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

Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a sovereign state 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

How many provinces is Costa Rica divided into?

Hint

Fewer than

Canada, but more than

Pakistan.

Answer

Costa Rica has seven provinces.

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Crater of Irazú Volcano

The Cordillera Central is a volcanic mountain range in central Costa Rica which continues from the Continental Divide to east of Cordillera de Tilarán. It extends 80 km from Tapezco Pass to the Turrialba Volcano and ends on the Pacuare River. It is separated from Cordillera de Tilarán by Balsa River and Platanar and Zarcero hills. The Cordillera Central is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America and Antarctica.

It contains four large volcanoes Poás (2,708 m), Barva (2,906 m), Irazú and Turrialba (3,340 m). The highest peak is Irazú at 3,432 m. (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 in August 2021 Sheika Scott became the youngest player to score in the Costa Rican Women's Premier Division, at just 14 years old?
... 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?

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...that Inca Dove is a small New World dove that ranges from the southwestern United States and Mexico through Central America to Costa Rica?

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Related portals

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Image 1A coffee plantation in the Orosí Valley (from Costa Rica)
Image 2Mantled howler monkey, male (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 3Yigüirro, Costa Rica's national bird (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 4Costa Rican breakfast with gallo pinto (from Costa Rica)
Image 5Las Carretas (oxcarts) are a national symbol. (from Costa Rica)
Image 6Population pyramid of Costa Rica for 2024 (from Costa Rica)
Image 7Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Cartago), during the 2007 pilgrimage (from Costa Rica)
Image 8Gregorio 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 9The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 10Development of life expectancy in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 11Costa Rican Women in traditional dress (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 12Hospital Calderón Guardia, named after the president who instituted universal health care across the country in 1941 (from Costa Rica)
Image 13Provinces 1 Alajuela, 2 Cartago, 3 Guanacaste, 4 Heredia, 5 Limón, 6 Puntarenas, 7 San José (from Costa Rica)
Image 14Countries (in blue) which have signed Free Trade Agreements with Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 15Stone 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 16Costa Rica supporters at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil (from Costa Rica)
Image 17An industrial park in Heredia (from Costa Rica)
Image 18The 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 19Costa Rican school children (from Costa Rica)
Image 20The scarlet macaw is native to Costa Rica. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 21Arenal Volcano National Park is one of the country's tourist attractions. (from Costa Rica)
Image 22The golden toad, an amphibian once endemic to Costa Rica, is now extinct. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 23Hospital CIMA in Escazú (from Costa Rica)
Image 24Typical settlement of the Diquis indigenous people before the arrival of Columbus. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 25Epiphytes near Santa Elena (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 261849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from Costa Rica)
Image 27Chatham beach on Cocos Island. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 28An 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 29The Rio Celeste (sky blue river) at Tenorio Volcano National Park in Costa Rica. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 30Costa Rica's tropical landscape (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 31A red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 32The zebra longwing butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 33Eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 34Waterfall in the Tenorio Volcano National Park (from Costa Rica)
Image 35Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) (from Costa Rica)
Image 36Real GDP per capita development in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 37The Heliconius doris butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 38José María Castro Madriz formally declared Costa Rica as independent from the Federal Republic of Central America in 1848. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 39The University of Costa Rica is the largest university in the country and one of the most recognizable across Central America. (from Costa Rica)
Image 40Costa Rica map of Köppen climate classification (from Costa Rica)
Image 41The Ujarrás historical site in the Orosí Valley, Cartago province. The church was built between 1686 and 1693. (from Costa Rica)
Image 42Gallo Pinto (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 43Costa Rican kids. (from Culture of Costa Rica)

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Costa Rica news

24 September 2025 –

Costa Rica closes its airspace for at least five hours after a power outage disables radar systems and disrupts hundreds of flights, before reopening after systems were restored. (Reuters)

22 September 2025 –