Costa Rica
San José · Central America
Costa Rica is a country in North America. Its capital city is San José, the official currency is the Costa Rican Colón, and the main language is Spanish.
With a population of roughly 5.2 million people spread over 51,100 km², Costa Rica is the 121st most populous country in the world and the 126th largest by area. That works out at about 102 people per square kilometre.
Costa Rica shares land borders with Nicaragua and Panama — 2 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are San José, Alajuela and Cartago. The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,820 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Bosnia and Herzegovina, while its population is closest to that of New Zealand.
- Capital
- San José
- Region
- Central America
- Population
- 5,200,000
- Area
- 51,100 km²
- Currency
- Costa Rican Colón
- Main language
- Spanish
- Highest point
- Cerro Chirripó
3,820 m - Land borders
- 2
Costa Rica: things worth knowing
- Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949 and has not reinstated one.
- Around a quarter of its land is protected, and it holds roughly 5% of the world's biodiversity.
- It has run for long stretches on almost entirely renewable electricity.
Costa Rica in context
North America has 23 sovereign countries in total. Costa Rica ranks 11th among them by population.
See the full list of North America countries, or browse all 195 countries.