Costa Rica Transportation - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 39

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,948,546 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 11.13 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

TI

Airports

161 (2021)

Airports - with paved runways

47

note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

114

note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Pipelines

662 km refined products (2013)

Railways

total: 278 km (2014)

narrow gauge: 278 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge

note: the entire rail network fell into disrepair and out of use at the end of the 20th century; since 2005, certain sections of rail have been rehabilitated

Roadways

total: 5,035 km (2017)

paved: (2010)

unpaved: (2010)

Waterways

730 km (2011) (seasonally navigable by small craft)

Merchant marine

total: 11

by type: other 11 (2022)

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s): Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean) - Puerto Limon

container port(s) (TEUs): Puerto Limon (1,319,372)

Pacific Ocean - Caldera

NOTE: The information regarding Costa Rica on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Costa Rica 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Costa Rica 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.