DEMOGRAPHICS

As of 2010, Costa Rica has an estimated population of 4,640,000.[54] Whites and mestizos make up 94% of the population,[55] while 3% are Black, or Afro-Caribbean, 1% Native American, 1% Chinese, and 1% other.[56] The white population is primarily of Spaniard ancestry[57] with significant numbers of Italian, German, English, Dutch, French, Irish, Portuguese, Lebanese and Polish families, as well a sizable Jewish community. The majority of the Afro-Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of nineteenth century black Jamaican immigrant workers.

Costa Rica is unquestionably the most homogeneous of Central American nations in race as well as social class. Travelers familiar with other Central American nations will immediately notice the contrast: the vast majority of Costa Ricans look predominantly European. The 2000 census classified 94% of the population as white or mestizo and less than 3% as black or Amerindian. Native and European mixed blood far less than in other New World countries. Exceptions are Guanacaste, where almost half the population is visibly mestizo, a legacy of the more pervasive unions between Spaniards colonists and Chorotega Amerindians through several generations and Limón where the vast majority of the Afro-Costa Rican community lives.

To make up for the lack of indigenous civilizations, Costa Rica became a land of immigrants, similar to other countries such as United States, Argentina and Canada. Perhaps this is why foreign people find the country so appealing; indeed, the idea of the American dream is alive and well here. Immigrants from many nations have been made welcome over the years (between 1870 and 1920, almost 25% of Costa Rica's population growth was due to immigration). Jews are prominent in the liberal professions. There is a Quaker community of several hundred people centered on Monteverde, where they produce goudas, cheddars, and Monterico cheeses. Germans have for many generations been particularly successful as coffee farmers. Italians have gathered, among other places, in the town of San Vito, on the central Pacific coast; more recently, United Staters have added to the cultural dynamic. As far as Latin American countries go, it is a real melting pot. There is also an expatriate community of people from Germany, Netherlands, Britain, and other countries.

Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia and Nicaragua. As a result of that and illegal immigration, an estimated 10-15% (400,000–600,000) of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans.[58][59] Some Nicaraguans migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. 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 people from El Salvador who fled from guerrillas and government death squads.[60]

According to the World Bank, about 441,000 immigrants live legally in the country, the majority of them Nicaraguans, while 127,060 Costa Ricans live abroad in the United States, Panama, Nicaragua, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.[61]

There are also over 60,000 Native American or indigenous inhabitants, representing 1.5% of the population. Most of them live in secluded reservations, distributed among eight ethnic groups: Quitirrisí (In the Central Valley), Matambú or Chorotega (Guanacaste), Maleku (Northern Alajuela), Bribri (Southern Atlantic), Cabécar (Cordillera de Talamanca), Guaymí (Southern Costa Rica, along the Panamá border), Boruca (Southern Costa Rica) and Térraba (Southern Costa Rica).

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