5,256,612 (2023 est.)
noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican
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.)
Spanish (official), English
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Spanish audio file:
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.)
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.
0-14 years: 21.49% (male 577,782/female 552,041)
15-64 years: 68.59% (male 1,813,827/female 1,791,510)
65 years and over: 9.92% (2023 est.) (male 238,971/female 282,481)
2023 population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio: 45.1
youth dependency ratio: 29.8
elderly dependency ratio: 15.3
potential support ratio: 6.5 (2021 est.)
total: 35 years (2023 est.)
male: 34.4 years
female: 35.6 years
0.72% (2023 est.)
10.7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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
urban population: 82.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.462 million SAN JOSE (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
22 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 7.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 79.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 77 years
female: 82.4 years
1.4 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.68 (2023 est.)
70.9% (2018)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
7.9% of GDP (2020)
3.3 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
1.1 beds/1,000 population (2019)
improved: urban: 99% of population
rural: 97.1% of population
total: 98.7% of population
unimproved: urban: 1% of population
rural: 2.9% of population
total: 1.3% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever
25.7% (2016)
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.)
total: 8.8% (2020 est.)
male: 12.9% (2020 est.)
female: 4.6% (2020 est.)
2.9% (2018)
48.4% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 2%
women married by age 18: 17.1% (2018 est.)
6.7% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98.1% (2021)
total: 17 years
male: 16 years
female: 17 years (2019)
NOTE: The information regarding Costa Rica on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Costa Rica 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Costa Rica 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
