Costa Rica Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Climate

tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands

Land use

agricultural land: 37.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 4.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 6.7% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 25.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 51.5% (2018 est.)

other: 11.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 82.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.82% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 14.7 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 8.02 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 5.61 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1.46 million tons (2014 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 18,396 tons (2014 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 1.3% (2014 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 830 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 230 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 2.08 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

113 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)