According to the United Nations, Costa Rica had an estimated population of 5,265,575 people as of 2024. White people make up 65.8% of the population, 17.8% identity as castizos or mestizos, 7.8% are black people (including mixed race), 2.4% Amerindians, and 6.2% other/none.

In 2010, just under 3% of the population was of African descent. These are called Afro-Costa Ricans or West Indians and are English-speaking descendants of 19th-century black Jamaican immigrant workers. Another 1% is composed of those of Chinese origin, and less than 1% are West Asian, mainly of Lebanese descent but also Palestinians. The 2011 Census provided the following data: whites and mestizos make up 83.4% of the population, 7% are black people (including mixed race), 2.4% Amerindians, 0.2% Chinese, and 7% other/none.

Immigration to Costa Rica made up 9% of the population in 2012. This included permanent settlers as well as migrants who were hoping to reach the U.S. In 2015, there were some 420,000 immigrants in Costa Rica and the number of asylum seekers (mainly from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua) rose to more than 110,000. An estimated 10% of the Costa Rican population in 2014 was made up of Nicaraguans. There is also a community of North American retirees from the United States and Canada, followed by relatively large numbers of European Union expatriates (chiefly Scandinavians and from Germany) come to retire as well, and Australians.

Despite a low fertility rate of 1.67 children per woman (2024), the population still grows steadily due to immigration and a relatively young population.

The indigenous population today numbers about 60,000 (just over 1% of the population), with some Miskito and Garifuna (a population of mixed African and Carib Amerindian descent) living in the coastal regions.

Costa Rica's emigration is the smallest in the Caribbean Basin and is among the smallest in the Americas. By 2015 about just 133,185 (2.77%) of the country's people live in another country as immigrants. The main destination countries are the United States (85,924), Nicaragua (10,772), Panama (7,760), Canada (5,039), Spain (3,339), Mexico (2,464), Germany (1,891), Italy (1,508), Guatemala (1,162) and Venezuela (1,127).Costa Rica - Emigrantes totales (in Spanish) Según los últimos datos publicados Costa Rica tiene 133.185 emigrantes, lo que supone un 2,77% de la población de Costa Rica. Si miramos el ranking de emigrantes vemos que tiene un porcentaje de emigrantes medio, ya que está en el puesto 44º de los 195 del ranking de emigrantes.

Population size and structure

In , Costa Rica had a population of . The population is increasing at a rate of 1.5% per year. According to current trends, the population will increase to 9,158,000 in about 46 years. The population density is 94 people per square km, the third highest in Central America.

Approximately 20% lived in rural areas and 80% in urban areas. The rate of urbanization estimated for the period 2005–2015 is 2.74% per annum, one of the highest among developing countries. About 75% of the population lives above 500 meters, where the temperature is cooler and milder.

The 2011 census counted a population of 4.3 million people distributed among the following groups: 71.1% Whites or Castizos,17% Mestizo, 6.7% Black/Mulatto mixed race, 2.4% Native American, 1.1% Black or Afro-Caribbean; the census showed 1.1% as Other.

In 2011, there were over 104,000 Native American or indigenous inhabitants, representing 2.4% of the population. Most of them lived in secluded reservations, distributed among eight ethnic groups: Quitirrisí (in the Central Valley), Matambú or Chorotega (Guanacaste), Maleku (northern Alajuela), Bribri (southern Atlantic), Cabécar (Cordillera de Talamanca), Guaymí (southern Costa Rica, along the Panamá border), Boruca (southern Costa Rica) and Térraba (southern Costa Rica).

Costa Ricans of European origin are primarily of Spanish descent, with significant numbers of Italian, German, English, Dutch, French, Irish, Portuguese, and Polish families, as well as a sizable Jewish community. The majority of the Afro-Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of 19th century black Jamaican immigrant workers.

The 2011 census classified 83.6% of the population as white and Mestizo; the latter have combined European and Native American descent. The Mulatto segment (mix of white and black) represented 6.7%, and Indigenous people made up 2.4% of the population. Native and European mixed blood populations are far less than in other Latin American countries. Exceptions are the Guanacaste province, where almost half the population is visibly mestizo, a legacy of the more pervasive unions between Spanish colonists and Chorotega Amerindians through several generations, and Limón, where the vast majority of the Afro-Costa Rican community lives.

ProvinceProvince populationCityCity populationSan José Province1,345,750San José350,535Alajuela Province716,286Alajuela46,554Cartago Province432,395Cartago156,600Puntarenas Province357,483Puntarenas102,504Heredia Province354,732Heredia42,600Limón Province339,395Puerto Limon105,000Guanacaste Province264,238Liberia98,751

Structure of the population

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 2 405 636 2 541 064 4 946 700 100 0–4 153 647 153 302 306 949 6.20 5–9 180 403 179 809 360 212 7.28 10–14 200 123 174 821 374 944 7.57 15–19 216 776 211 077 427 853 8.64 20–24 215 301 205 588 420 889 8.50 25–29 188 815 198 789 387 604 7.83 30–34 176 356 198 185 373 541 7.55 35–39 161 288 174 851 336 139 7.40 40–44 145 430 164 672 310 102 6.26 45–49 136 591 163 412 300 003 6.06 50–54 146 253 168 407 314 660 6.36 55–59 133 924 144 718 278 642 5.63 60–64 108 422 126 063 234 485 4.74 65–69 83 152 92 321 175 473 3.54 70–74 55 495 75 098 130 593 2.64 75–79 50 799 45 514 96 313 1.94 80–84 28 176 31 126 59 302 1.20 85–89 16 164 20 771 36 935 0.74 90–94 6 159 10 188 16 347 0.33 95+ 2 362 3 352 5 714 0.11Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 522 072 498 520 1 020 592 21.63 15–64 1 580 192 1 676 121 3 256 313 69.02 65+ 187 174 248 444 435 618 9.23 unknown 3 000 2 158 5 158 0.10

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 2 482 471 2 680 942 5 163 413 100 0–4 124 613 133 474 258 087 5.00 5–9 165 238 165 966 331 204 6.41 10–14 192 664 184 342 377 006 7.30 15–19 205 825 193 150 398 975 7.73 20–24 213 937 206 672 420 609 8.15 25–29 187 872 181 842 369 714 7.16 30–34 180 627 186 317 366 944 7.11 35–39 171 681 199 074 370 755 7.18 40–44 170 025 192 808 362 833 7.03 45–49 146 946 167 271 314 217 6.09 50–54 150 529 178 318 328 847 6.37 55–59 147 298 173 022 320 320 6.20 60–64 132 034 148 439 280 473 5.43 65–69 105 615 133 821 239 436 4.64 70–74 75 845 90 945 166 790 3.23 75–79 51 931 63 090 115 021 2.23 80–84 32 001 43 126 75 127 1.45 85–89 18 172 25 283 43 455 0.84 90–94 7 628 9 021 16 649 0.32 95+ 1 990 4 961 6 951 0.13Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 482 515 483 782 966 297 18.71 15–64 1 706 774 1 826 913 3 533 687 68.44 65+ 293 182 370 247 663 429 12.85

Vital statistics

Average population Live birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)Crude migration rate (per 1000)TFR 1934 558,00023,85810,02013,83844.218.625.6 1935 572,00024,93412,63012,30445.222.922.3 2.8 1936 585,00025,45011,81113,63945.221.024.2 -1.5 1937 599,00025,62411,03214,59244.519.225.3 -1.4 1938 615,00026,83910,42216,41745.517.727.8 -1.1 1939 631,00027,02711,68715,34044.719.325.4 0.6 1940 648,00028,00411,21116,79345.318.127.2 -0.3 1941 664,00028,82311,42917,39445.518.127.4 -2.7 1942 680,00028,26313,55914,70443.721.022.7 1.4 1943 697,00030,46811,73418,73446.117.728.4 -3.4 1944 716,00029,93511,29518,64044.216.727.5 -0.2 1945 736,00032,52910,76821,76146.815.531.3 -3.4 1946 759,00032,1599,97122,18845.013.931.1 0.1 1947 787,00032,60010,96721,63344.714.929.8 7.1 1948 808,00035,95610,66625,29044.513.231.3 -4.6 1949 832,00036,77410,56626,20844.212.731.5 -1,8 1950 966,00039,94310,48029,46341.310.830.5 130.6 1951 994,00043,06810,39032,67843.310.532.9 -3.9 19521,025,00045,81610,67235,14444.710.434.3 -3.1 19531,058,00045,69711,35334,34443.210.732.5 -0.3 19541,093,00048,85710,68138,17644.79.834.9 -1.8 19551,129,00049,80011,00039,26944.19.734.8 -1.9 19561,167,00051,35010,47640,87444.09.035.1 -1.4 19571,206,00052,86011,54441,31643.99.634.3 -0.9 19581,246,00053,91910,60843,31143.38.534.8 --1.6 19591,289,00057,80111,16046,64144.88.736.2 -1.7 19601,334,00059,70111,03548,66644.88.336.5 -1.6 19611,382,00060,64110,64449,99743.97.736.2 -0.2 19621,431,00060,75011,95348,79742.58.434.1 1.4 19631,482,00062,82112,51950,30242.48.534.0 1.6 19641,533,00061,87013,52748,34340.48.831.6 2.8 19651,583,00062,40012,81449,58639.48.131.3 1.3 19661,633,00062,33011,40350,92738.27.031.2 0.4 19671,681,00061,22911,28949,94036.46.729.7 -0.3 19681,729,00060,90210,65350,24935.26.229.1 -0.5 19691,776,00059,63611,59948,03733.66.527.1 0.1 19701,822,00059,55711,50448,05332.76.326.4 -0.5 19711,867,00058,13810,57547,56331.25.725.5 -0.8 19721,911,00059,27410,85548,41931.05.725.4 -1.8 19731,956,00058,1779,70248,47529.85.024.8 -1.3 19742,002,00057,7499,51248,23728.94.824.1 -0.6 19752,052,00059,1759,61549,56028.94.724.2 0.8 19762,105,00060,6689,35651,31228.84.424.4 1.4 19772,162,00064,1908,90755,28329.74.125.6 1.5 19782,222,00067,7228,62559,09730.53.926.6 1.2 19792,284,00069,3189,14360,17530.44.026.4 1.5 19802,348,00070,0489,26861,78029.83.926.31.7 3.63 19812,415,00072,2948,99063,30430.03.726.2 2.33.62 19822,483,00073,1689,16864,00029.53.725.82.43.54 19832,554,00072,9449,43263,53628.63.724.9 3.73.41 19842,626,00076,8789,93166,21729.03.825.2 3.03.44 19852,699,00084,33710,49373,84131.33.927.4 0.43.72 19862,773,00083,19410,44972,74530.03.826.3 1.1 3.58 19872,848,00080,32610,68769,63928.23.824.5 2.53.36 19882,924,00081,37610,94470,43227.83.724.1 2.63.33 19893,001,00083,46011,27272,18827.83.824.1 2,2 3.35 19903,079,00081,93911,36670,57326.63.722.9 3.1 3.20 19913,156,00081,11011,79269,31825.73.722.0 3.0 3.04 19923,234,00080,16412,25367,91124.83.821.0 3.73.02 19933,312,00079,71412,54467,17024.13.820.3 3.8 3.02 19943,394,00080,39113,31367,07823.73.919.8 5.0 2.85 19953,478,00080,30614,06166,24523.14.019.0 5.7 2.78 19963,567,00079,20313,99365,21022.23.918.3 7.3 2.69 19973,658,00078,01814,26063,75821.33.917.4 8.12.68 19983,751,00076,98214,70862,27420.53.916.6 8.8 2.60 19993,842,00078,52615,05263,47420.43.916.5 7.8 2.60 20003,930,00078,17814,94463,23419.93.816.1 6.8 2.41 20014,013,00076,40115,60860,79319.03.915.1 6.0 2.28 20024,094,00071,14415,00456,14017.43.713.7 6.5 2.08 20034,171,00072,93815,80057,13817.53.813.7 5.1 2.08 20044,246,00072,24715,94956,29817.03.813.3 4.7 2.00 20054,320,00071,54816,13955,40916.63.712.8 4.6 2.00 20064,392,00071,29116,76654,52516.23.812.4 4.3 1.90 20074,463,00073,14417,07156,07316.43.812.6 3.6 1.98 20084,533,00075,18718,02157,16616.64.012.6 3.1 1.97 20094,601,00075,00018,56056,44016.24.012.2 2.8 1.95 20104,670,00070,92219,07751,84515.54.211.4 3.6 1.81 20114,738,00073,45918,80154,65815.94.111.8 2.8 1.86 20124,652,00073,32619,20054,12615.74.111.6 -29.81.8420134,713,00070,55019,64750,90315.04.210.8 2.3 1.7620144,773,00071,79320,55351,24015.04.310.7 2.0 1.7720154,832,00071,81921,03950,78014.94.310.6 1.8 1.7620164,890,00070,00422,60347,40114.34.69.7 2.3 1.7120174,947,00068,81623,25145,56513.94.79.2 2.5 1.6720185,003,00068,44923,80644,64313.74.88.9 2.4 1.6620195,058,00064,28724,23740,05012.74.87.9 3.1 1.5620205,111,20057,84826,20931,63911.45.16.3 4.2 1.4120215,173,40054,28931,08123,20810.76.14.6 7.7 1.3220225,044,197 (c)53,43528,93124,50410.55.74.8-29.7 1.3020235,136,00050,20529,18921,0169.75.64.1 14.0 1.1920245,164,86045,82530,18515,6408.95.83.1 2.61.1220255,191,82345,38430,75014,6348.75.92.81.12

(c) = Census results.

Current vital statistics + Period Live births Deaths Natural increase January–June 2025 21,868 15,523 6,345 January–June 2026 21,890 15,134 6,756 Difference +22 (+0.1%) –389 (–2.5%) +411 Source:

Fertility