Costa Rica: People & Society#
| Population | 4,872,543 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican |
| 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.) |
| Languages | Spanish (official), English |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% |
| Demographic profile | Costa Rica's political stability, high standard of living, and well-developed social benefits system set it apart from its Central American neighbors. Through the government's sustained social spending - almost 20% of GDP annually - Costa Rica has made tremendous progress toward achieving its goal of providing universal access to education, healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and electricity. Since the 1970s, expansion of these services has led to a rapid decline in infant mortality, an increase in life expectancy at birth, and a sharp decrease in the birth rate. The average number of children born per women has fallen from about 7 in the 1960s to 3.5 in the early 1980s to below replacement level today. Costa Rica's poverty rate is lower than in most Latin American countries, but it has stalled at around 20% for almost two decades. Costa Rica is a popular regional immigration destination because of its job opportunities and social programs. Almost 9% of the population is foreign-born, with Nicaraguans comprising nearly three-quarters of the foreign population. Many Nicaraguans who perform unskilled seasonal labor enter Costa Rica illegally or overstay their visas, which continues to be a source of tension. Less than 3% of Costa Rica's population lives abroad. The overwhelming majority of expatriates have settled in the United States after completing a university degree or in order to work in a highly skilled field. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 22.82% (male 568,738/female 543,312) 15-24 years: 16.75% (male 416,046/female 399,931) 25-54 years: 43.99% (male 1,078,000/female 1,065,327) 55-64 years: 8.9% (male 211,670/female 222,183) 65 years and over: 7.54% (male 169,646/female 197,690) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 45.4% youth dependency ratio: 32.4% elderly dependency ratio: 12.9% potential support ratio: 7.7% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 30.9 years male: 30.4 years female: 31.3 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.19% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 15.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 4.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Population distribution | roughly half of the nation's population resides in urban areas; the capital of San Jose is the largest city and home to approximately one-fifth of the population |
| Urbanization | urban population: 76.8% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: 2.74% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | SAN JOSE (capital) 1.17 million (2015) |
| 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.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 25 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 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.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 76.2% (2011) |
| Health expenditures | 9.3% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 1.11 physicians/1,000 population (2013) |
| Hospital bed density | 1.2 beds/1,000 population (2012) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 99.6% of population rural: 91.9% of population total: 97.8% of population unimproved: urban: 0.4% of population rural: 8.1% of population total: 2.2% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 95.2% of population rural: 92.3% of population total: 94.5% of population unimproved: urban: 4.8% of population rural: 7.7% of population total: 5.5% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.33% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 10,000 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 200 (2015 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea vectorborne diseases: dengue fever note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 24% (2014) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 1.1% (2009) |
| Education expenditures | 7.6% of GDP (2015) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.8% male: 97.7% female: 97.8% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 15 years male: 15 years female: 16 years (2014) |
| Child labor - children ages 5-14 | total number: 39,082 percentage: 5% (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 25% male: 21.3% female: 31.4% (2014 est.) |