Republic of Costa Rica
Central America
Pura · Lush · Peaceful
Costa Rica (officially Republic of Costa Rica) is a country located in Central America. Its capital city is San José, with other major cities including Alajuela and Cartago. With a population of approximately 5.2M, the main language spoken is Spanish. The country covers an area of 51,100 km². The official currency is the Costa Rican colón (₡). Traffic drives on the right side.
Costa Rica abolished its military in 1948 and redirected defence spending into education and healthcare — it now has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the Americas.
San José serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Costa Rica, positioned in Central America. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. San José occupies the Central Valley at 1,170 metres between two mountain ranges — a pleasant highland city whose colonial architecture is modest compared to its Spanish American counterparts but whose National Theatre (built with a coffee export tax in 1897) represents the cultural ambition of a small country that abolished its military in 1948 and invested in education instead.
With a population of approximately 5.2M, Costa Rica is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The official language is Spanish, which reflects the country's cultural heritage and connects it with a wide international community. Internationally, Costa Rica is reached via the dialling code +506. Costa Ricans (Ticos) take particular pride in being the most stable democracy in Central America, with free public education and healthcare sustained since 1948 when President José Figueres abolished the military and redirected defence spending to social services — a decision that created a social contract whose results in literacy, longevity, and environmental protection are cited globally as a development model.
Costa Rica spans 51,100 km², in the Central America subregion of Americas. Geographically centred around 10.0°N, 84.0°W, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Americas convention.
The official currency is the Costa Rican colón (₡), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Costa Rica's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC-06:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.
Football holds a special place in the heart of Costa Rica's national identity. Football is Costa Rica's defining competitive passion, with the national team's extraordinary 2014 World Cup quarter-final run — defeating Uruguay, Italy, and Greece in the group stage before eliminating Greece and losing to Netherlands on penalties — being the most celebrated sporting achievement in a country that fields a competitive national team with a domestic league of modest resources.
The highest point in Costa Rica is Cerro Chirripó, rising to 3,821 metres above sea level. Costa Rica contains 5% of the world's biodiversity in 0.03% of Earth's land area — a density of species supported by the combination of Pacific and Caribbean coasts, tropical lowlands, cloud forests, and volcanic peaks all within 100 kilometres of each other, creating a spectrum of ecosystems that makes a Costa Rica road trip the world's most efficient single-country wildlife observation opportunity.