Portal:Costa Rica

Republic of Costa Rica
*República de Costa Rica* (Spanish)
Republic of Costa Rica República de Costa Rica (Spanish)
	Flag Coat of arms
	Anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish); "National Anthem of Costa Rica"
ISO 3166 code	CR

The Costa Rica Portal

Introduction

Quick facts Republic of Costa RicaRepública de Costa Rica (Spanish), ISO 3166 code ...

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Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, sharing a maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million0 in a land area of nearly 51,180 km² (19,760 sq mi); the capital and largest city is San José, home to around 350,000 residents and two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.

Humans have been present in Costa Rica since between 7,000 and 10,000 BC. Various indigenous peoples lived in the territory before it was colonized by Spain in the 16th century. Costa Rica was a peripheral colony of the Spanish Empire until independence in 1821 as part of the First Mexican Empire, followed by membership in the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823, from which it formally declared independence in 1847. The country underwent gradual modernization under relatively stable authoritarian rule until the late 19th century, when it promulgated a liberal constitution and held the first free and fair national election in Central America.

Following a brief civil war in 1948, Costa Rica adopted its current constitution in 1949, which granted universal suffrage, provided various social, economic, and educational guarantees for all citizens, and permanently abolished the army, becoming one of the few sovereign nations without a standing military. Costa Rica is a presidential republic with a robust and stable democracy. About one-fourth of the national budget is spent on education—which has been free and compulsory since 1886—equal to about 6.2% of the country's GDP, compared to a global average of 3.8%; the economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. (Full article...)

The Costa Rica Quiz

Of the 500,000 species of life that Costa Rica is home to, how many are insects?

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It's probably more than you think it is.

Answer

300,000 species are insects.^[1]

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View of downtown Limón

Limón (Spanish pronunciation: [liˈmon]), also known as Puerto Limón, is the capital city of both the province and canton of the same name. One of Costa Rica's seven "middle cities" (i.e., main cities outside of San José's Greater Metropolitan Area), Limón has a population of 71,514, which made it, as of 2022, the most-populous city in the country outside of the Greater Metropolitan Area and the second most-populous district in the nation.

Founded in 1854 by Philipp J. J. Valentini and officially established as a district in 1870 during the Liberal State, Limón is the only planned city in the country built in the 19th century. Located in the Caribbean coast, its purpose was to become the country's main port, a role the city still retains to this day, given its strategic location in the Caribbean Sea, close to the Panama Canal, to connect Costa Rica with North America, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe. The Moín Container Terminal, operated by Dutch-based APM Terminals, and the nearby Port of Moín, operated by the state-institution JAPDEVA, serve as the main economic ports for the country. The Port of Limón, located just South downtown, receives both cargo and cruise ships, though plans to convert it into a passenger terminal are underway. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that goalkeeper Daniela Solera had the most touches of any Costa Rican player in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup?
... that Costa Rica's most famous bull killed two men and loved mangos?
... that footballer Alexandra Pinell scored the Costa Rica U20 team's only goal at the FIFA tournament hosted by their country?
... that in August 2021 Sheika Scott became the youngest player to score in the Costa Rican Women's Premier Division, at just 14 years old?

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...that John Biehl, a Chilean government minister in the 1990s, led the successful campaign for Costa Rican president Óscar Arias' 1987 Nobel Peace Prize?

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Image 1Waterfall in the Tenorio Volcano National Park (from Costa Rica)
Image 2An industrial park in Heredia (from Costa Rica)
Image 3Stone spheres created by the Diquis culture at the National Museum of Costa Rica. The sphere is the icon of the country's cultural identity. (from Costa Rica)
Image 4Gallo Pinto (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 5The mangrove hummingbird is endemic to Costa Rica and specializes in feeding from the tea mangrove plant with its uniquely shaped beak. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 6Real GDP per capita development in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 7Eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 8Countries (in blue) which have signed Free Trade Agreements with Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 9The Rio Celeste (sky blue river) at Tenorio Volcano National Park in Costa Rica. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 10Hospital Calderón Guardia, named after the president who instituted universal health care across the country in 1941 (from Costa Rica)
Image 11Typical settlement of the Diquis indigenous people before the arrival of Columbus. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 12A coffee plantation in the Orosí Valley (from Costa Rica)
Image 13The Ujarrás historical site in the Orosí Valley, Cartago province. The church was built between 1686 and 1693. (from Costa Rica)
Image 14Costa Rican school children (from Costa Rica)
Image 15Gregorio José Ramírez was the most notable political chief of the province of Costa Rica, leading republican forces victorious in the Battle of Ochomogo. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 16Costa Rican kids. (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 17Mantled howler monkey, male (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 18Costa Rica map of Köppen climate classification (from Costa Rica)
Image 19Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Cartago), during the 2007 pilgrimage (from Costa Rica)
Image 20Costa Rica supporters at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil (from Costa Rica)
Image 21The scarlet macaw is native to Costa Rica. (from Costa Rica)
Image 22Yigüirro, Costa Rica's national bird (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 23Epiphytes near Santa Elena (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 24The zebra longwing butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 25Development of life expectancy in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 26Costa Rican Women in traditional dress (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 27Las Carretas (oxcarts) are a national symbol. (from Costa Rica)
Image 28The University of Costa Rica is the largest university in the country and one of the most recognizable across Central America. (from Costa Rica)
Image 29Costa Rican breakfast with gallo pinto (from Costa Rica)
Image 30Costa Rica's tropical landscape (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 31The golden toad, an amphibian once endemic to Costa Rica, is now extinct. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 32The Heliconius doris butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 33Chatham beach on Cocos Island. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 34Provinces 1 Alajuela, 2 Cartago, 3 Guanacaste, 4 Heredia, 5 Limón, 6 Puntarenas, 7 San José (from Costa Rica)
Image 35José María Castro Madriz formally declared Costa Rica as independent from the Federal Republic of Central America in 1848. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 36The scarlet macaw is native to Costa Rica. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 37An Intel microprocessor facility in Costa Rica that was, at one time, responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 5% of the country's GDP (from Costa Rica)
Image 38Arenal Volcano National Park is one of the country's tourist attractions. (from Costa Rica)
Image 39The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 40A red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 411849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from Costa Rica)
Image 42Hospital CIMA in Escazú (from Costa Rica)
Image 43Population pyramid of Costa Rica for 2024 (from Costa Rica)

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Costa Rica news

8 May 2026 – 2026 Costa Rican general election

Laura Fernández Delgado is sworn in as president of Costa Rica, succeeding Rodrigo Chaves Robles. (Reuters) (AP)

1 February 2026 – 2026 Costa Rican general election

Costa Ricans vote to elect the president and all 57 members of the Legislative Assembly. From a field of 20 candidates, Laura Fernández of the Sovereign People's Party (PPSO) wins the presidency with 48% of the vote. (BBC News)

Costa Rica news from Wikinews...

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