Costa Rica has a population of 4,133,884. The combined white and Mestizo groups constitute 94% of the population, while 3% are Black/Afro-Caribbean , 1% Amerindian 1%, Chinese and 1% are of other ethnic groups The exact breakdown, however, is not known because the Costa Rican census combines whites and Mestizos in one category. The white population is primarily of Spaniard ancestry with significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, German, Jewish and Polish descent.
Just under 3% of the population is of black African descent. The majority of the Afro-Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of nineteenth century black Jamaican immigrant workers, as well as slaves who were brought during the Atlantic slave trade.
The indigenous or Amerindian population numbers around 1%, or over 41,000 individuals. A significant portion of the population descends from a bi-racial mix of local Amerindians and Spaniards, most live in secluded Indian reservations in the Cordillera de Talamanca or Guanacaste.
There is also an expatriate community of people of all ages from the United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Britain, and other countries.
Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia and Nicaragua. As a result, an estimated 10% of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans, most of whom migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. Moreover, Costa Rica took in many refugees from a range of other Latin American countries fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the 1970s and 80s - notably from Chile and Argentina, as well as those from El Salvador who fled from guerrillas and government death squads.
Population:
4,195,914 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.2% (male 584,782/female 557,952)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 1,416,456/female 1,384,692)
65 years and over: 6% (male 116,461/female 135,571) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 27.1 years
male: 26.7 years
female: 27.6 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.388% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
17.71 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
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 (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 9.01 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.92 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.4 years
male: 74.79 years
female: 80.14 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.17 children born/woman (2008 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican
Ethnic groups:
white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 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%
male: 94.7%
female: 95.1% (2000 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 12 years
male: 12 years
female: 12 years (2005)
Education expenditures:
4.9% of GDP (2004)
Courtesy of Wekipedia and CIA World Fact Book
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