Costa Rica

Lore & Background

Humans have been in Costa Rica since between 7,000 and 10,000 BC. Various indigenous peoples lived in the territory before it was colonized by Spain in the 16th century. Costa Rica was a peripheral colony of the Spanish Empire until independence in 1821 as part of the First Mexican Empire, followed by membership in the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823, from which it formally declared independence in 1847. The country underwent gradual modernization under relatively stable authoritarian rule until the late 19th century, when it promulgated a liberal constitution and held the first free and fair national election in Central America. Following a brief civil war in 1948, Costa Rica adopted its current constitution in 1949, which granted universal suffrage, provided various social, economic, and educational guarantees for all citizens, and permanently abolished the army, becoming one of the few sovereign nations without a standing military.

In Their Own Story

The morning mist clung to the canopy of Monteverde, softening the edges of emerald leaves as a resplendent quetzal took flight. Below, the hum of the rainforest was punctuated only by the distant rumble of Arenal Volcano, a silent reminder of the earth's power. In the small town of La Fortuna, locals sipped locally roasted coffee on wooden porches, discussing the day's weather and the latest bird sightings rather than politics or conflict. Here, time seemed to slow, measured not by stock markets or military parades, but by the blooming of orchids and the return of migratory whales to the Pacific coast.

Reader's Guide

Costa Rica is a presidential republic with a robust and stable democracy. About one-fourth of the national budget is spent on education—which has been free and compulsory since 1886—equal to about 6.2% of the country's GDP, compared to a global average of 3.8%; the economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. Costa Rica has consistently performed favorably in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing 62nd globally, and fifth in Latin America, in 2023. Costa Rica is classified by the World Bank as a high-income economy and is the only OECD country in Central America and the Caribbean. It has been cited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as having attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, with a better record on human development and inequality than the regional median. Costa Rica performs well in metrics of democratic governance, press freedom, subjective happiness and sustainable wellbeing; it has one of the highest literacy rates in the Americas, and is considered a regional leader in human rights and environmentalism.

Did You Know?

• Costa Rica permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of the few sovereign nations without a standing military.
• The name 'Costa Rica' means 'rich coast' in Spanish, possibly first applied by Christopher Columbus in 1502.
• Costa Rica's education has been free and compulsory since 1886, and about one-fourth of the national budget is spent on it.
• Costa Rica is the only OECD country in Central America and the Caribbean.