (2019) |
Total fertility rate | 1.43 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
Gross reproduction rate | 0.7 (2024 est.) |
Contraceptive prevalence rate | 70.9% (2018) |
Est married women (ages 15-49) | 48.4% (2023 est.) |
Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
Education expenditures | 6.7% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Net Migration rate | 1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
Nationality | Costa Rican | Costa Rican(s) |
Languages | |
Religions | Roman Catholic 47.5%, Evangelical and Pentecostal 19.8%, Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, other Protestant 1.2%, other 3.1%, none 27% (2021 est.) |
Age Structure | |
0-14 years | 18.8% (male 506,041/female 482,481) |
15-64 years | 70.2% (male 1,862,872/female 1,832,024) |
65 years and over | 11.1% (2024 est.) (male 266,568/female 315,589) |
Dependency Ratios | |
Total dependency ratio | 45.1 |
Youth dependency ratio | 29.8 |
Elderly dependency ratio | 15.3 |
Potential support ratio | 6.5 (2021 est.) |
Median Age | |
Total | 35.5 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 34.9 years |
Female | 36.1 years |
Urbanization | |
Urban population | 82.6% of total population (2023) |
Rate of urbanization | 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
Major urban areas (Pop) | 1.462 million SAN JOSE (capital) (2023). |
Sex Ratio | |
At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
0-14 years | 1.05 male(s)/female |
15-64 years | 1.02 male(s)/female |
65 years and over | 0.84 male(s)/female |
Total population | 1 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
Infant Motality | |
Total | 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
Male | 7 deaths/1,000 live births |
Female | 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life Expectancy at birth | |
Total population | 80.3 years (2024 est.) |
Male | 77.7 years |
Female | 82.9 years |
Drinking Water Sources | |
Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
Sanitation facility acess | |
Improved: urban | urban: 99% of population |
Improved: rural | rural: 97.1% of population |
Improved: total | total: 98.7% of population |
Unimproved: urban | urban: 1% of population |
Unimproved: rural | rural: 2.9% of population |
Unimproved: total | total: 1.3% of population (2020 est.) |
Major Infectious diseases | |
Degree of risk | intermediate (2023) |
Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial diarrhea |
Vectorborne diseases | dengue fever |
Alcohol consumption per capita | |
Total | 3.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Beer | 2.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Wine | 0.15 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Spirits | 0.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Other alcohols | 0.39 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
Tobacco use | |
Total | 8.8% (2020 est.) |
Male | 12.9% (2020 est.) |
Female | 4.6% (2020 est.) |
Child marriage | |
Women married by age 15 | 2% |
Women married by age 18 | 17.1% (2018 est.) |
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.
Want to know more about Costa Rica? Check all different factbooks for Costa Rica below.