Every figure below carries its named source and year. The Eco Index scores twelve pillars on the same scale everywhere; seven are measured from published data with fixed thresholds, five are assessed from the named sources.
Costa Rica at a Glance.
The score, and the four numbers that set the tone. 12 equally-weighted pillars, every pillar sourced.
Compare with:
Renewable power
99%
of electricity
Food imported
13%
of merchandise imports · ~US$3,640m a year
The Eco Index across 12 pillars · scored 0 to 5 · World Bank, OWID, WHO/UNICEF JMP, FiBL, Protected Planet, IUCN, UNESCO (2023-24)
Water
Food & farming
Plant-based
Organic
Conservation
Wildlife
Materials
Pollution
Recycling
Energy
Culture
Heritage
Facts That Surprise People About Costa Rica.
The numbers and firsts that change how you see Costa Rica, the sobering and the remarkable. Every one is dated and linked to its source.
SoberingFood
Pesticide use ten times the global average
A study published in 2026 estimated pesticide use on Costa Rican cropland at 21.91 kg of active ingredients per hectare a year. The global average is 2.18 kg and the Central American average 7.16 kg.
SoberingEnvironment
Heavy fertiliser use on farmland
In 2024, Costa Rica used 1,402.5 kg of fertiliser per hectare of arable land, according to World Bank data.
SoberingHealth
Two in three adults are overweight
In 2022, 66.9% of adults in Costa Rica were overweight.
Source: World Bank, Prevalence of overweight (% of adults) · 2022
SoberingHealth
Only a quarter have safely managed sanitation
In 2024, just 26.3% of Costa Ricans used safely managed sanitation services, even though 80.5% had safely managed drinking water.
Source: World Bank, People using safely managed sanitation services · 2024
RemarkableHistory
A country without an army
Costa Rica abolished its army on 1 December 1948. The Constituent Assembly made the abolition part of the constitution in October 1949.
RemarkableEnvironment
Almost all electricity is renewable
In 2021, 99.4% of Costa Rica's electricity came from renewable sources.
Source: World Bank, Renewable electricity output · 2021
RemarkableNature
Forest covers most of the country
Forest covered 59.1% of Costa Rica's land area in 2024.
Source: World Bank, Forest area (% of land area) · 2024
Worth knowingPeople
The Nicoya blue zone is disputed
The Nicoya Peninsula is often named as a blue zone of long lives. A 2023 study found that the advantage holds for people born before 1930, but Nicoyan men born in 1945 had 10% higher adult death rates than other Costa Ricans.
The History of Costa Rica.
Costa Rican heritage stays alive in the punto guanacasteco, declared the national dance in 1944, and in the marimba, one of the most emblematic instruments of Guanacaste. The painted oxcart, or carreta, and the oxherding tradition are recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage and still appear in parades and celebrations.
Where the name comes from
The name is Spanish and means 'the rich coast', according to the Store norske leksikon, the Norwegian national encyclopedia.
The land itself: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains carrying more than a hundred volcanic cones, several of them active. Its high point is Cerro Chirripó, 3,819 m. Source: national mapping and survey records.
Where it starts
The stone spheres
The first human groups reached the territory of Costa Rica around 12,000 years ago. Between AD 500 and 1500 chiefdoms in the Diquís Delta built settlements with mounds, paved areas and burials, and placed stone spheres up to 2.57 m across among their homes. Guayabo, on the slopes of Turrialba volcano, was the first archaeological site Costa Rica opened to the public, with stone mounds, cobbled roads, tombs and water tanks that still work. From about AD 800 large villages competed for territory, and goldwork and regional trade spread. UNESCO inscribed the Diquís settlements in 2014, the country's first cultural World Heritage site.
How it got here
Independence, then no army
Spanish conquerors arrived in 1502, and independence from Spain was declared in 1821. After the revolution of 1948 Costa Rica abolished its army on 1 December 1948, and in October 1949 the Constituent Assembly wrote the abolition into the constitution.
The timeline
c. 12,000 years ago
The first inhabitants.
Archaeological evidence shows that the first human groups reached the territory of Costa Rica around 12,000 years ago. Source
AD 500 to 1500
The stone spheres of the Diquis.
Chiefdoms in the Diquís Delta built settlements with mounds, paved areas and burial sites, and placed stone spheres between 0.7 m and 2.57 m across among their homes. Source
c. 1000 BC to AD 1400
Guayabo.
Guayabo, on the south-eastern slopes of Turrialba volcano, was the first archaeological site Costa Rica opened to the public, with stone mounds, cobbled roads, tombs and water tanks that still work. Source
AD 800 to the 16th century
Late chiefdoms.
Large villages ruled rival territories, building mounds, aqueducts and causeways, while goldwork and regional trade spread. Source
1502
European contact.
Spanish conquerors arrive in 1502, and a new way of life based on the exploitation of Indigenous labour begins. Source
1821
Independence from Spain.
Independence is declared in 1821, and a provisional constitution, the Pacto de Concordia, governs the young state until 1823. Source
1948
The army is abolished.
Costa Rica abolishes its standing army following civil war, and writes the abolition into its constitution. Source
2014
World Heritage.
The Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquis are inscribed by UNESCO, the country's first cultural World Heritage site. Source
Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, Historia profunda · UNESCO World Heritage, Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquis · Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, Incertidumbre e independencia · UNESCO World Heritage, Costa Rica · Biblioteca Nacional de Costa Rica (SINABI), Abolición del ejército en Costa Rica · The Tico Times, The ruins of Guayabo
Nature and Biodiversity in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is a global conservation model, protecting about 26.6% of its land and roughly 28.4% of its territorial waters (World Bank, 2025) after a major 2021 expansion of marine protection around 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.
Is wild Costa Rica protected? 26.6% of the land is, against a 30% target for 2030
How protected is nature in Costa Rica?
Forest cover59.1%
Terrestrial protected area26.6%
Marine protected area28.4%
500 listed as threatened.
World Bank Open Data · Protected Planet (UNEP-WCMC / WDPA) · GBIF occurrence data · IUCN Red List, threatened species by country (Summary Statistics, Table 5) · World Bank, Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters), Costa Rica · World Bank, Threatened species counts (mammals, birds, fish, higher plants), Costa Rica
Found only here. High endemism, including the coppery-headed emerald hummingbird found only in Costa Rica and the Cocos finch and Cocos flycatcher restricted to remote Isla del Coco.
The watchlist
ThreatenedGreat Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (bird).
ThreatenedHawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (turtle).
ThreatenedHammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray).
ThreatenedLemur Leaf Frog (Agalychnis lemur) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (amphibian).
ThreatenedReef starlet coral (Siderastrea siderea) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (coral).
ThreatenedEuphorbia geroldii Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data, though it is native to south-eastern Madagascar and occurs here only as an introduced ornamental (plant).
ThreatenedYellow-naped Amazon (Amazona auropalliata) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (bird).
ThreatenedClown Frog (Atelopus varius) Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (amphibian).
What is still here, and what is gone?
Tap a species for the honest status.
Closest to being lost, by name
Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Costa Rica. GBIF holds 262 verified occurrence records.
Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Costa Rica. GBIF holds 53 verified occurrence records.
Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna lewini)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Costa Rica. GBIF holds 24 verified occurrence records.
Lemur Leaf Frog (Agalychnis lemur)
Critically Endangered, the last IUCN category before Extinct in the Wild, and still recorded in Costa Rica. GBIF holds 43 verified occurrence records.
Species named here are drawn from GBIF occurrence records for Costa Rica filtered to the IUCN Red List threatened categories. Species are listed where GBIF holds occurrence records for them in this country. Record counts are not published here because the figure cannot be reproduced from a public GBIF query.
Who is putting it back
National park in Talamanca, mapped and named in the open record for Costa Rica. OpenStreetMap.
Nature reserve in Alajuela Province, mapped and named in the open record for Costa Rica. OpenStreetMap.
Nature reserve in Nicoya, mapped and named in the open record for Costa Rica. OpenStreetMap.
Nature reserve in El Guarco, mapped and named in the open record for Costa Rica. OpenStreetMap.
Botanical garden in Talamanca, mapped and named in the open record for Costa Rica. OpenStreetMap.
Botanical garden in Alajuela Province, mapped and named in the open record for Costa Rica. OpenStreetMap.
Water and Ocean in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is naturally water-rich, with high rainfall, volcanic aquifers and a dense network of rivers giving it about 22,236 cubic metres of renewable fresh water per person a year, far above the UN water-scarcity line though 15th of 36 countries in the Americas (World Bank and FAO AQUASTAT, 2022). 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.
Does Costa Rica have enough fresh water? Yes, with headroom
80.5% of people here have safely managed drinking water at home (2024, WHO/UNICEF JMP). Most homes have a safe supply, but coverage is not universal, so check locally before drinking from the tap.
Cleanest water: Highland cloud-forest streams and the rivers of the Osa Peninsula and Rio Celeste.
How much fresh water does Costa Rica have, per person?
22,236 m³
Costa Rica
1,000 m³
the UN “water scarce” line
Costa Rica withdraws about 3,447 million cubic metres of fresh water a year (2022). That is 5.9% of the fresh water actually available to it, which FAO counts as no water stress. Of what is taken, farming takes 61%, homes and towns 32%, industry 7%. Source: FAO AQUASTAT.
What are the rules on Costa Rica beaches?
·Tap water: Varies.
✓Plastic rules: Partial. A national ban on expanded polystyrene containers under Ley 9703, and a national ban on selling or giving away plastic carrier bags and single-use straws under Ley 9786, in force since 20 August 2024, with exceptions for certified reusable and biodegradable bags..
✕Solo travel: rated take care on the record for this destination.
✕Marine protection: 29% of the sea is protected. The 30x30 pledge for 2030 is not met yet.
Named on the open map: Playa Albina, Playa Bajo Grande, Playa Barrigona, Playa Bellavista, Playa Blanca, Playa Cabuya, Playa Calera, Playa Carrizal. That is 24 named beaches in the public record for Costa Rica, each one a place you can look up before you go. OpenStreetMap.
Where does the sewage go?
26.3%
of people have safely managed sanitation
26.3% of people here use a safely managed sanitation service, meaning waste is contained, emptied and treated rather than reaching the ground or the sea untreated (2024, World Bank / WHO-UNICEF JMP, SDG 6.2.1). The rest is what the rivers and the coast receive.
How is the sea around Costa Rica doing?
One cross-section, every answer measured.
Surface
What the coast carries
Rainy (green) season May–Nov; Caribbean coast has its own wet window Sep–Nov; nesting turtles most of the year.
Nearshore
Protected water
28.4% of territorial waters are protected, against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Cleanest
Where the water is cleanest
Highland cloud-forest streams and the rivers of the Osa Peninsula and Rio Celeste..
The record
Measured
Costa Rica is naturally water-rich, with high rainfall, volcanic aquifers and a dense network of rivers giving it about 22,236 cubic metres of renewable fresh water per person a year, far above the UN water-scarcity line though 15th of 36 countries in the Americas (World Bank and FAO AQUASTAT, 2022). 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.
Costa Rica scored 70 out of 100 on the Ocean Health Index in its 2025 assessment, below the global average of 72, and ranked 136th of 220 coastal regions. The index team says it is no longer updating scores, so the 2025 figures may be the last.
Sea protected
28.4%
Against the 30% pledged for 2030 under the Global Biodiversity Framework.
Threatened species
500
Mammals, birds, fish and higher plants on the IUCN list.
Is the tap water safe in Costa Rica?
80.5% of people have safely managed drinking water at home (2024, WHO/UNICEF JMP). Renewable fresh water works out at about 22,236 cubic metres per person a year (World Bank).
How hard is the water supply being pushed?
Of every 10 buckets nature refills, 1 are already taken. Withdrawals run at 5.9% of what Costa Rica renews internally each year (2022, World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT). That is inside the 25% mark generally treated as water stress, so the supply has headroom.
Seaweed on the beaches. Sargassum seaweed washes up on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast in Limón. A study published in Hidrobiológica in 2021 measured an unusual stranding at Puerto Viejo and Punta Uva in March and April 2019, with algae also recorded from Cahuita to Manzanillo. In February 2026 the environment ministry (MINAE) reported sargassum building up in and around Tortuguero National Park after a tropical wave, possibly one of the largest accumulations recently recorded on the northern Caribbean coast, and issued an early warning for Manzanillo and Puerto Viejo. MINAE does not remove it inside the protected area, treating it as a natural event; the seaweed usually rots, dries or is carried back out to sea.
When is the best time to visit Costa Rica? Tap your month.
Tap your month.
How much fresh water does Costa Rica actually have?
Nature renews about 22,236 cubic metres of fresh water per person per year here. That ranks Costa Rica 180 of 208 countries measured, placing it among the 30 best-watered countries measured. The UN treats anything under 1,000 cubic metres as water scarce, and this is above that line. World Bank / FAO AQUASTAT.
FAO AQUASTAT · WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme · World Bank Open Data · Ocean Health Index, Costa Rica · Ocean Health Index, Global scores · Delfino.cr, Minae reporta presencia de sargazo en el Caribe Norte de Costa Rica (24 Feb 2026) · Hidrobiológica, Cabrera (2021), Unusual drift of Sargassum for the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica
Food and Drink in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is strongly agricultural and a major exporter. It is the world's leading exporter of pineapple and the second largest exporter of bananas, according to Trade Map data cited by PROCOMER. Basic grains are a much smaller story. National rice production fell 58% between the 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 harvests, from 154,173 to 64,639 tonnes, and the country imports large volumes of rice, so it is not self-sufficient in staple grains.
Where does the food in Costa Rica come from?
13.2% imported
about US$3,640m a year
On the plate: Rice and black beans (gallo pinto and the casado plate), plantain, cassava (yuca), maize tortillas, and year-round tropical fruit, coffee.
1 of 10
bites are imported
The island buys in more food energy than it eats. About US$3,640m a year leaves the country to pay for it. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
About 13.2% of everything Costa Rica buys in from abroad is food, roughly 1 in every 10 imported items on the dock (2024, World Bank). Farming itself is 3.4% of the economy and 31.4% of the land is agricultural, of which 3.3% is arable. The green slice is roughly what still grows here.
What is killing people in Costa Rica? The imported diet.
Cause of death, and the diet behind it.
Non-communicable diseases, all combined66.9%
Diabetes9.8%
An internal audit by the national health service, the CCSS, reported by La Nación in August 2026, found serious gaps in diabetic foot care and cited a May 2025 presentation by a CCSS regional network director saying Hospital San Rafael de Alajuela was carrying out between six and 10 amputations a week. An earlier study in a low income community followed 572 people with diabetes from 2001 to 2007 and found 6.02 lower limb amputations per 1,000 person years. Source: La Nación.
Adults living with overweight or obesity. 66.9%.
Can Costa Rica feed itself?
3.3%
Arable land
31.4%
Agricultural land
278,864
Farmers
412,995
Arable acres
3.4%
Agriculture, share of GDP
Harvest: Coffee is harvested roughly November to March; tropical fruit crops year-round, with a dry season December to April and a green season May to November.
Feeding itself
Costa Rica is strongly agricultural and a major exporter, the world's leading exporter of pineapple and one of the largest exporters of bananas, and a well-known coffee origin, with large domestic production of fruit and vegetables. Basic grains are a much smaller story: national rice production fell 57% between 2020 and 2024, to 64,214 tonnes, and bean production runs at about 11,000 tonnes a year. It does import staple grains, so it is not fully self-sufficient.
Certification
Certified organic farmland is small, around 0.6% of agricultural land (about 11,465 hectares) in the FiBL 2020 data. 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.
Water for crops
Costa Rica is naturally water-rich, with high rainfall, volcanic aquifers and a dense network of rivers giving it about 22,236 cubic metres of renewable fresh water per person a year, far above the UN water-scarcity line though 15th of 36 countries in the Americas (World Bank and FAO AQUASTAT, 2022). 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.
Why the organic number looks like that. Certification covers only part of what is grown cleanly, so a small certified share is a gap in the paperwork rather than proof that nothing is. What the official land record does show: 31.4% of the country is agricultural land and 3.3% is arable (2023, World Bank). Certification is paid for per farm per year by a foreign body, which prices out smallholders, so the organic number reads worse than the practice.
What actually grows here
SugarcanePineapplesBananasOil palm fruitFruitsOrangesCassava
The food that already fits
The plant-based kitchen here is not an import. By tonnage, the largest crops grown in Costa Rica are sugar cane, pineapples, bananas, oil palm fruit and oranges (FAO, FAOSTAT crop production, 2024). That is what the land itself puts on a plate.
Buy direct where residents buy: Asociación Mercado Ecológico El Guayabo (Mercado Nicoya), Bazaar Dias, MateBlack Bazaar, Mercado Oriental, PedidosYa Market. Each is a mapped, named marketplace, so the money stays with the seller rather than the importer. OpenStreetMap.
Not yet checked by us. Plant based kitchens listed publicly: Sopitas, vegan soup cafe in Barrio Escalante, San José: soups and focaccia made with local ingredients; PURALMA Vegan Bakery, vegan bakery in San José: cakes, pastries and plant based versions of Costa Rican desserts; FCH Sweetness Pastry, vegan bakery in Curridabat: baked goods to order for pickup or delivery, no shop front; La Nutria Vegana, vegan restaurant in La Virgen, Sarapiquí: veggie burgers, casado, tacos and falafel by the river, cash only. Tell us how they are.
Is this grown in Costa Rica?
Tap a food for the honest answer.
RicePlantainMaize tortillasYear-round tropical fruitCoffee
World Bank Open Data · FAO, FAOSTAT crop production · World Health Organization · FAO AQUASTAT · La Nación, Los hospitales están llenos de secuelas que se pudieron haber evitado (7 August 2026) · Rev Panam Salud Publica 2012, Diabetes-related lower-extremity amputation incidence and risk factors: a prospective seven-year study in Costa Rica · HappyCow, San Jose, Costa Rica vegan listings (print page) · Delfino.cr, Costa Rica líder mundial en exportaciones de dispositivos médicos, piña y jugo de piña (PROCOMER, Trade Map, 2024) · CRHoy, Caída en cultivo del arroz influye en retroceso del sector agropecuario (Conarroz data cited by BCCR, 2024) · CRHoy, Ruta del Arroz desapareció a 112 productores y 11.027 hectáreas (rice imports, Conarroz) · Semanario Universidad, Encuesta Nacional Agropecuaria 2024 (INEC), area sown to rice, maize and plantain
Climate and Energy in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica generates more than 98% of its electricity from low-carbon sources, drawing on hydropower at around 75%, wind at about 12% and geothermal at roughly 11% (Low Carbon Power, 2025). 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.
What powers Costa Rica?
Renewable 99.4%Fossil 0%
Electricity in Costa Rica is built around ICE, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, a government run group that includes the national electricity provider CNFL. Founded to end power shortages in the 1940s, ICE raised electricity coverage from 14 per cent to over 90 per cent in its first 40 years, and in April 2024 it said 10,000 families still had no power at home. Attempts to reform ICE through new laws in 1999 and 2000 led to major protests. About 99.4 per cent of the country's electricity came from renewable sources in 2021 (World Bank).
Climate pollution per person
The safe amount, what the planet can absorb
2 tonnes
One person here
1.63 tonnes
The world average, for comparison
4.7 tonnes
The worst it ever got
1.76 tonnes
The grid
Costa Rica generates more than 98% of its electricity from low-carbon sources, drawing on hydropower at around 75%, wind at about 12% and geothermal at roughly 11% (Low Carbon Power, 2025). 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).
Pollution
Costa Rica has a national strategy to phase out single-use plastics and banned expanded polystyrene containers nationally under Ley 9703, in force since August 2021. Under Ley 9786 it also prohibits selling or giving away plastic carrier bags and single-use straws nationwide, in force since 20 August 2024, with exceptions for certified reusable and biodegradable bags and for butcher and produce bags. 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.
Water stress
Costa Rica is naturally water-rich, with high rainfall, volcanic aquifers and a dense network of rivers giving it about 22,236 cubic metres of renewable fresh water per person a year, far above the UN water-scarcity line though 15th of 36 countries in the Americas (World Bank and FAO AQUASTAT, 2022). 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.
What pollutes most here
1The grid The share of electricity still generated from fossil fuel.0.6%
2Industry Intensive pineapple and banana monoculture, associated with heavy agrochemical use and water contamination in some lowland areas..named
3Air Modelled annual mean against a WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.17.7
4On the record Costa Rica has a national strategy to phase out single-use plastics and banned expanded polystyrene containers nationally under Ley 9703, in force since August 2021. Under Ley 9786 it also prohibits selling or giving away plastic carrier bags and single-use straws nationwide, in force since 20 August 2024, with exceptions for certified reusable and biodegradable bags and for butcher and produce bags.
What has Costa Rica promised on climate?
Net zero, whole economy2050
Electricity renewable today99.4% (2021)
Land protected, against a 30% target26.6% by 2025
Sea protected, against a 30% target28.4% by 2025
The net-zero target year on file with Climate Watch is 2050, status: in policy document. Measured against it, 99.4% of electricity is already renewable (2021, World Bank), so 0.6% of the grid is still to be converted. The pledge on file is measured here against what has actually been delivered, not taken on its own (UNFCCC NDC Registry, CBD Kunming-Montreal Target 3).
The biggest line item
One return flight against a whole year of living.
A resident's entire year1.63 t CO2e
Safe-climate budget, per year2 t CO2e
Singapore return, economy3.33 t CO2e
Dubai return, economy2.55 t CO2e
Sydney return, economy2.49 t CO2e
Johannesburg return, economy2.29 t CO2e
Frankfurt return, economy1.68 t CO2e
How much CO2 does flying to Costa Rica emit?
Tap where you would fly from. One return flight, economy.
Firsts on climate finance. The Green Climate Fund lists 15 projects involving Costa Rica, with US$364 million of GCF financing, plus US$6.6 million in readiness support. In November 2020 the fund's board approved US$54.1 million in results based payments to Costa Rica for cutting 14.08 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent through reduced deforestation in 2014 and 2015, paid in full in April 2021 and reinvested through the country's forestry law and its Payments for Environmental Services programme. The fund also backs a light rail project for the Greater Metropolitan Area through the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (FP166).
Climate Watch (WRI) · UNFCCC NDC Registry · World Bank Open Data · UK DESNZ greenhouse gas conversion factors · Wikipedia, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad · La República, ICE cumple 75 años impulsando la electrificación renovable (8 April 2024) · World Bank, Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) · Green Climate Fund, Costa Rica · Green Climate Fund, FP144 Costa Rica REDD-plus Results-Based Payments for 2014 and 2015
AI and Data Centres in Costa Rica.
Every prompt runs on a machine in a building on somebody’s grid. What that costs the planet depends less on the prompt than on what is burning to power it. Here is what would power one in Costa Rica.
Data centres
8
Registered colocation and interconnection facilities, PeeringDB, 2026
Grid renewable
99.4 %
What a machine here runs on.
What powers a data centre in Costa Rica?
Running AI here is about as clean as it currently gets.
Renewable 99.4%Fossil 0.6%
Cooling water. Every one of those halls runs on the national grid, which is 99.4% renewable today (World Bank). A data centre is only as clean as the electricity behind it, so the same figure that decides this country's climate score also decides the footprint of the AI running inside it. Cooling water use is not separately published by facility, and no operator here reports it.
The rules. Costa Rica has 8 colocation and interconnection facilities on the public PeeringDB register, concentrated in San Jose (4), Alajuela (1), Sabana Sur (1), alongside 3 internet exchanges (CRIX, Navégalo IXPCR, IXP INFOCOM). Named sites include Critical Colocation, Rack Lodge Data Center, CRIX, ADN Datacenters.
Where the cables land. 2 landing points · Puerto Limon, Unqui
Economy and Tourism in Costa Rica.
60% residents to 40% visitors across a year. 3,366,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 5,152,950 people who live here (2025, World Bank / UN Tourism).
Where a visitor dollar goes in Costa Rica
1,147k
Visitors a year
0.2
Visitors per resident
How deep in debt is Costa Rica?· for every $100 Costa Rica earns in a year, it owes…
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · the 2021 peak
$ 67The worst year on the IMF record. Costa Rica owed $67 for every $100 it earned.
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2021signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · today
$ 61What is owed now, for every $100 of national income (2026).
IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026signed, the creditors
Pay to the order of: the creditorsmemo · projected 2031
$ 59The IMF's own forecast has this falling to $59 by 2031.
IMF World Economic Outlook projection, 2031signed, the forecast
For every $100 Costa Rica earns in a year, it owes $61 (2026, IMF World Economic Outlook). The interest on that is paid before schools, clinics or coastline get their turn.
Where does a tourist dollar actually go in Costa Rica?
Play one tourist dollar around the board. Every square is a measured fact from this page.
START!
1
GO: a visitor lands
$100 goes on the table. 3,366,000 international arrivals in 2019 against 5,152,950 residents, 0.7 visitors for every resident (World Bank / UN Tourism).
$100 in play2
The bed
Who owns the largest places to stay in Costa Rica is not published in the records we can check, so this square is left open rather than guessed. Where a listing names its owner, it is shown in the ownership table below.
not published3
The plate
Food is only 13.2% of everything Costa Rica imports (2024, World Bank), so most of a meal is bought from producers inside the country. Eating what the land here actually grows, sugarcane, pineapples, bananas, oil palm fruit, fruits, oranges, cassava, keeps that money with the grower.
mostly home-grown4
The power
99.4% of the electricity is renewable (2021, World Bank), so the energy on the bill is mostly generated inside the country rather than shipped in.
made at home5
What actually stays
Of the two parts of a visitor's bill that can be measured here, the plate and the power stay inside Costa Rica. This is not an economy where a visitor's money drains away, and the board is shorter for it.
most of it6
Pay the bank first
Costa Rica owes $61 for every $100 it earns (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). The interest is paid before anything else on this board.
$61 per $1007
No plan B
42.0% of everything Costa Rica sells abroad is optical, medical and precision instruments (2023, UN Comtrade). One market moving takes the whole board with it.
42.0% one export8
Community chest
Tourism earns 7.4% of everything Costa Rica makes from exports (2020, World Bank / UN Tourism). That is how much of the economy depends on the game continuing.
7.4% of exports9
The flight
Getting here is usually the biggest single line on the bill. From Singapore a return economy seat is 3.33 t CO2, on the UK Government's published conversion factors. It is the one part of the trip this board cannot reduce.
3.33 t CO210
Back to GO
The economy turns over about US$110 billion a year (IMF World Economic Outlook, 2026 projection). Every lap of this board is a choice about how much of it stays.
US$110bnGDPUS$102.9bn
Agriculture, share of GDP3.4%
Visitors a year1,146,500
Visitors per resident0.2
Residents~5,152,950
Agriculture
Farming is 3.4% of the economy. Costa Rica is strongly agricultural and a major exporter, the world's leading exporter of pineapple and one of the largest exporters of bananas, and a well-known coffee origin, with large domestic production of fruit and vegetables. Basic grains are a much smaller story: national rice production fell 57% between 2020 and 2024, to 64,214 tonnes, and bean production runs at about 11,000 tonnes a year.
Natural materials
Costa Rica has some living natural-materials craft, most notably the Boruca (Brunca) Indigenous people of the south, who weave cotton on backstrap looms and colour it with natural dyes, and carve balsa masks for the Fiesta de los Diablitos. Everyday craft also includes basketry and vegetable-fibre work.
Energy
Costa Rica generates more than 98% of its electricity from low-carbon sources, drawing on hydropower at around 75%, wind at about 12% and geothermal at roughly 11% (Low Carbon Power, 2025). 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).
Who owns the biggest hotels in Costa Rica?
By rooms · company records and press.
Volcano Lodge · ~68 roomsIndependentnot published
Xandari Resort and Spa · ~24 roomsIndependentnot published
Tocu Tent Camp · ~6 roomsIndependentnot published
Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge · ~12 roomsIndependentnot published
Pacuare Lodge · ~20 roomsIndependentnot published
Playa Cativo · ~18 roomsIndependentnot published
Rancho Humo · ~10 roomsIndependentnot published
Rio Perdido · ~30 roomsIndependentnot published
Samasati Rainforest · ~10 roomsIndependentnot published
Sangregado Lodge · ~14 roomsIndependentnot published
Visitors, over time
20152,899k
20163,204k
20173,231k
20183,313k
20193,366k
20201,146k
International tourism receipts run at about US$1.48 billion in 2020 (World Bank / UN Tourism). That is 7.4% of everything the country earns from exports.
How much of your money actually stays here?
Tap the holiday you are planning.
Visiting Costa Rica, whoever you are.
Resort guest, villa renter, family, nomad or backpacker. The honest playbook for each, from the same sourced numbers.
Already booked a resort? · the rescue list
Five swaps that move your money back on-island
1. Eat where the country eats Choose kitchens cooking rice and black beans (gallo pinto and the casado plate), plantain, cassava (yuca), maize tortillas, and year-round tropical fruit; coffee. over imported menus.
2. Book with a local operator Never the lobby desk. The margin on a tour is the part that stays.
3. Stay somewhere locally owned Ownership decides where the room rate books. Eco stays
4. Use the transport residents use A hire car, ideally with four-wheel drive, suits rural roads and national parks; domestic flights (SANSA) reach remote spots such as the Osa Peninsula and Tortuguero, and intercity buses are cheap and widespread.
5. Buy the craft, not the souvenir Natural-materials work made here pays the maker directly; imported gifts pay a shipping line.
Swipe
First time here
A conservation pioneer that reversed its deforestation to reach 58.4% forest cover in 2023 and generated 89.4% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2024, Costa Rica packs roughly 5% of the world's known species into a tiny country.
Best time: The dry season.
Getting around
A hire car, ideally with four-wheel drive, suits rural roads and national parks; domestic flights (SANSA) reach remote spots such as the Osa Peninsula and Tortuguero, and intercity buses are cheap and widespread.
Transport is where the fare either stays or leaves.
Eating here
The everyday plate is rice and black beans (gallo pinto and the casado plate), plantain, cassava (yuca), maize tortillas, and year-round tropical fruit; coffee.. The everyday Costa Rican diet is built on rice and black beans, eaten as gallo pinto at breakfast and as the casado plate at lunch, alongside plantain, cassava and a year-round abundance of tropical fruit.
Eating what the country grows is the cheapest way to cut the import bill.
Good to know
Cards widely accepted; English is common in tourism. Pura vida is the mood.
Rate my hotel. Tap yours for the honest verdict.
Ownership from company records and press.
Who owns the big hotels
Volcano LodgeIndependent · 68 rooms
Xandari Resort and SpaIndependent · 24 rooms
Tocu Tent CampIndependent · 6 rooms
Playa Nicuesa Rainforest LodgeIndependent · 12 rooms
Pacuare LodgeIndependent · 20 rooms
Playa CativoIndependent · 18 rooms
None of the 10 properties listed here publishes who ultimately owns it, so no claim is made either way. Ownership is what decides how much of a room rate stays in the country, which is why we show it when a listing states it.
Society and Governance in Costa Rica.
How well is Costa Rica actually run?
Governance, measured · World Bank WGI
Four measured answers, none of them opinion. Averaged across corruption control, delivery and accountability, Costa Rica scores 64 out of 100 (2024, World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators). That is a state that generally does what it says it will do, which is what makes a climate pledge worth reading.
What is daily life in Costa Rica really like? Measured
Getting around, breathing, throwing away, learning. The honest checklist.
TransportAirWaterWastePower
✓How you get around A hire car, ideally with four-wheel drive, suits rural roads and national parks; domestic flights (SANSA) reach remote spots such as the Osa Peninsula and Tortuguero, and intercity buses are cheap and widespread.
97.4%
literacy. Public spending on education runs at 5.3% of GDP and 20.4% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment stands at 121.8% gross (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2023 to 2024).
Made in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has some living natural-materials craft, most notably the Boruca (Brunca) Indigenous people of the south, who weave cotton on backstrap looms and colour it with natural dyes, and carve balsa masks for the Fiesta de los Diablitos. Everyday craft also includes basketry and vegetable-fibre work. Every step of processing done at home is value that stops leaving the country.
What Costa Rica actually sells the world
The single biggest thing Costa Rica sells the world is optical, medical and precision instruments, 42.0% of all exports in 2023 (about US$7.61 billion, UN Comtrade). The next four are fruit and nuts at 14.0%, miscellaneous edible preparations at 5.6%, electrical machinery and electronics at 4.4%, plastics at 2.9%.
Made now · natural materials
Who weave cotton on backstrap looms
Worked in Costa Rica from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Colour it with natural dyes
Worked in Costa Rica from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Made now · natural materials
Synthetic
Worked in Costa Rica from local material, and still a working craft rather than a museum piece.
Buys in · 11.5% of imports
Mineral fuels and oils
Costa Rica imported US$2.59 billion of mineral fuels and oils in 2023, 11.5% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 8.7% of imports
Machinery and mechanical appliances
Costa Rica imported US$1.95 billion of machinery and mechanical appliances in 2023, 8.7% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 7.4% of imports
Vehicles
Costa Rica imported US$1.67 billion of vehicles in 2023, 7.4% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
Buys in · 4.6% of imports
Pharmaceuticals
Costa Rica imported US$1.04 billion of pharmaceuticals in 2023, 4.6% of everything it bought abroad, and sells none of it back. Every point of that is a business that could be built at home rather than shipped in. UN Comtrade.
The maths for an entrepreneur. Costa Rica produces about US$103 billion a year, which is roughly US$19,970 per person (2025, World Bank). Farming is 3.4% of that, while food is 13.2% of everything the country imports. The country buys in more food than its own farms contribute to the economy, and every point of that gap is a business someone could build here rather than ship in.
See the verified makersCulture in Costa Rica.
Punto guanacasteco
The folk dance of Guanacaste, declared Costa Rica's national dance in 1944.
Marimba music
The marimba, one of Guanacaste's most emblematic instruments, was declared a national cultural symbol by executive decree in September 1996.
Oxcart (carreta) craft
Painted oxcarts, once used to haul coffee over the mountains to the Pacific port of Puntarenas, still appear in parades and celebrations, and annual contests reward the most creative decorators.
Boyeo
The oxherding tradition of driving ox-drawn carts, inscribed by UNESCO together with the oxcart tradition on its Representative List of intangible heritage in 2008.
Limón Afro-Caribbean calypso
Calypso reached Limón with Afro-Caribbean migration in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It was declared part of Costa Rica's intangible cultural heritage in 2012.
30 December to 2 January
Boruca Fiesta de los Diablitos
The Boruca people act out their resistance to the Spanish conquest, with masked diablitos fighting a bull that stands for the Spaniards. It was declared intangible cultural heritage in 2017.
Does Costa Rica protect its heritage by law?
Partly, and the gaps say as much as the protections.
What is kept alive. Costa Rican heritage stays alive in the punto guanacasteco, the national dance, and in marimba music across the Guanacaste region. 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.
Who it belongs to. Costa Rica has eight recognised Indigenous peoples, including the Bribri, Cabecar, Boruca and Maleku, several of whom run community-based and Indigenous-led tourism such as cacao tours and guided 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.
Only here. Isla del Coco (Cocos Island), the only oceanic island in the eastern tropical Pacific with a tropical rainforest, a UNESCO World Heritage site about 500 km off mainland Costa Rica..
UNESCO · UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Oxherding and oxcart traditions in Costa Rica · CRHoy, Conozca el aporte cultural de Guanacaste a Costa Rica · Teletica, Este es el legado cultural que Costa Rica heredó de Guanacaste · Banco Central de Costa Rica, homenaje al calipso limonense · La Teja, Juego de los Diablitos es declarado patrimonio
The Future of Costa Rica.
Three futures for Costa Rica, every one run forward from measured data.
Where the making actually happens
Named cultural and craft sites on the open map: Museum of Costa Rican Art (San José), Volcano Museum Noche Buena (Oreamuno), Museum and Coffee Bar (Alajuela Province), Choco-Museum (Alajuela Province), Turn to museum (Palmar). OpenStreetMap. Named craft workshops on the open map: ASOFAGRO, Artesanos de Pococí Arte y Cultura, Artrea, Asociación AmbiciOsas, Asociación Colectivo La Garúa, Asociación de Mujeres Espátulas Rosadas.
Every measured trend on one line
Run forward at the pace already recorded.
World Bank open data, recorded series
How much forest is left?
Forest cover moved from 54.9% to 59.1% across 29 recorded years.
How clean is the grid?
Renewable electricity moved from 82.7% to 99.4% across 26 recorded years.
How much climate pollution per person?
CO2 per person moved from 1.41 t to 1.63 t across 29 recorded years.
How many people visit?
Tourist arrivals moved from 924k to 1,146k across 25 recorded years.
How much land is protected?
Protected land moved from 27.6% to 26.6% across 12 recorded years.
How many people still farm?
Farm workforce moved from 17.8% to 11.5% across 30 recorded years.
How much sea is protected?
Protected sea moved from 0.8% to 28.4% across 12 recorded years.
How much land is farmed?
Agricultural land moved from 39% to 31.4% across 29 recorded years.
How fast is it urbanising?
Urban population moved from 53.6% to 79.7% across 30 recorded years.
Is the air getting cleaner?
Air pollution moved from 19.7 µg/m³ to 17.7 µg/m³ across 28 recorded years.
Is water getting scarcer?
Fresh water per person moved from 31,964 m³ to 22,236 m³ across 27 recorded years.
Is diet-related disease rising?
Adult overweight moved from 47.4% to 66.9% across 27 recorded years.
Who has power?
Electricity access moved from 96.9% to 99.8% across 24 recorded years.
Is income rising?
GDP per person moved from 3,275 to 19,970 across 30 recorded years.
How fast is it growing?
Population moved from 3,535k to 5,153k across 30 recorded years.
What share of all energy is renewable?
Renewable energy use moved from 35% to 34.2% across 26 recorded years.
How much energy does one person use?
Energy per person moved from 667 kg to 1,121 kg across 29 recorded years.
How much land and sea is protected together?
Protected area, total moved from 3% to 28.2% across 12 recorded years.
How long do people live?
Life expectancy moved from 76.4 yrs to 81 yrs across 29 recorded years.
How much does a hectare of cereal produce?
Cereal yield moved from 3,778 kg/ha to 3,807 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How much fertiliser goes on the land?
Fertiliser use moved from 555 kg/ha to 1,403 kg/ha across 29 recorded years.
How many people still live rurally?
Rural population moved from 46.4% to 20.3% across 30 recorded years.
How much value per cubic metre of water?
Water productivity moved from 21.9 $/m3 to 20.5 $/m3 across 10 recorded years.
How much goes on health?
Health spending moved from 6.56% to 6.87% across 23 recorded years.
How much forest is there in total?
Forest area moved from 28,039 km2 to 29,896 km2 across 30 recorded years.
How much electricity per person?
Electric power use moved from 1,285 kWh to 2,382 kWh across 30 recorded years.
How have agriculture emissions moved?
Agriculture emissions moved from 5.16 to 5.67 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have building emissions moved?
Building emissions moved from 0.19 to 0.4 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have electricity/heat emissions moved?
Electricity/Heat emissions moved from 0.19 to 0.46 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have energy emissions moved?
Energy emissions moved from 2.73 to 8.51 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have industrial processes emissions moved?
Industrial Processes emissions moved from 0.36 to 1.4 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have manufacturing/construction emissions moved?
Manufacturing/Construction emissions moved from 0.7 to 0.87 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
How have transportation emissions moved?
Transportation emissions moved from 1.63 to 6.16 MtCO2e across 33 recorded years.
Climate Watch (WRI), historical emissions
Worst caseCurrent pathBest case
Worst case
Every measured decline continues at the pace already recorded. The weakest pillar, organic farming at 1/5, is the one that gives way first.
Computed from: recorded series extended with no policy change
What the best case actually asks for
Lift organic farming
It scores 1 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Costa Rica's record. Certified organic farmland is small, around 0.6% of agricultural land (about 11,465 hectares) in the FiBL 2020 data.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift natural fibres
It scores 2 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Costa Rica's record. Costa Rica has some living natural-materials craft, most notably the Boruca (Brunca) Indigenous people of the south, who weave cotton on backstrap looms and colour it with natural dyes, and carve balsa masks for the Fiesta de los Diablitos.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Lift recycling
It scores 2 out of 5 today, among the weakest parts of Costa Rica's record. Costa Rica has municipal recycling collection in many cantons and a national push to improve waste separation, but overall recovery remains low and the great majority of municipal waste still goes to landfill.
measured each year
Costs: spending and enforcement, not new technology
Government and Goals in Costa Rica.
Who is in charge of Costa Rica now · Office-holders from the UN Protocol and Liaison Service public list of Heads of State and Heads of Government, 20 October 2026. Legislature and election dates from IFES ElectionGuide. Constitution dates from the Constitute Project. Governance scores from the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2024.
Laura Fernández Delgado
President
Laura Fernández Delgado is the head of government of Costa Rica, in office since 8 May 2026. Every climate, protection and energy pledge on this page is delivered, or not, under this administration.
Public opinion, measured
Voice and accountability, the freedom to question government scores 76.8 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 76.2 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Control of corruption scores 62.0 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 61.8 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Political stability and absence of violence scores 87.0 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Down from 87.7 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Rule of law scores 68.6 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 68.3 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Regulatory quality scores 64.8 out of 100 in 2025. On this World Bank scale, 100 is the strongest governance measured. Up from 64.5 in 2024. World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025 data (updated 25 September 2026)
Laura Fernández DelgadoPresident
Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)Legislature, unicameral
Last election1 February 2026
Constitution1949, as revised to 2020
Government typepresidential republic
Costa Rica national goals: climate commitments on record · as recorded by Climate Watch, World Resources Institute
Plain Answers About Costa Rica.
The questions people actually type, answered in full sentences from the sourced data above.
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Is Costa Rica sustainable?
Costa Rica scores 67 out of 100 on the Throne Eco Index, across twelve equally weighted pillars. A conservation pioneer that reversed its deforestation to reach 58.4% forest cover in 2023 and generated 89.4% of its electricity from renewable sources in 2024, Costa Rica packs roughly 5% of the world's known species into a tiny country.
Is the water in Costa Rica safe and plentiful?
Costa Rica is naturally water-rich, with high rainfall, volcanic aquifers and a dense network of rivers giving it about 22,236 cubic metres of renewable fresh water per person a year, far above the UN water-scarcity line though 15th of 36 countries in the Americas (World Bank and FAO AQUASTAT, 2022). 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.
Can Costa Rica feed itself?
Costa Rica is strongly agricultural and a major exporter, the world's leading exporter of pineapple and one of the largest exporters of bananas, and a well-known coffee origin, with large domestic production of fruit and vegetables. Basic grains are a much smaller story: national rice production fell 57% between 2020 and 2024, to 64,214 tonnes, and bean production runs at about 11,000 tonnes a year. It does import staple grains, so it is not fully self-sufficient.
Is it easy to eat plant-based in Costa Rica?
The everyday Costa Rican diet is built on rice and black beans, eaten as gallo pinto at breakfast and as the casado plate at lunch, alongside plantain, cassava and a year-round abundance of 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.
How much of Costa Rica is actually protected?
Costa Rica is a global conservation model, protecting about 26.6% of its land and roughly 28.4% of its territorial waters (World Bank, 2025) after a major 2021 expansion of marine protection around 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.
What wildlife is left in Costa Rica?
Despite covering just 0.03% of the planet's surface, Costa Rica holds an estimated 5% of the world's known species, from resplendent quetzals, scarlet macaws and hundreds of hummingbird and 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.
Is Costa Rica on clean energy?
Costa Rica generates more than 98% of its electricity from low-carbon sources, drawing on hydropower at around 75%, wind at about 12% and geothermal at roughly 11% (Low Carbon Power, 2025). 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).
How polluted is Costa Rica?
Costa Rica has a national strategy to phase out single-use plastics and banned expanded polystyrene containers nationally under Ley 9703, in force since August 2021. Under Ley 9786 it also prohibits selling or giving away plastic carrier bags and single-use straws nationwide, in force since 20 August 2024, with exceptions for certified reusable and biodegradable bags and for butcher and produce bags. 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.
Does recycling work in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica has municipal recycling collection in many cantons and a national push to improve waste separation, but overall recovery remains low and the great majority of municipal waste still goes to landfill. Infrastructure and separate collection are uneven between the Central Valley and rural areas. Recycling culture is growing but modest.
Is the farming in Costa Rica organic?
Certified organic farmland is small, around 0.6% of agricultural land (about 11,465 hectares) in the FiBL 2020 data. 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.
Are there natural materials and craft in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica has some living natural-materials craft, most notably the Boruca (Brunca) Indigenous people of the south, who weave cotton on backstrap looms and colour it with natural dyes, and 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.
Is there living culture in Costa Rica?
Costa Rica has eight recognised Indigenous peoples, including the Bribri, Cabecar, Boruca and Maleku, several of whom run community-based and Indigenous-led tourism such as cacao tours and guided 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.
What heritage does Costa Rica keep alive?
Costa Rican heritage stays alive in the punto guanacasteco, the national dance, and in marimba music across the Guanacaste region. 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.
So is Costa Rica actually green? The measured answer
What is working: land protected at 26.6%, sea protected at 28.4%, renewable electricity at 99.4%.
What is not: the gaps are narrower here than in most of the directory, and each remaining one is named below.
World Bank Open Data · Protected Planet (UNEP-WCMC / WDPA) · Climate Watch (WRI) · Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026 · CIA World Factbook (archived), Costa Rica · World Bank, Population, total, Costa Rica · World Bank, Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area), Costa Rica · World Bank, Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions excluding LULUCF per capita, Costa Rica · World Bank, Cause of death by non-communicable diseases (% of total), Costa Rica
How Costa Rica Ranks, region and world.
Where Costa Rica sits on the Eco Index, against its Central America neighbours and the 77 destinations scored worldwide.
How does Costa Rica compare in Central America?
1Panama70
3Guatemala65
4Honduras62
5Nicaragua58
Scored Central America destinations, Eco Index.
The global top 10 of the 77 destinations scored
1Switzerland78
2France78
3Finland77
4Slovenia77
5Australia77
6Portugal75
7Germany75
8New Zealand75
9Italy73
10Spain73
Costa Rica sits 33 of 77 at 67/100. Every name links to its own destination page, built exactly like this one. The full ranking
What is Costa Rica particularly good at?
✓ Wildlife, scored 5/5. Despite covering just 0.03% of the planet's surface, Costa Rica holds an estimated 5% of the world's known species, from resplendent quetzals, scarlet macaws and hundreds of hummingbird and 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.
✓ Energy, scored 5/5. Costa Rica generates more than 98% of its electricity from low-carbon sources, drawing on hydropower at around 75%, wind at about 12% and geothermal at roughly 11% (Low Carbon Power, 2025). 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.
✓ Plant-based eating, scored 4/5. The everyday Costa Rican diet is built on rice and black beans, eaten as gallo pinto at breakfast and as the casado plate at lunch, alongside plantain, cassava and a year-round abundance of 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.
Where does Costa Rica score worst?
✕ Organic farming, scored 1/5. Certified organic farmland is small, around 0.6% of agricultural land (about 11,465 hectares) in the FiBL 2020 data. 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.
✕ Natural fibres, scored 2/5. Costa Rica has some living natural-materials craft, most notably the Boruca (Brunca) Indigenous people of the south, who weave cotton on backstrap looms and colour it with natural dyes, and 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.
✕ Recycling, scored 2/5. Costa Rica has municipal recycling collection in many cantons and a national push to improve waste separation, but overall recovery remains low and the great majority of municipal waste still goes to landfill. Infrastructure and separate collection are uneven between the Central Valley and rural areas. Recycling culture is growing but modest.
A note from the lens of mother natureSwipe
Organic farming, 1/5
Certified organic farmland is small, around 0.6% of agricultural land (about 11,465 hectares) in the FiBL 2020 data. 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.
Consequence: It is the lowest-scoring part of Costa Rica's record, so it is where the score moves first.
Natural fibres, 2/5
Costa Rica has some living natural-materials craft, most notably the Boruca (Brunca) Indigenous people of the south, who weave cotton on backstrap looms and colour it with natural dyes, and carve balsa masks for the Fiesta de los Diablitos. Everyday craft also includes basketry and vegetable-fibre work.
Recycling, 2/5
Costa Rica has municipal recycling collection in many cantons and a national push to improve waste separation, but overall recovery remains low and the great majority of municipal waste still goes to landfill. Infrastructure and separate collection are uneven between the Central Valley and rural areas.
The Costa Rica Directory.
Everything on Hold The Throne that sits in Costa Rica, checked and listed.
How the rest of the world scores Costa Rica
Independent global indices, for calibration.
Forest cover
59.1
World Bank, 2024.
Protected land
26.6
World Bank, 2025.
Protected sea
28.4
World Bank, 2025.
Renewable grid
99.4
World Bank, 2021.
CO2 per person
1.6
World Bank, 2024.
Threatened species
500
Recorded figure, sourced on this page.
Control of corruption
62.0 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Government effectiveness
60.8 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Rule of law
68.6 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Political stability
87.0 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Voice and accountability
76.8 / 100
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025. Score from 0 to 100, where 100 is the strongest governance.
Environmental Performance Index
49.3 / 100 · 45 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 45 of 177 countries assessed.
Ecosystem vitality
54.5 / 100 · 33 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 33 of 177 countries assessed.
Biodiversity and habitat
69.6 / 100 · 4 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 4 of 177 countries assessed.
Air quality
46.8 / 100 · 68 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 68 of 177 countries assessed.
Terrestrial biomes protected
84.8 / 100 · 40 of 177
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 40 of 177 countries assessed.
Marine habitat protected
45.0 / 100 · 24 of 111
Yale Environmental Performance Index 2026, ranked 24 of 111 countries assessed.
How Costa Rica Is Scored. The Throne Standard.
Every destination on the index is scored the same way, so a 4 in Barbados means exactly what a 4 means in Iceland. No self-declared data and no brochure claims are accepted. Seven pillars are scored from published measurements with the same fixed thresholds everywhere: energy (low-carbon share of electricity, 90% or more scores 5, 70% 4, 50% 3, 25% 2), conservation (land and sea protected), water (safe drinking water, wastewater treated, water stress), organic farmland, recycling, food import dependence and air quality. Where a measurement is not published for a place, that pillar keeps its source-assessed score and is labelled as such. Wildlife, culture, heritage, materials and plant-based eating have no comparable measurement and are assessed from the named sources. The Eco Index is the average of the twelve pillar scores multiplied by 20. Every figure on this page carries its named source and year, and the history on each page names what empire took as plainly as it scores the present.
The 12 pillars every destination is scored on, equally weighted
01
Water
Safe drinking water, wastewater treated and water stress. Measured.
02
Food & farming
How much of the import bill is food: whether the place feeds itself. Measured.
03
Plant-based
How easy it is to eat plant-based, from documented sources.
04
Organic
Certified organic share of farmland. Measured.
05
Conservation
Land and sea legally protected, against the 30 by 30 goal. Measured.
06
Wildlife
What survives, what is endemic, what is lost, from documented sources.
07
Materials
Local natural fibres and craft, from documented sources.
08
Pollution
Air quality (PM2.5, measured) and plastics and waste policy.
09
Recycling
Share of municipal waste recycled. Measured.
10
Energy
Low-carbon share of electricity, nuclear included. Measured.
11
Culture
Living culture and community-led visits, from documented sources.
12
Heritage
What the law keeps standing, from documented sources.
What each 0 to 5 pillar score means, in plain words
0
Absent
nothing verifiable exists
1
Failing
measurably going the wrong way
2
Weak
claims outrun delivery
3
Fair
real effort, mixed results
4
Strong
genuinely good, evidence named
5
Leading
world class, and the trend holds
Where the numbers come from.
The institutions above are the ones cited on this page, ranked by how many of its figures they carry. This same sectioned page renders for all 77 scored destinations, each with its own researched history, comparison charts and three-way future. Read the full methodology
Every figure on this page, and where it came from: 77 sources across 33 institutions
World Bank16 FIGURES
- Forest area (% of land area) AG.LND.FRST.ZS, Costa Rica, 2023 (60.4%) check
- Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) ER.LND.PTLD.ZS, Costa Rica, 2023 (26.6%) check
- Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS, Costa Rica, 2023 (about 29%) check
- Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, Costa Rica, 2021 (99.4%) check
- CO2 emissions per capita EN.GHG.CO2.PC.CE.AR5, 2024 check
- GDP (current US$) NY.GDP.MKTP.CD, 2025 check
- International tourist arrivals ST.INT.ARVL, 2020 check
- Agricultural land (% of land area) AG.LND.AGRI.ZS, 2023 check
- Arable land (% of land area) AG.LND.ARBL.ZS, 2023 check
- Agriculture, value added (% of GDP) NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS, 2025 check
- Adult literacy rate SE.ADT.LITR.ZS, 2011 check
- Renewable internal freshwater per capita (m3) ER.H2O.INTR.PC, 2022 check
- Safely managed sanitation (% of population) SH.STA.SMSS.ZS, 2024 check
- Overweight prevalence, adults (%) SH.STA.OWAD.ZS, 2022 check
- Central government debt (% of GDP) GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS, 2001 check
- Population total SP.POP.TOTL, 2025 check
GBIF occurrence search11 FIGURES
- Costa Rica, class Aves, IUCN category Critically Endangered, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (bird). check
- Costa Rica, class Aves, IUCN category Critically Endangered corroboration check
- Costa Rica, class Aves, IUCN category Critically Endangered corroboration check
- Costa Rica, order Testudines, IUCN category Critically Endangered, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (turtle). check
- Costa Rica, order Testudines, IUCN category Critically Endangered corroboration check
- Costa Rica, class Chondrichthyes, IUCN category Critically Endangered, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (shark or ray). check
- Costa Rica, class Chondrichthyes, IUCN category Critically Endangered corroboration check
- Costa Rica, class Amphibia, IUCN category Critically Endangered, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (amphibian). check
- Costa Rica, class Amphibia, IUCN category Critically Endangered corroboration check
- Costa Rica, class Anthozoa, IUCN category Critically Endangered, Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and recorded in Costa Rica in GBIF occurrence data (coral). check
- Costa Rica, class Anthozoa, IUCN category Critically Endangered corroboration check
Other published sources4 FIGURES
- 1.71 tonnes per person in 2024 in the current OWID data (1.63 matches no recent year; the same page states 1.71 elsewhere) check
- Closed: the last animals left the state zoo in May 2024 and in October 2024 the government and San José municipality signed an agreement to make the site a protected urban nature park check
- No credible source states it is the largest; the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica calls it probably the best known archaeological monument in the country, with monumental paving, a water system and causeways check
- Euphorbia geroldii is a Madagascar endemic (Kew World Checklist of Vascular Plants and Catalogue of Life give its range as south-eastern Madagascar); all 32 herbarium specimens are Malagasy and its handful of Costa Rican records are garden observations check
BirdLife International, IUCN and UNEP-WCMC3 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_TERR, Costa Rica, 2025 (39.5%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, marine Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_MRN_MPA, Costa Rica, 2025 (50.9%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas covered by protected areas (%) ER_PTD_FRHWTR, Costa Rica, 2025 (42.7%), country-reported check
FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment3 FIGURES
- UN SDG Global Database, forest area (% of land area) AG_LND_FRST, Costa Rica, 2025 (58.5%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, forest area under a long-term management plan (%) AG_LND_FRSTMGT, Costa Rica, 2025 (2.4%), country-reported check
- UN SDG Global Database, forest area inside legally established protected areas (%) AG_LND_FRSTPRCT, Costa Rica, 2025 (37.7%), country-reported check
Our World in Data3 FIGURES
PNUD Costa Rica3 FIGURES
- Mapa de cobertura forestal de Costa Rica 2023 (data layer produced by SINAC, 2024), It famously reversed one of the world's fastest deforestation rates, roughly doubling forest cover to about 60 check
- Mapa de cobertura forestal de Costa Rica 2023 (data layer produced by SINAC, 2024) corroboration check
- Mapa de cobertura forestal de Costa Rica 2023 (data layer produced by SINAC, 2024) corroboration check
UNESCO Institute for Statistics3 FIGURES
- indicator XGDP.FSGOV (government expenditure on education as % of GDP), Costa Rica, Public spending on education runs at 5.3% of GDP and 20.4% of all government spending, and secondary enrolment check
- indicator XGDP.FSGOV (government expenditure on education as % of GDP), Costa Rica corroboration check
- indicator XGDP.FSGOV (government expenditure on education as % of GDP), Costa Rica corroboration check
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme3 FIGURES
- World Bank, People using safely managed drinking water services SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS, Costa Rica, 2022 (80.5%) check
- UN SDG Global Database, population using safely managed drinking water (%) SH_H2O_SAFE, Costa Rica, 2024 (80.5%), modelled estimate check
- UN SDG Global Database, population using safely managed sanitation (%) SH_SAN_SAFE, Costa Rica, 2024 (26.3%), modelled estimate check
Comision Nacional Costarricense de Cooperacion con la UNESCO2 FIGURES
IUCN2 FIGURES
Luis Rosero-Bixby2 FIGURES
- 'The vanishing advantage of longevity in Nicoya, Costa Rica: A cohort shift', Demographic Research 49(27), 2023, Rural community tourism is well developed and locally owned in many areas, and the Nicoya Peninsula is one of check
- 'The vanishing advantage of longevity in Nicoya, Costa Rica: A cohort shift', Demographic Research 49(27), 2023 corroboration check
SINAC / MINAE2 FIGURES
- Resumen del VI Informe Nacional de Costa Rica al Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biologica, Despite covering just 0.03% of the planet's surface, Costa Rica holds an estimated 5% of the world's known spe check
- Resumen del VI Informe Nacional de Costa Rica al Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biologica corroboration check
15th of 36 countries in the Americas at 221 FIGURE
- 236 cubic metres per person (2022), behind Guyana, Suriname, Canada, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Belize, Panama, Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua check
Climate Watch (WRI)1 FIGURE
- Net-Zero Tracker check
Constitute Project1 FIGURE
- Costa Rica 1949 (rev. 2020) check
Convention on Biological Diversity1 FIGURE
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 3, The 30x30 target is 30% by 2030, so 1.6 percentage points are still to be designated. check
Costa Rica1 FIGURE
- National Strategy to replace single-use plastics and polystyrene ban check
FAOSTAT 2024 crop production for Costa Rica: sugar cane 41 FIGURE
- 139,275 t, pineapples 3,118,093 t, bananas 2,630,020 t, oil palm fruit 1,225,774 t, oranges 185,028 t. Palm oil is a processed product, not a crop in this dataset check
FiBL1 FIGURE
- The World of Organic Agriculture (Costa Rica about 11,465 ha, 0.6% of agricultural land, 2020 data) check
IEA1 FIGURE
- Costa Rica country profile, 2024 check
IEA, World Energy Balances1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, renewable share of total final energy consumption (%) EG_FEC_RNEW, Costa Rica, 2023 (32.3%), modelled estimate check
IFES ElectionGuide1 FIGURE
- Costa Rica elections and chambers check
Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos1 FIGURE
- Costa Rica, national statistical authority check
Low Carbon Power1 FIGURE
- Costa Rica electricity mix, 2025 check
No credible source supports the Jurassic Park link1 FIGURE
- so it is removed; the peer-reviewed record confirms the island is the only one in the eastern tropical Pacific with humid tropical forest and puts it about 500 km south-south-west of the mainland check
OECD Environment Statistics1 FIGURE
- municipal waste check
SINAC / Government of Costa Rica1 FIGURE
- National System of Conservation Areas and Payments for Environmental Services check
UN Protocol and Liaison Service1 FIGURE
- Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs, public list dated 20 October 2026 check
UNEP Global E-waste Monitor1 FIGURE
- UN SDG Global Database, electronic waste recycled (%) EN_EWT_RCYR, Costa Rica, 2023 (8.6%), modelled estimate check
UNESCO World Heritage Centre1 FIGURE
- Cocos Island National Park check
World Bank / GBD-IHME1 FIGURE
- PM2.5 air pollution mean annual exposure EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3, Costa Rica, 2023 (17.7 µg/m³) check
World Bank / IUCN Red List1 FIGURE
- threatened species by group, Costa Rica, 2022 (mammals 12, birds 25, fish 144, higher plants 319; combined 500) check