# Costa Rica — national dossier

Costa Rica — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 43 indicators, each…

Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/CRI
Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year)

## Overview

- Official name: Republic of Costa Rica
- Capital: San José
- Region: Central America, North America
- Population: 4.9 m
- Area: 51,100 km²
- Languages: Spanish
- Currency: Costa Rican colón (CRC)

A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Economy

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $103 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita | $19,970 | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP growth | 4.6% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Inflation | -0.1% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Trade openness | 71.5% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |

## Society

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.2 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Life expectancy | 81.0 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Urban population | 79.7% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Fertility rate | 1.3 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Literacy rate | 97.4% | 2011 | World Development Indicators |

## Governance

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 74.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Political stability | 86.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Government effectiveness | 56.9 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Regulatory quality | 64.0 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Rule of law | 67.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Control of corruption | 61.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |

## Health

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 6.9% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Physicians | 2.69 | 2022 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Under-5 mortality | 10.4 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Measles immunisation | 93.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Safe drinking water | 80.5% | 2024 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |

## Education

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 97.4% | 2011 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Education spending | 5.3% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Primary enrolment | 104.8% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Secondary enrolment | 121.8% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Tertiary enrolment | 55.0% | 2019 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |

## Technology

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.3% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Researchers (per million) | 508 | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Internet users | 87.2% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| Mobile subscriptions | 136 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| High-tech exports | 22.9% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Geography

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 51,060 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest area | 60.4% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural land | 33.1% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.6 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Renewable energy | 34.2% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |

## Resources

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.8% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest rents | 0.8% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Electricity access | 99.8% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Military

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defense spending | $0 | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Armed forces | 10,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |

Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md).

Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:CRI:<metric>:<year>) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/CRI.claims.json

History: "From the chiefdoms and stone spheres of the Diquis to a disarmed democracy of coffee, peace, and rainforest." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/CRI/chronicle.md (6 eras, 27 events).

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Citation template: Terralore, "Costa Rica — national dossier", terralore.co/country/CRI, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.