Population:
4,872,543 (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124
[see also: Population country ranks ]

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

Ethnic groups:
white or mestizo 83.6%, mulato 6.7%, indigenous 2.4%, black of African descent 1.1%, other 1.1%, none 2.9%, unspecified 2.2% (2011 est.)

Languages:
Spanish (official), English

Religions:
Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%

Demographic profile:
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.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 22.82% (male 568,738/female 543,312)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 16.75% (male 416,046/female 399,931)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 43.99% (male 1,078,000/female 1,065,327)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 8.9% (male 211,670/female 222,183)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 7.54% (male 169,646/female 197,690) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 45.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 32.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 12.9%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 7.7% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 30.9 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 30.4 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 31.3 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 108

Population growth rate:
1.19% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
15.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
4.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 201
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Population distribution:
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

Urbanization:
urban population: 76.8% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.74% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
SAN JOSE (capital) 1.17 million (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
25 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 9 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 151

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.6 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 75.9 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 81.4 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 58

Total fertility rate:
1.9 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
76.2% (2011)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
9.3% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 23
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
1.11 physicians/1,000 population (2013)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1.2 beds/1,000 population (2012)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 99.6% of population rural: 91.9% of population total: 97.8% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 0.4% of population rural: 8.1% of population total: 2.2% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 95.2% of population rural: 92.3% of population total: 94.5% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 4.8% of population rural: 7.7% of population total: 5.5% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.33% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
10,000 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
200 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
24% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 73
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
1.1% (2009)
country comparison to the world: 130
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
7.6% of GDP (2015)
country comparison to the world: 34
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 97.7%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 97.8% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 15 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 15 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 16 years (2014)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 39,082
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 5% (2002 est.)
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - percentage country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 25%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 21.3%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 31.4% (2014 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 62