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 UN, 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% Chinese, and 1% other.
Just under 3% of the population is of black African descent who are called Afro-Costa Ricans 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.
There is also a community of North American (American and Canadian) and Australian retirees.
The indigenous population today numbers about 60,000 (1% of the population) . Descendants of 19th century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority and -- at 3% of the population -- number about 96,000.
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 80s - 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.
Population and Ancestry
In 2009, Costa Rica has a population of 4,579,000 and it's increasing at a rate of 1.52% per year, still relatively high. If this rate continues, the population will increase to 9,158,000 in about 46 years.[2] The population density is nearly 90 people per square km, the third highest in Central America.[3]
Today most Costa Ricans are of primarily Spanish ancestry or of meztizo ancestry, both groups make up 94% of the population. Costa Rica has three small minority groups: blacks, Indians and asians (mostly Chinese). Blacks represent about 3% of the population. Indians and asians represent 1.5% each.
Blacks live along the Caribbean Coast. Their ancestors came to Costa Rica from Jamaica in the late 1800's to build railoards and to work on the banana plantations. The Indians live primarily in isolated communities in the highlands and along both coasts. Most of them still keep their traditional ways of life.
Nearly all Costa Ricans speak Spanish; but many blacks speak a traditional Jamaican dialect of the English, also most of the Indians speak their own language. 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%.
Approximately 40% live in rural areas and 60% in urban areas. The rate of urbanization estimated for the period 2005-2010 is 2.3% per annum,[4] one of the highest among developing countries.
| Province | Province population | City | City population |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose Province | 1,345,750 | San Jose de Costa Rica | 350,535 |
| Alajuela Province | 716,286 | Alajuela | 46,554 |
| Cartago Province | 432,395 | Cartago | 156,600 |
| Puntarenas Province | 357,483 | Puntarenas | 102,504 |
| Heredia Province | 354,732 | Heredia | 42,600 |
| Limon Province | 339,395 | Puerto Limon | 105,000 |
| Guanacaste Province | 264,238 | Liberia | 98,751 |
Education
According to the UN, Costa Rica's literacy rate stands at 95.8%,[5] the fifth highest among Latin American Countries. Costa Rica's Education Index in 2006 was 0.882; higher than that of richer countries, such as Singapore and Mexico.
All students must complete Primary School and Secondary School, between 6 and 15 years. But some students drop out because they must work to help support their families. In 2007, 536,436 pupils were 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 Jose and the National University of Costa Rica, in Heredia. Costa Rica also has several Private Universities.
Emigration and Immigration
Costa Rica is a bipolar country in the aspect of migration. While it receives many people from nearby countries, it also provides people to other countries, mainly the US.
Costa Rica's emigration is among the smallest in the Caribbean Basin. About 3% of the country's people live in another country as "emigrants". 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 "emigrants". Remittances were $513,000,000 in 2006 and they represented 2.3% of the country's GDP.
Costa Rica's immigration is among the largest in the Caribbean Basin. Immigrants represent about 10.2% of the Costa Rican population. The main countries of origin are Nicaragua, Colombia and El Salvador. In 2005, there were 440,957 people in the country living as "immigrants". Outward Remittances were $246,000,000 in 2006.
Demographic statistics
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook and from the UN unless otherwise indicated.
Population
- 4,579,000 (2009 est.)[7]
Population Density
- 89.6 hab/sq km
Median age
- Total: 27.5 years
- Male: 27.1
- Female: 28 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate
- 1.5% (2005-2010)
Birth rate
- 17.8 births/1,000 population (2005-2010)
Death rate
- 4.1 deaths/1,000 population (2005-2010)
Net migration rate
- 1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005-2010)
Net migration (thousands)
- 84,000 migrant(s) (2005-2010)[8]
Sex ratio
- At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
- Total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate
- 9.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2005-2010)
Under five mortality rate
- 11.4/1,000 live births (2005-2010)
Life expectancy at birth
- Total population: 78.8 years
- Male: 76.5 years
- Female: 81.2 years (2005-2010)
Total fertility rate
- 2.10 children born/woman (2005-2010)
HIV/AIDS
- Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2007)
- People living with HIV/AIDS: 9,700 (2007)
- Deaths: fewer than 200 (2007)
Nationality
- Noun: Costa Rican(s)
- Adjective: Costa Rican
Ethnic groups
- White 82%
- Mestizo 15%
- Black/Afro-Caribbean 3%
- Amerindian 1%
- Chinese 1%
Religions
- Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
Languages
- Spanish (official), English
Literacy
- Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
- Total population: 94.9% (2007/2008)
See also
References
- ^ www.state.gov Background Note: Costa Rica - People
- ^ http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2212.html?countryName=Costa%20Rica&countryCode=cs®ionCode=ca&#cs
- ^ http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf
- ^ "Costa Rica - MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwbHIv21.
- ^ [1] Background Note: UN Population Report
- ^ http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/ddpreports/ViewSharedReport?&CF=1&REPORT_ID=9147&REQUEST_TYPE=VIEWADVANCED&HF=N&WSP=N
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 (in Spanish)
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