Costa Rica

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Humans have been 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.

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History

Historians have classified the Indigenous people of Costa Rica as belonging to the Intermediate Area, where the peripheries of the Mesoamerican and Andean native cultures overlapped. More recently, pre-Columbian Costa Rica has also been described as part of the Isthmo-Colombian Area.

Stone tools, the oldest evidence of human occupation in Costa Rica, are associated with the arrival of various groups of hunter-gatherers about 10,000 to 7,000 years BCE in the Turrialba Valley. The presence of Clovis culture type spearheads and arrows from South America opens the possibility that, in this area, two different cultures coexisted.

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Geography

Costa Rica borders the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.

The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,819 metres (12,530 ft). The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m or 11,257 ft) and the largest lake is Lake Arenal. There are 14 known volcanoes in Costa Rica, and six of them have been active in the last 75 years.

Costa Rica experiences a tropical climate year-round. There are two seasons.

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Government and politics

Costa Rica is governed by the Costa Rican Constitution of 1949 which established a presidential system and a unitary state. Executive power is exercised by the President of Costa Rica, who is the head of state and head of government and is elected by direct, secret, and universal popular vote for a four-year term. Among the presidential powers are the appointment of the presidents of the Autonomous Institutions, the appointment or dismissal of Costa Rican ministers and diplomats, vetoing laws, signing decrees, pardoning sentences, establishing a national holiday, and national mourning.

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Economy

Costa Rica's economy has shown resilience and growth in recent years. In 2024, the country's nominal GDP per capita was estimated at US$17,501, reflecting steady economic development.

The unemployment rate has also seen improvement, dropping to 6.9% in December 2024. This reduction suggests a recovering labor market and increased employment opportunities. Poverty levels have decreased, with the national poverty rate falling to 10.0% in 2024, the lowest in recent years. This improvement reflects successful social programs and economic inclusivity. In 2025, the World Bank reclassified Costa Rica as a high-income economy.

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Demographics

The 2022 census counted a total population of 5,044,197 people. In 2022, the census also recorded ethnic or racial identity for all groups separately for the first time in more than ninety-five years since the 1927 census. Options included Indigenous, Black or Afro-descendant, Mulatto, Chinese, Mestizo, white and other on section IV: question 7. In 2011 data for the following groups were: 83.6% whites or mestizos, 6.7% mulattoes, 2.4% Native American, 1.1% black or Afro-Caribbean; the census showed 1.1% as Other, 2.9% (141,304 people) as None, and 2.2% (107,196 people) as unspecified.

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Culture

Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The northwest of the country, the Nicoya peninsula, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) came in the 16th century. The central and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. The Atlantic coast, meanwhile, was populated with African workers during the 17th and 18th centuries.

As a result of the immigration of Spaniards, their 16th-century Spanish culture and its evolution marked everyday life and culture until today, with the Spanish language and the Catholic religion as primary influences.

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