Demographics of Costa Rica

The demography of Costa Rica statistically studies the structure and dynamics of the resident population in the Costa Rican territory, as well as the processes that determine and modify it, such as: fertility, migration or the mortality.

The country is the fifth most populous in Central America, with just over 5 million inhabitants. Ethnographically, the inhabitants of this Central American nation make up a multiracial melting pot, as they result from extensive miscegenation between indigenous people, Spaniards, Sephardim, and Africans, not to mention the large waves of European, Afro-Antillean, and Asian migration that Costa Rica has received over the years. throughout its history. Currently, the country is one of the largest recipients of emigrants from Latin America and the main migratory destination in Central America, in addition to having the largest communities of Buddhists, Americans, French, Italians and Poles on the isthmus and home to some of the largest Central American communities of Germans, Muslims, Jews and Chinese.

Introduction

Picture of the early twentieth century of a Costa Rican peasant family.

Peters Scheider families. German immigrants in Costa Rica in 1920.

In 1821, Costa Rica had achieved its independence without a fight. It presented a panorama of a sparse population (65,000 inhabitants in 1824), made up of Creoles, mulattoes and mestizos, settled in scattered nuclei in the Central Valley and dedicated to subsistence agriculture. But soon, in the 1830s –with the expansion of coffee cultivation– the country was linked to the world market early and new perspectives opened up. By the 1840s and early 1950s, foreign European (particularly Italian and Spanish) travelers passing through Costa Rica were impressed by the general prosperity they saw and the development of the internal market relative to the rest of Central America. Around 1850 it was clearly visible that a process of economic consolidation based on coffee farming had begun. European emigrants might well be drawn by the promises of a small, faraway nation in the throes of expansion.

The Amerindians, for their part, were located in tribes, mainly in the mountains of Talamanca and the plains of Guanacaste, as well as in the jungles of the rest of the country, while many Afro-Costa Ricans were settled in quilombos.

Workers of Jamaican origin are prohibited by law from entering the Central Valley, so they settle in the province of Limón until 1949. Many other immigrants disperse throughout the country: those who decide to remain in the city capital and its surroundings contribute a lot to the variety of daily life in the capital.

Currently, the majority of the population resides in the Central Valley, which is made up of European descendants, mostly castizos and criollos, followed by mestizos and other ethnic groups. In addition, it is easy to find native inhabitants of many other latitudes, especially China. There is a population of economic immigrants and political refugees—mainly refugees—and economic immigrants. There are important groups of Argentines, Chileans and Colombians. For several years, there has been a notable migratory movement of Europeans (especially Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Swiss and Swedish), Asians (Chinese, Korean and Japanese) and Americans, who settle in the country attracted by political stability, a way of alternative life and a benign climate. Currently the largest population of immigrants are Nicaraguans, who make up approximately 10% of the total population of the country. The migratory groups coming from the northern neighbor began in the late 1970s due to internal political conflicts and also to a lesser extent from El Salvador, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

Regarding the indigenous populations, it should be noted that there are around 120,000 native inhabitants from the Costa Rican territory, representing 1.2% of the country's total population. They are divided into 8 ethnic groups and each one has at least one reserved territory, for example: Quitirrisí (located in the Central Valley), Matambú (Chorotega, Guanacaste), Guatuso (Maleku, North of Alajuela), Kéköldi (Bribri, South Atlantic), Cabécar (Cordillera de Talamanca), Ngobe-Bugle Indigenous Territory of Abrojos Montezuma (Guaymí, Southeast of Costa Rica, on the border line with Panama), Boruca (Southern Zone) and Térraba (Southern Zone, together with the Boruca) and in areas far from the confines of the world such as Birrisito.

Guanacaste, a province in the northwest of the country, on the Pacific Ocean, bordering Nicaragua, is characterized by presenting several singularities with respect to the rest of the country, such as, for example, typical dances, culinary customs and its variety of language Spanish (according to phonological and lexical considerations, the Guanacaste language is studied in linguistics as a separate dialect of the Spanish of the central area of Costa Rica, close to the language of neighboring Nicaragua). The distinctive socio-cultural features of this province are denoted by the word teco (as opposed to tico), which serves as a demonym and qualifying adjective that can be substantivized (thus, a tequismo is a term proper to the Guanacaste dialect). Popular culture affirms that the physical peculiarities of the tecos are the result of a mixture of Spaniards and indigenous Chorotegas.

On the Caribbean coast, the settlement developed mainly around the city of Limón and consisted of descendants of Africans who arrived in the country during colonial times (enslaved Bantu from Angola and the Congo). The imported slaves were dispersed towards the main productive areas of the time, within which Cartago is cited as an important destination point. These were added, preeminently, during the 19th century (no longer as slaves), groups of Jamaicans hired to work on the construction of the Atlantic Railroad. To the south of the province of Limón there are several important indigenous populations, especially Bribris.

Society

Due to colonial conditions where even the aristocracy in many cases had to work and carry out certain tasks unthinkable in other parts of the continent, social differences in Costa Rica were never too radical compared to other countries. As an example of this could be mentioned that until well into the 20th century it was common for the children of the rich and the poor to attend the same educational centers, marriages between people of different social classes were not necessarily taboo (even some first ladies were of humble origin) or that the middle classes could access public and political office.

In Costa Rica it was possible from the XIX century and the beginning of the XX that the children of workers, peasants or artisans could go to university and become lawyers, doctors, etc., and many politicians who have come to hold public office came from middle and lower class homes, cases such as presidents Luis Alberto Monge (farmer and trade unionist) and Luis Guillermo Solís (university professor), or deputies such as Arnoldo Segura Ferreto (teacher), Francisco Vargas Vargas (doctor from a humble family of farmers), Juan Guillermo Brenes Castillo (farmer), etc. Although many of these traditions, such as equal opportunities regardless of the profession of the parents or the fact that minors from different social classes attend the same centers together, has been gradually lost, especially since the reforms of the eighties, it is still It is common in Costa Rica for presidents, representatives, mayors and other political figures to walk the streets without a security escort, attend public events as one more citizen or make use of public services.

Characteristics of the population

Costa Rica is populated by 5,003,393 inhabitants. The vast majority of them reside in the Central Valley. That is where the largest cities in the country are located, and the capital San José. Approximately 40% of the population is rural and 60% is urban. The country's population grows annually at a high rate of 1.4%. This is due to a moderately high birth rate, 18 per 1,000, and a fairly low mortality, 4.3 per 1,000.

Ethnography

[[Archivo:UD99px] Costa Rica is a multi-ethnic and multicultural country.

Ethnographically, the population is of different ethnic groups and is the result of the mixture between the indigenous people who inhabited the country, the Spanish, converted Jews (Sefardites) and, to a lesser extent, the African slaves who arrived in the country during the colony. By the XIX century, Costa Rica was influenced by waves of European immigrants, particularly Italians, Spanish, French, German, British, Dutch, Swedish, Greek, Portuguese, among other countries, who were attracted by the various business opportunities present in the country. To a lesser extent Jamaican and Chinese immigrants arrived.

Similarly, by the end of World War I, immigrants from other countries such as Russians, Swiss and Ashkenazi Jews from Poland were attracted.

According to the data provided by the 2011 census carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, the population by ethnic self-identification is made up as follows: 83.6% white or mestizo, 6.72% mulattoes, 2, 42% Amerindians, 1.05% Afro-descendants, 0.21% Chinese, 5.95% other or undeclared.

The 2011 census also indicates that 9% of the inhabitants of Costa Rica are immigrants. The most important migratory groups are those from Nicaragua, which began around 1927, registering its highest peak between 1995 - 2000 due to the political, social and economic conflicts in Nicaragua throughout its history, while the Colombians began their flow migratory from the year 2000, establishing themselves as refugees and finally, the Americans who began a regular migratory flow from the 1990s.

Native populations

Indígena maléku representing a traditional ceremony in Palenque Tonjibe, canton of Guatuso.

Upon the arrival of the Spanish on the American continent, the original inhabitants of what is now Costa Rica would add up to some 400,000 people, scattered in different regions of the country and occupying a large part of its territory. These populations were politically and economically organized in cacicazgos, which were complex and socially hierarchical structures, with work specializations, governed by a cacique, his group of principalities, and the priestly class.

The Chorotegas, of Mesoamerican culture, occupied Guanacaste, with the Kingdom of Nicoya as the most important cacicazgo. The area of Cañas was the seat of the Corobicíes, from which the current Maléku descend. Belonging to the Intermediate Area culture, the Huetares were the most important group in the central region and the Pacific slope of the country. The huetares formed two great dominions: that of Garabito or Huetar Kingdom of the West, and that of El Guarco or Huetar Kingdom of the East. Among the huetares there were other minor chiefdoms such as Pacaca, Aserrí, Curriravá and Toyopán. In the northern plains, the botos, tises and katapas inhabited. In the Atlantic area, the most important cacicazgo was that of Talamanca, which grouped Bribris, Cabécares and Térrabas, while Tariaca, Suerre and Pococí were other minor cacicazgos. In the southern zone of the country, the Quepoas, Borucas, Cotos and Guaymíes inhabited.

After the conquest of Costa Rica, the indigenous population suffered a drastic demographic decline, so that for the colony only 10% of the population was native. According to the 2011 Census, 2.41% of the population of Costa Rica declared themselves Amerindian, the autochthonous indigenous populations are around 104,000 native American inhabitants or natives of the national territory. Many aspects of their culture, including language in some cases, have managed to persist into the 21st century despite the process of transculturation started during the Spanish conquest and persists today. Indigenous peoples have suffered, throughout their history, a continuous reduction of their territory, the dismemberment of their population, and the disintegration of many of their cultural elements.

They are divided into 9 ethnic groups and each one has a reserved territory:

Smells	Chorotegas	Maléku	Bribri	Miskito	Cabécar	Ngöbe	Boruca and Térraba
Remove and Zapatón Central Valley	Guaitil de Santa Cruz y Matambú Guanacaste	River Frío Basin North	South Atlantic	North Atlantic	Cordillera de Talamanca	Southeast	South Pacific
Canasto huetar.	Ceramic chorotega.	Mask maléku.	Usure (templo) bribri.	Miskito mask.	House conical cabécar.	ngöbe children with traditional clothing.	Boruca mask.

Migration

Costa Rica has a positive migratory balance, because more foreigners settle in the country compared to Costa Ricans who emigrate and settle in another. This is due to the relative political, social and economic stability of the nation.

Total foreign population 2012
N.o	Country	Hab.
1	Nicaragua	500 000
2	Colombia	20 000
3	United States	16 000
4	Panama	11 427
5	Spain	10 100
6	Canada	10 000
7	El Salvador	7 189
8	Honduras	5 669
9	United Kingdom	5 200
10	Venezuela	5000
11	China	4 500
12	Mexico	4 285
13	Argentina	3 600
14	Peru	2 700
15	Chile	2 600
16	Italy	2 300
17	Russia	2 300
18	Germany	2 100
19	Poland	1 900
20	Cuba	1 700
21	Switzerland	1 642
22	Dominican Republic	1 475
23	Brazil	1 300
24	Belize	1 270
25	Guatemala	1 200
26	Uruguay	1 200
27	France	1 000
28	Ecuador	900
29	South Korea	520
30	Japan	190
31	Haiti	150

The migration in Costa Rica: on the left, Maribel Guardia, Costa Rican actress based in Mexico. On the right, Óscar Duarte, footballer of the National Team, born in Nicaragua and who plays in Spain.

Immigration

With a sustained immigration flow, Costa Rica is the Latin American nation with the largest percentage of immigrants. According to a study prepared by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Costa Rica, for the year 2012, 9% of the population The country was made up of immigrants. In the country there is a population mainly of economic immigrants, especially from neighboring Nicaragua. There is also a percentage of political refugees who have requested asylum, escaping persecution in other countries.

Currently the largest immigrant communities are from Nicaragua (74.5%), Colombia (4.3%), the United States (4.1%) and Panama (2.4%). There is 11.8% that corresponds to other nationalities, with important agglomerations from many nations in Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Emigration

More than 300,000 Costa Ricans live abroad. Emigration from Costa Rica is the lowest in the Central American isthmus, with 2.70% of the population abroad.^{[citation required]} According to a study carried out by the American Community Survey in 2010, Costa Rica is the second country in Latin America with the lowest number of immigrants in the United States, after Bolivia. 65.75% of Costa Rican emigrants choose Costa Rica as their main destination. United States, the majority in California, New Jersey and Florida, however, it was determined that the majority of these people are children of Costa Ricans born in that country, who are granted citizenship in accordance with subsection 2 of article 13 of the Political Constitution, which grants this right to people who have at least one Costa Rican as a parent, but many of them do not know the country. There are also large colonies of Costa Ricans in large cities such as Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Ontario, Quebec and Montreal.

Most Costa Rican men living in the United States are engaged in construction and maintenance work, while women are in service occupations. On average, Costa Rican emigrants earn more than emigrants from other Central American countries, due to educational and cultural aspects that allow them to emerge, such as entrepreneurship, as well as the quality of the education received. In 2011, Costa Rica received more remittances than what you send abroad. According to the data provided, Costa Rica received close to 612 million dollars in remittances, 86 million more than in 2010.

Language

According to the Political Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica in its article 76, the Spanish language is the official language of the nation; However, Costa Rica is a multilingual country because considering its small territorial extension, 5 native languages are spoken, namely Maleku, Cabécar, Bribri, Guaymí and Bocotá.

In the Caribbean area of the country, Mekatelyu is spoken, which is academically known as Limonian Creole English, or it could be defined as a combination of patois (Jamaican English) with "tico" (Costa Rican Spanish). This name is a kind of onomatopoeia formed from the pronunciation of the phrase "May I tell you" in this variant of English.

In addition, Costa Rica occupies the third position in Latin America in knowledge of the English language. According to a study by Education First, 15% of the Costa Rican population claims to have full command of the English language. This language is compulsorily taught in most schools and colleges in the country. In addition, it has the presence of more than 20,000 Americans, 10,000 Canadians and around 6,000 British people who live in the country and is widely used in towns in Monteverde, Santa Elena and the northwest of the Province of Puntarenas where there are colonies of Quakers and their descendants. You can even find information written in Spanish and English on numerous labels, packages, and containers of nationally manufactured products.

Language map of the country, which distinguishes areas where there are important communities that practice a language other than Spanish. The latter is represented in blue throughout the territory, as it is employed by virtually the entire population.

In the southeast of the country are communities such as San Vito, which were founded by Italians in the mid-20th century. In these areas, the Italian language is spoken by part of the population and taught in regional public education. There is also an indigenous Italian dialect in the region that was formed after the inevitable Spanish influence. Likewise, the Italian community present in the nation and the descendants of the massive immigration of the XIX and XX promote the use and learning of their language by founding dozens of cultural associations.

On the other hand, in the northern part of the country, in San Carlos, Sarapiquí and the Huetar Norte Region there are numerous communities founded or populated by Germans and Mennonites of German descent who practice the German language, a dialect derived from Old German with Hispanic influences called Platzdutch and the Mennonite Low German dialect known as Plautdietsch. Not counting the strong influence of German with the establishment of various cultural and educational institutions.

The presence of the Chinese language is also noteworthy, in its variants of Mandarin and Cantonese that are spoken in the country by the large community of Chinese immigrants and their descendants who settled in Costa Rica. Creating, in addition, dozens of Chinese cultural institutions and alliances in the nation and highlighting the implementation of the teaching of Mandarin in various schools throughout the country.

Other languages that have an important presence in Costa Rica are:

• The Frenchman, who is an obligatory subject in several schools and in the Third Cycle of Basic Education, not to mention that he is spoken by the numerous French community of the country and its descendants and is promoted by dozens of cultural institutions.
• The Arabic language that has a presence due to Lebanese immigration and other Levian countries.
• The Hebrew, a language used by about 1000 Israelis living in the country and by the vast Jewish-Ussian community.
• The Portuguese language has the presence of 1500 Brazilians who live in the country and is a language that is increasingly promoted and imparted in various schools and schools.

Religion

Cathedral of the city of Alajuela, the second most important city.

Major religions in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica, due to its size and immigration, is one of the countries with the highest number of immigrants per capita in the world, which has contributed to its important religious diversity. Europeans, Asians and other Latin Americans have come together in the nation for many decades, consolidating a great religious variety.

The main religious groups in Costa Rica are Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims. However, people without religion (atheists, agnostics, etc.) represent 9% according to statistical data from 2013.

The majority religion is Catholic, 65% declare themselves Catholic, although 23% do not consider themselves practicing Catholics. According to the Political Constitution, it is the official religion of the Republic, although there is freedom of belief; however, according to the latest survey from the University of Costa Rica in 2012, only 46% of Costa Ricans are practicing Catholics, one of the lowest percentages in Latin America.

Among the religious festivities celebrated by Catholics are Holy Week, Christmas and August 2, the day of the Virgin of the Angels, patron saint of Costa Rica and Protector of the Americas, characterized by pilgrimage or pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels located in Cartago.

There is also a significant number of Protestants or Evangelicals of different denominations: Pentecostals, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists, Mennonites, Quakers, Amish, among others. They represent 21% of the Costa Rican population, being a religious group that has experienced some growth in recent decades.

There is also a small community of Orthodox Christians that represent 0.6% of the population, this group is made up mainly of immigrants of Greek, Russian, Romanian origin, etc., with a single Orthodox church located in Coronado, and a single Orthodox priest. which exercises for all orthodox denominations.

Catholic procession of the Virgin of Los Angeles, patron of the country.

Immigration by Orientals; Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, etc., generated the existence of Buddhist, Taoist, etc. communities, as well as the syncretic practice of Catholicism, Buddhism and traditional Chinese religion, in any case, among foreigners and national converts, Costa Rica has the largest Buddhist community in Central America representing 2% of the population.

Jews settled in three major waves: the first during Jewish persecution in Europe during the colonial period, the second during World War I and World War II in the early and mid-century XX and the third during the Latin American dictatorships of the 1970s, this generated a large Ashkenazi Jewish community that currently represents 0.10% of the population.

Immigrants from the Middle East (primarily Lebanese, but also: Palestinians, Iraqis, Moroccans, Iranians and other Arabs) generate one of the largest Muslim communities in Central America and the Caribbean, their meeting point being the Mosque of Omar, located in Monte Limar, municipality of Goicoechea, which is also the headquarters of the Muslim Cultural Center. The Muslim community in Costa Rica is estimated at around 1,500 people.

Added to this variety is the presence of Hindus, Bahais, Wiccans, Rastafarians and the indigenous people themselves who preserve their religious beliefs (see Bribri religion), among others.

Health

Costa Rican Human Development Index (2010), compared to five Central American countries.

Costa Rica has universal health care that requires investment of 9.3% of its GDP, that is, higher than the OECD average and among the 12 largest in the world. Currently, it is the country with the longest life expectancy in Latin America (80 years). In 2015 it reported a crude birth rate of 14.86 and a mortality rate of 4.35. Since 2011, the infant mortality rate has been continuously declining, and today, with 7.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, is one of the lowest in the Hemisphere. Abortion in Costa Rica is only therapeutic, allowed when the health of the pregnant individual is in danger. At the same time, various sectors of society clamor for the approval of a technical regulation that allows regulating the legal gaps in the current legislation on the interruption of pregnancy, and the decriminalization of free abortion is also in frequent debate.

Costa Rica's health system has been ranked many times as one of the best in existence: in 2000, the WHO ranked it the third best system in Latin America and number 36 worldwide; in 2014, the Index International Living magazine's Global Retirement 2014 ranked it fifth globally; in 2015, the Bloomberg ranking list ranked it 24th worldwide and the best in Latin America; in 2016, a study by the University of Berkeley rated the country as the healthiest in the world, based on health equity indices and data issued by the UN. The 2018 Global Competitiveness Index highlighted the country among the 20 best health indices on the planet. In addition, the Nicoya Peninsula is one of the five blue zones in the world due to the longevity of its inhabitants, unique in Latin America.

In the country, various institutions ensure the operation of public health: the Ministry of Health, in charge of managing the sector; the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), in charge of social security, medical and hospital care; the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA), which guarantees drinking water and sewerage services; and the National Insurance Institute, which offers insurance and is in charge of treating pathologies related to work risks and traffic accidents. In addition, there are numerous private medical centers, which are emerging as the best in Latin America and promote the development of health tourism in the country.

Facade of Mexico Hospital in San José.

The Costa Rican Social Security Fund is an autonomous institution created in 1940 and is in charge of health promotion, disease prevention and patient care programs. It is based on a solidarity social security system in which workers, employers and the State make contributions, so that medical attention can be guaranteed to all sectors of the population. The Fund is considered the fundamental pillar of social peace in Costa Rica. 85% of the country's population is covered by the social security provided by the Fund. The medical care provided by the Fund is organized in 3 levels:

• The first level or level of primary care, consisting of the Basic Health Care Teams (EBAIS), the peripheral clinics and other health care centers, which are responsible for basic general consultation.

• The second level, consisting of care services specialized in general surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, gynaecology and obstetrics. It is made up of 10 major clinics (such as the Dr. Marcial Fallas de Desamparados Clinic or the Centro de Atención Integral en Salud de Puriscal), 13 peripheral hospitals (such as the Max Terán de Quepos Hospital) and 7 regional hospitals (such as the Sanabria Monsignor Hospital of Puntarenas or the Max Peralta de Cartago Hospital).

• The third level, which is responsible for the care of complex medical cases, is composed of 3 general hospitals "class A": the Hospital San Juan de Dios, the Hospital Mexico and the Hospital Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, and 5 specialized national hospitals: the National Children's Hospital, the Hospital Nacional de Geriatría y Gerontología, the National Women's Hospital, the Hospital Nacional Psiquiátrico and the National Rehabilitation Centre. The Fund also has a specialized centre for the treatment of cancer, the country's second death cause, located in the Mexican Hospital's Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy Service.

This whole network of public health systems has been in a continuous national debate for years due to serious problems of saturation of services —being universal, attendance at medical centers is very high—, internal corruption, mismanagement financial and sustainability of the retirement structures and solidarity operation.

Education

A preschool with the traditional children's garden uniform. Costa Rican basic general education has been free and compulsory since 1869.

General basic education is compulsory and free. This is supervised by the Ministry of Public Education. Coverage in primary education is practically universal while in secondary education it is around 70%. The country's literacy rate is 94.9%. In 2016, the Global Competitiveness Index highlighted Costa Rica as the country with the best education rate in Latin America, also ranking 40th worldwide in enrollment in primary education, tenth in secondary education, and in general, placing the country's education, up to tertiary, among the first 30 best in the world. It should be noted that the Mexican Government considered Costa Rican education as one of the best in America Latin.

It has five public universities: the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, the National University, the State Distance University, the University of Costa Rica and the National Technical University of Costa Rica. It also has the National Learning Institute (INA), a public institution in charge of training the working class and the less favored, training them in technical areas for the generation of new companies and the continuation of their higher level studies. It has offices in San José, Cartago, Naranjo, San Carlos, Moín, Liberia, Pérez Zeledón and Barranca. More than fifty private universities operate, including the Autonomous University of Central America (UACA), the Latin University of Costa Rica, the University of Medical Sciences (UCIMED), the University of Ibero-America (UNIBE), the Catholic University of Costa Rica, the Latin American University of Science and Technology (ULACIT), the Véritas University, etc. There are some para-university higher education system institutions, such as the Cartago University College, the Limón University College and the Boston University College, among others. The number of university students amounts to 175,000 among the various public and private universities.

The Metálico Building, headquarters of the Buenaventura Corrales School. Built in 1889 in solid iron and inspired by the design of the French architect Gustave Eiffel, it is the heritage of Costa Rican education.

The country also has important study and research centers such as the School of Agronomy of the Humid Tropics Region (EARTH); the National Institute of Biodiversity (InBio), where the flora and fauna of the country are studied; INCAE Business School, Graduate School of Business Administration attached to Harvard University; the University for Peace, a university attached to the United Nations Organization; and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Turrialba.

The formal secondary education system is made up of Academic Colleges (academic study centers for advancement within the formal system) and Professional Technical Colleges that offer the possibility for boys to obtain a diploma in Middle Technician with the mention of the specialty that they enroll in their ninth year before going on to the fourth cycle, which they can use to get a job and finance their higher education. There is also the possibility of attending a Costa Rican Scientific College, schools administered by the National System of Scientific Colleges of Costa Rica, financed by the state, which are the ones that have led in teaching quality and student quality in the different tests at the national level. national.

Main cities

The most populated urban areas of Costa Rica are concentrated in the Central Valley, which is home to the Greater Metropolitan Area and where the capital and most important city are located; San José, the main cities of the country: Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia and other smaller communities of importance. This region has close to 3 million inhabitants (close to 60% of the total population) and is the most urbanized, populated and economically active area of Costa Rica. In addition, it has many of the main services, industries, infrastructure works, and government headquarters of the nation.

Outside the Central Plateau, the most populated cities are concentrated in the ports and capitals of the provinces of Puntarenas and Limón. Or in the main urban centers of the province, such as Liberia in Guanacaste.

It is remarkable the fact that the main cities of Costa Rica are the headwaters of their provinces. Among the most populated and important communities that are not provincial capitals, the following stand out: San Isidro de El General, to the south of the Province of San José in Pérez Zeledón and Ciudad Quesada, to the north of the Province of Alajuela in San Carlos.

Other cities of relative importance and population are: Desamparados, San Vicente de Moravia, Curridabat, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San Juan de Tibás, Guadalupe, San Isidro de Coronado, Escazú, Upala, Naranjo, Grecia, San Rafael de Oreamuno, Turrialba, El Tejar del Guarco, Paradise, Tres Ríos de Unión, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, San Pablo de Heredia, San Rafael de Heredia, Nicoya, Santa Cruz, Cañas, Buenos Aires, Quepos, Esparza, Guápiles, Siquirres and Guacimo.

Statistics

Population

5 182 351 persons (Projection 2022)

Men: 2 587 802

Women: 2 594 550

Ethnic composition

White, Mestizos and Castizos: 83% (est 2015)

Other Ethnics: 17% (est. 2015)

Population density

95.70 hab./km2 (est. 2015)

Ternary Age

0-14 years: 21.6% (men 584,782/female 557,953) (this year 2009)

15-64 years: 72.4% (men 1,416,452/women 1,384,697) (est 2009)

65 years later: 6.0% (men 116.461/women 135.571) (est. 2009)

Life expectancy

80-90 years (est. 2008)

Mean age of the population

Total: 27.1 years

Men: 26.7 years

Women: 27.6 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate

1.4% (2008 est.)

Birth Rate

17.71 births /1,000 population (est 2008)

Death rate

8.37 deaths /1,000 population (est. 2008)

Infant mortality rate

12.01 deaths /1,000 births (est. 2008)

Net migration rate

0.48 migrants /1,000 population (est 2008)

Population living in poverty

6% in extreme poverty and 16% in relative poverty (2008 est.)

Gender ratio

At birth: 1.05 male/female

Less than 15 years: 1.05 male /feminine

15 to 64 years: 1.02 male / female

65 years and more: 0.86 male /feminine

Total population: 1.02 male /feminine (est. 2008)