Official English Name: Republic of Costa Rica
Official Local Name(s): República de Costa Rica
Common English Name: Costa Rica
Capital: San José

Learn everything you need to know about Costa Rica in under 2 minutes!

Official Language(s)

Spanish
Secondary Languages: English

Resources

Hydropower

Neighbors

Nicaragua (North), Panama (South)

Ethnic groups

White or mestizo (83.6%), Mulatto (6.7%), Indigenous (2.4%), Black (1.1%)

People

Est. Population:

4,872,543

Demonym:

Costa Rican

Religions:

Roman Catholic (76.3%)
Evangelical (13.7%)
Jehovah’s Witness (1.3%)

Largest City:

San José (288,054)

Other Cities:

Alajuela (254,886)
Desamparados (208,411)
San Carlos (163,745)
Cartago (147,898)
Pérez Zeledón (134,534)

Geography

Region:

Central America

Bodies of Water:

Caribbean Sea (East)
Pacific Ocean (West)

Total Area:

51,100 km2 (100% land, 0% water)

Total Land:

661 km

Total Coastline:

1,290 km

Climate

Tropical
Subtropical

Terrain:

Coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Volcanoes

Highest Point

Cerro Chirripo (5,110 m)

Lowest Point

Sea Level

Natural Disasters

Earthquakes
Hurricanes
Flooding
Landslides
Volcanic activity

Government

Type:

Democratic Republic

Head of State and Government:

President Carlos Alvarado Quesada

Admin. Divisions

7 Provinces

Independence:

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Nat'l Symbol:

Yiguirro

Nat'l Anthem:

Himno Nacional de Costa Rica

Economy

GDP Per Capita

$15,500 (USD)

Currency

₡ (Colon)

Exchange Rate

$1 (USD) = ₡ (Colon)569.04

Communication

Internet Code

.cr

Telephone Code

+506

Episodes Mentioned In

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Cultural Notes

Confrontation is generally looked down upon in Costa Rica, as most Costa Ricans go out of their way to show courtesy.

Sources

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html (Majority of information)
http://www.inec.go.cr/censos/censos-2011 (City population data)
Wolfram|Alpha (Currency exchange data)
Information accurate to best of ability as of 30 October 2016