nature
Costa Rica covers just 0.03% of Earth's land surface yet contains an estimated 5% of the world's biodiversity.
Costa Rica
Republic of Costa Rica
Population, GDP, and key facts about Costa Rica — updated for 2026.
Capital · SAN JOSEContinent · AMERICASISO · CRI
Costa Rica quick facts
- Population
- 5,129,910
- Area
- 51,100 km²
- Population density
- 100 people/km²
- GDP
- US$ 96.7 Billion
- GDP per capita
- US$ 18.9K
- Capital
- San Jose
- Currency
- Costa Rican colón (₡, CRC)
- Language
- Spanish
Costa Rica at human scale
Where does Costa Rica rank in the world?
Compare Costa Rica with other countries
🇨🇷 vs 🇵🇦Compare Costa Rica vs Panama1.1× difference in population🇨🇷 vs 🇲🇷Compare Costa Rica vs Mauritania
Compare Costa Rica with any country →Everything we know about Costa Rica
nature
Costa Rica has no standing army, having abolished its military in 1948, and channels the savings into conservation — it now protects roughly a quarter of its territory as parks and reserves.
Countries near Costa Rica
How many countries do you think Costa Rica could fit?
Pour other countries into Costa Rica's own outline, by real area, and see how many it takes to fill it up.
Fill the Country →Frequently asked questions about Costa Rica
What is the capital of Costa Rica?
The capital of Costa Rica is San Jose.
What is Costa Rica's population?
Costa Rica has a population of 5,129,910.
What is Costa Rica's GDP per capita?
Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US$ 18.9K.
What is the currency of Costa Rica?
The currency of Costa Rica is the Costa Rican colón (CRC).
Is Costa Rica bigger than Panama?
Panama is about 1.5× the size of Costa Rica by land area.
Data from the World Bank, updated September 2026.