Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in the Central American region of North America. Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million in a land area of 51,060 km2 (19,710 sq mi). An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San José, with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.
This is a demographic article about Costa Rica's population, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.
The 2000 Costa Rican census was undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics and Census.
The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica is the governmental institution entrusted with the running of censuses and official surveys in the country. Its main office is in San José.
Desamparados is the 3rd canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 118.26 km2, and has a population of 206,708, making it the third most populated among the 81 cantons of Costa Rica. The canton's capital city is also called Desamparados.
Talamanca is a canton in the Limón province of Costa Rica. The head city is Bribri, located in Bratsi district.
Costa Rica is administratively divided into seven provinces which are subdivided into 84 cantons, and these are further subdivided into districts. Cantons are the only administrative division in Costa Rica that possess local government in the form of municipalities. Each municipality has its own mayor and several representatives, all of them chosen via municipal elections every four years.
Tourism in Costa Rica has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors of the country and by 1995 became the largest foreign exchange earner. Since 1999, tourism has earned more foreign exchange than bananas, pineapples and coffee exports combined. The tourism boom began in 1987, with the number of visitors up from 329,000 in 1988, through 1.03 million in 1999, over 2 million in 2008, to a historical record of 2.66 million foreign visitors in 2015. In 2012, tourism contributed with 12.5% of the country's GDP and it was responsible for 11.7% of direct and indirect employment. In 2009, tourism attracted 17% of foreign direct investment inflows, and 13% in average between 2000 and 2009. In 2010, the tourism industry was responsible for 21.2% of foreign exchange generated by all exports. According to a 2007 report by ECLAC, tourism contributed to a reduction in poverty of 3% in the country.
Laura Chinchilla Miranda is a Costa Rican political scientist and politician who served as President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's Minister of Justice. She was the governing PLN candidate for president in the 2010 general election, where she won with 46.76% of the vote on 7 February. She was the eighth woman president of a Latin American country and the first woman to become President of Costa Rica. She was sworn in as President of Costa Rica on 8 May 2010.
Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia was a Costa Rican medical doctor and politician, who served as President from 1940 to 1944.
The Sistema de Información de la Población Objetivo (SIPO) is a social registry used by the Joint Social Welfare Institute of Costa Rica to classify the population of Costa Rica as to levels of poverty and extreme poverty. It seeks to ensure that institutional resources effectively reach the most vulnerable groups of Costa Rican society.
Carmen is the first distrito of San José Canton in Costa Rica, and one of the four administrative units that form San José downtown. This district is not heavily populated although it is a busy downtown area in daytime.
Catedral is a district of the San José canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica, it is one of the four administrative units that form San José downtown properly.
Pavas is the ninth district of the San José canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica. The district comprises Tobías Bolaños International Airport, San José's domestic airport.
Alfredo Bruto da Costa was a Portuguese politician. He served as Minister for Health and Social Welfare in the Government of Prime Minister Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo 1979–80. From 2008, he served as president of the Portuguese Economic and Social Council. He was President of National Commission for Justice and Peace from 2008 to 2014 and a member of the Council of State between September 2014 and January 2016.
The 2011 Costa Rican census was undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics and Census in Costa Rica. The semi-autonomous government body, INEC, was created by Census Law No. 7839 on 4 November 1998.
Juan Manuel Villasuso Estomba is a Costa Rican politician, writer and civil servant. He is a former member of the National Liberation Party and a current member of the Citizens' Action Party.
Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada is a Costa Rican politician, writer, journalist, and political scientist who served as the 48th president of Costa Rica from 8 May 2018 to 8 May 2022. A member of the Citizens' Action Party (PAC), Alvarado previously served as Minister of Labor and Social Security during the presidency of Luis Guillermo Solís.
The Costa Rica 1973 census was elaborated by then Dirección General de Estadística y Censos, predecessor of current National Institute of Statistics and Census. The total population was at the moment 1,871,780.
Silvia Lara Povedano (1959) is a Costa Rican politician and sociologist. She was president of the Joint Social Welfare Institute (IMAS) during the administration of Abel Pacheco (PUSC) and vice-presidential candidate of the National Liberation Party for the 2014 elections as running mate of presidential candidate Johnny Araya Monge.
