Demographics of Costa Rica

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Costa Rica, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

According to the United Nations, in 2009 Costa Rica has an estimated population of 4,579,000 people. Together, whites and mestizos make up a 94% of the population, 3% are black people, 1% Amerindians, 1% Asians, and 1% other.

Just under 3% of the population is of black African descent who 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 ethnic Chinese, and less than 1% are Middle Easterners, mainly of Lebanese descent but also Palestinians.

There is also a community of North American retirees from the United States and Canada, followed by fairly large numbers of European Union expatriates (esp. Scandinavians and from Germany) come to retire as well, and Australians.

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

Descendants of 19th century West Indian and Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority and at 3% of the population, they number about 96,000 to 100,000.

An estimated 10% of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans.^[1] There is also a number of Colombian refugees. Moreover, Costa Rica took in lots of refugees from a range of other Latin American countries fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the 1970s and the 1980s, notably from Chile and Argentina.

Almost 100,000 Costa Ricans (2% of the country's population) live abroad, mostly in the United States, Mexico and Spain.

Costa Rica's population, (1961-2003).

Population and ancestry

In 2009, Costa Rica had a population of 4,579,000. The population is increasing at a rate of 1.5% per year. At current trends the population will increase to 9,158,000 in about 46 years.^[2] The population density is 94 people per square km, the third highest in Central America.

Approximately 40% live in rural areas and 60% in urban areas. The rate of urbanization estimated for the period 2005–2015 is 2.74% per annum,^[3] one of the highest among developing countries. About 75% of the population live in the upper lands (above 500 meters) where temperature is cooler and milder.

Education

According to the United Nations, Costa Rica's literacy rate stands at 95.8%,^[4] the fifth highest among American countries. Costa Rica's Education Index in 2006 was 0.882; higher than that of richer countries, such as Singapore and Mexico. Costa Rica's gross enrolment ratio is 73.0%, smaller than that of the neighbors countries of El Salvador and Honduras.^[5]

All students must complete primary school and secondary school, between 6 and 15 years. Some students drop out because they must work to help support their families. In 2007 there were 536,436 pupils enrolled in 3,771 primary schools and 377,900 students attended public and private secondary schools.^[6]

Costa Rica's main universities are the University of Costa Rica, in San Pedro and the National University of Costa Rica, in Heredia. Costa Rica also has several small private universities.

Emigration

Costa Rica's emigration is among the smallest in the Caribbean Basin. About 3% of the country's people live in another country as immigrants. The main destination countries are the United States, Spain, Mexico and other Central American countries. In 2005, there were 127,061 Costa Ricans living in another country as immigrants. Remittances were $513,000,000 in 2006 and they represented 2.3% of the country's GDP.

Immigration

Costa Rica's immigration is among the largest in the Caribbean Basin. According to the 2011 census 385,899 residents were born abroad.^[7] The vast majority were born in Nicaragua (287,766). Other countries of origin were Colombia (20,514), United States (16,898), Spain (16,482) and Panama (11,250). Outward Remittances were $246,000,000 in 2006.

Ethnic groups

The following listing is taken from a publication of the Costa Rica 2011 Census:^[8]

• Whites or mestizo - 3 597 847 = 83.64%
• Mulatto - 289 209 = 6.72%
• Indigenous - 104 143 = 2.42%
• Black/Afro-Caribbean - 45 228 = 1.05%
• Chinese/Asian - 9 170 = 0.21%
• Other - 36 334 = 0.84%
• Did not state - 95 140 = 2.21%

Additional info on ethnic groups

Today most Costa Ricans are of primarily Spanish ancestry with minorities of German, Italian, French, Dutch, British, Swedish and Greek ancestry. 65% being White, 13% Mestizo (mixed European and Native American). Other Europeans ethnic groups known to live in Costa Rica are Russians, Danes, Belgians, Portuguese, Croats, Hungarians, Turks, Armenians and Georgians.

Blacks live mostly along the Caribbean coast. Their ancestors came to Costa Rica from Jamaica in the late 19th century to build railroads and stayed also to work on banana plantations. There was an earlier Black population group that were mostly slaves during colonial times (1560s - 1824) but this group disappeared as it mixed with the general mestizo population. The Indians, or Native Americans, live primarily in isolated communities in the highlands and along both coasts. Only a few groups, notably the Ngobes, still keep their traditional ways of life.

Vital statistics^[9][10]

Structure of the population^[11]

Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates - the source of data is the national household survey):

Languages

Nearly all Costa Ricans speak Spanish; but many blacks speak a traditional Jamaican dialect of English, also a few of the Natives speak their own language, such as the case of the Ngobes.

Religions

Religion in Costa Rica^[12][13]

  Catholicism (70.5%)

  Protestantism (13.8%)

  Irreligion (11.3%)

  Buddhism (2.1%)

  Other religions (2.2%)

According to the World Factbook the main religions are: Roman Catholic, 76.3%; Evangelical, 13.7%; Jehovah's Witnesses, 1.3%; other Protestant, 0.7%; other, 4.8%; none, 3.2%.

The most recent nationwide survey of religion in Costa Rica, conducted in 2007 by the University of Costa Rica, found that 70.5 percent of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholics (with 44.9 percent practicing, 25.6 percent nonpracticing), 13.8 percent are Evangelical Protestants, 11.3 percent report that they do not have a religion, and 4.3 percent declare that they belong to another religion.^[14]

Apart from the dominant Catholic religion, there are several other religious groups in the country.^[14] Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Baptist, and other Protestant groups have significant membership.^[14] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) claim more than 35,000 members and has a temple in San Jose that served as a regional worship center for Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, and Honduras.^[14][15]

Although they represent less than 1 percent of the population, Jehovah's Witnesses have a strong presence on the Caribbean coast.^[14] Seventh-day Adventists operate a university that attracts students from throughout the Caribbean Basin.^[14] The Unification Church maintains its continental headquarters for Latin America in San Jose.^[14]

Non-Christian religious groups, including followers of Judaism, Islam, Taoism, Hare Krishna, Paganism, Wicca, Scientology, Tenrikyo, and the Bahá'í Faith, claim membership throughout the country, with the majority of worshipers residing in the Central Valley (the area of the capital).^[14] While there is no general correlation between religion and ethnicity, indigenous peoples are more likely to practice animism than other religions.^[14]

Article 75 of the Costa Rican Constitution states that the "Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Religion is the official religion of the Republic".^[16] That same article provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice.^[14] The US government found no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice in 2007.^[14]

Demographic statistics

The Basilica Los Angeles, Cartago, Costa Rica.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook^[17]

Nationality

• noun: Costa Rican(s)
• adjective: Costa Rican

Population

• 4,872,543 (July 2016 est.)

Languages

• Spanish (official)
• English

Ethnic groups

• White or Mestizo 83.6%
• Mulato 6.7%
• Indigenous 2.4%
• Black of African descent 1.1%
• Other 1.1%
• None 2.9%
• Unspecified 2.2% (2011 est.)

Religions

• Roman Catholic 76.3%
• Evangelical 13.7%
• Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%
• Other Protestant 0.7%
• Other 4.8%
• None 3.2%

Median age

• Total: 30.9 years
• Male: 30.4 years
• Female: 31.3 years (2016 est.)

Sex ratio

• At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• 0–14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
• 15–24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
• 25–54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
• 55–64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
• Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Infant mortality rate

• Total: 8.3 deaths/1,000 live births
• Male: 9 deaths/1,000 live births
• Female: 7.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

• Total population: 78.6 years
• Male: 75.9 years
• Female: 81.4 years (2016 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0.33%

People living with HIV/AIDS: 10,000

Deaths:200 (2015 est.)

Literacy

• Total population: 97.8%
• Male: 97.7%
• Female: 97.8% (2015 est.)

See also

• Ethnic groups in Central America

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2006 edition".

External links

• UNICEF Information about Costa Rica's Demographics
• INEC. National Institute of Statistics and Census (Spanish)

Ancestry and ethnicity in Costa Rica
Costa Ricans	Mestizo
European	Italian Spanish Swedish German
Afro-Costa Rican	Mulatto
Americas	Americans Colombians Mexicans Nicaraguans
Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica	Boruca Bribri Maleku Movere Naso Ngäbe
Asians	Chinese Jew
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