Territory in Central America, ruled since 1949 by the República de Costa Rica
Costa Rica (Spanish: literally, "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: República de Costa Rica), is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around 4.9 million, in a land area of 51,060 square kilometers; over 300,000 live in the capital and largest city, San José, which had a population of an estimated 333,980 in 2015.
Geographical type: Territory
Latitude: 10° N — Longitude: 84° W
Area: 51,100 km²
ISO 3166-2 code: CR
Home To
Movimiento Libertario, San José
Measures of Freedom
Costa Rica: Country Profile, Freedom in the World, 2025Status: Free, Aggregate Score: 91/100, Political Rights: 38/40, Civil Liberties: 53/60
Costa Rica has a long history of democratic stability, with a multiparty political system and regular rotations of power through credible elections. Freedoms of expression and association are robust. The rule of law is generally strong, though presidents have often been implicated in corruption scandals. Among other ongoing concerns, violence related to drug trafficking and organized crime is rising sharply.
Economic Freedom Summary Index, Economic Freedom of the World, 25 Sep 2025
2023 overall score: 7.85, rank: 14
2023 overall score: 7.85, rank: 14
Human Freedom Index [PDF], The Human Freedom Index 2023: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom
2021: 8.04, Rank: 29, Personal freedom: 8.25, Economic freedom: 7.76
2021: 8.04, Rank: 29, Personal freedom: 8.25, Economic freedom: 7.76
Articles
A Week in a (Sort of) Libertarian Country, Part 1, by Scott McPherson, Freedom Daily, Jun 2005
You quickly get the feeling that anything can happen in San Jose. People were going everywhere. The shops were all open, and vendors were doing brisk trade all along the streets (and sometimes literally in the streets: sellers would walk right out into traffic when cars were stopped at traffic lights).
A Week in a (Sort of) Libertarian Country, Part 2, by Scott McPherson, Freedom Daily, Jul 2005
The Republic of Costa Rica has no army. The country. ... with a population of around 4 million people (including 50,000 North American expatriates), is proudly neutral. Its constitution dates to 1949 ... By Latin American standards, Costa Rica is extremely stable and wealthy, with the average annual income around $9,000.
The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Costa Rica" as of 19 Sep 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.