Costa Rica

Drinking water is generally potable from the tap in most of the country, though the WHO/UNICEF JMP safely managed figure sits at about 80.5% (World Bank, 2022), reflecting rural and coastal supply that is not always monitored to that standard. The dry north-west, Guanacaste, faces genuine seasonal water stress that worsens in drought years. Abundant, largely clean freshwater keeps this high without quite reaching the top band.

uction of fruit, vegetables, rice and beans. It does import staple grains, so it is not fully self-sufficient. A reliable single share-of-food-imported figure could not be verified, so that stat is left blank and the pillar is scored from documented facts. Fresh local produce is cheap and easy to find at the weekly farmers' markets.

tropical fruit. This makes cheap, unprocessed, plant-based eating the cultural norm rather than a niche. Tourist towns and San Jose also have a well-developed vegetarian and vegan scene. Whole-food plant meals are genuinely easy here.

Costa Rica does have established organic export lines in coffee, banana, pineapple and cacao, and agroecology is promoted, but the certified area remains a minor share of farmland. The country's environmental strengths lie more in forests and energy than in organic acreage.

round Cocos Island. It famously reversed one of the world's fastest deforestation rates, roughly doubling forest cover to about 60% since the 1980s, using a pioneering Payments for Environmental Services scheme that pays landowners to keep forest standing. Its national parks are well established and actively managed through SINAC. Strong coverage on land and sea, backed by real enforcement and finance, earns the top band.

frog species to sloths, monkeys, tapirs and jaguars. Two coastlines host major sea-turtle nesting, including the mass arribada of olive ridley turtles at Ostional. Endemism is high, with unique species on remote Cocos Island such as the Cocos finch, and the country has actively rebuilt habitat through reforestation and biological corridors. This is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth for its size.

carve balsa masks for the Fiesta de los Diablitos. Everyday craft also includes basketry and vegetable-fibre work. There is no large-scale wool or linen tradition in this tropical country, and consumer textiles are mostly imported and synthetic.

sive enforced ban on plastic bags across the whole country. Air quality is moderate rather than pristine, with a modelled national mean PM2.5 of about 17.7 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023 (World Bank), reflecting traffic in the Central Valley and some agricultural burning. Litter is generally well managed in protected and tourist areas. Policy ambition is high but not yet fully realised.

l goes to landfill. Infrastructure and separate collection are uneven between the Central Valley and rural areas. Recycling culture is growing but modest.

Its carbon intensity is one of the lowest in the world and emissions are just 1.71 tonnes of CO2 per person in 2024 (Our World in Data). The National Decarbonisation Plan sets a path to net-zero emissions by 2050 across transport, energy and land use (IEA). Together these place Costa Rica among the cleanest and lowest-emitting energy systems anywhere.

uided forest walks on their territories. Rural community tourism is well developed and locally owned in many areas, and the Nicoya Peninsula is one of the world's Blue Zones of exceptional longevity. Much of the wider ecotourism industry, however, is large-scale and partly foreign-owned, so not all revenue reaches local communities.

The oxcart, or carreta, and the ox-driving boyeo tradition remain a point of national pride. On the Caribbean coast the Afro-descendant community of Limon keeps calypso and its own Creole culture. Indigenous Bribri, Cabecar and Boruca peoples continue ancestral practice, including the Boruca Fiesta de los Diablitos.