Costa Rica 🇨🇷
Costa Rica is a country in North America with a population of 5,180,829. Its capital is San José. The official currency is CRC, and the main languages are Spanish.
Quick facts
- Capital: San José
- Continent: North America
- Population: 5,180,829
- Area: 51,100 km²
- Density: 101 people per km²
- Currency: CRC
- Languages: Spanish
- ISO code: CR
Where Costa Rica sits
Costa Rica 🇨🇷 is one of 23 countries in North America, with its capital at San José. It covers 51,100 square kilometres — 126th in the world — and is home to about 5,180,829 people, 122nd globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include United States, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Costa Rica compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Costa Rica sits closest to New Zealand and Liberia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovakia.
At 101 people per square kilometre it is somewhat above the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Spanish is an official language in 20 countries here, among them Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia, and 15 others. The CRC is used by Costa Rica and no one else.
To see Costa Rica next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Costa Rica
Costa Rica means 'rich coast', and San José sits in the Central Valley between the two coasts. Thailand's flag has the same stripe pattern, but Costa Rica's has red in the middle with blue at the edges and Thailand's has blue in the middle with red at the edges.
The flag of Costa Rica: blue, white and red
🇨🇷 The flag is five horizontal stripes of blue, white, a wide red stripe, white and blue, with the coat of arms on the red stripe. Blue stands for the sky, opportunity and perseverance, white for peace, happiness and wisdom, and red for the blood shed for freedom and the warmth and generosity of the people.
Region and neighbours
Costa Rica is a country in Central America with coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It shares land borders with 2 countries: Nicaragua and Panama.
- Nicaragua 🇳🇮 — capital Managua
- Panama 🇵🇦 — capital Panama City
Three facts about Costa Rica
- After a short civil war in 1948, Costa Rica abolished its army, and its 1949 constitution made that permanent.
- Forest cover in Costa Rica grew from about 20% of the land in the 1980s to over 50% by 2013.
- Although it is small, Costa Rica is home to about 5% of the world's known species of plants and animals.
Sources: Wikipedia: Costa Rica, Wikipedia: Flag of Costa Rica, Wikipedia: San José, Costa Rica, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Costa Rica
- North American capitals quiz — match Costa Rica to San José
- North American flags quiz — spot the Costa Rica flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Costa Rica
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Costa Rica those are:
- North America map quiz — place it on a blank map
- North America flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- North America capitals quiz — match it to San José
- Costa Rica capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Costa Rica
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Costa Rica
- Capital of Costa Rica: San José — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 23 countries of North America
Nearby countries
- Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬 — capital Saint John's
- Bahamas 🇧🇸 — capital Nassau
- Barbados 🇧🇧 — capital Bridgetown
- Belize 🇧🇿 — capital Belmopan
- Canada 🇨🇦 — capital Ottawa
- Cuba 🇨🇺 — capital Havana
- Dominica 🇩🇲 — capital Roseau
- Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 — capital Santo Domingo
- El Salvador 🇸🇻 — capital San Salvador
- Grenada 🇬🇩 — capital Saint George's
- Guatemala 🇬🇹 — capital Guatemala City
- Haiti ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¹ — capital Port-au-Prince
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Costa Rica flag?
The flag of Costa Rica is five horizontal stripes of blue, white, a wide red stripe, white and blue, with the coat of arms on the red stripe. Blue stands for the sky, opportunity and perseverance, white for peace, happiness and wisdom, and red for the blood shed for freedom and the warmth and generosity of the people.
Which countries border Costa Rica?
Costa Rica shares land borders with Nicaragua and Panama.
How can I remember the capital of Costa Rica?
Costa Rica means 'rich coast', and San José sits in the Central Valley between the two coasts. Thailand's flag has the same stripe pattern, but Costa Rica's has red in the middle with blue at the edges and Thailand's has blue in the middle with red at the edges.