Costa Rica (Republic of Costa Rica)

Costa Rica Republic of Costa Rica
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	30th best
Capital	San Jose
Land Area	51 060km21
Location	North America, The Americas, Central America
Population	5.0m2
Life Expectancy	77.02yrs (2017)3
GNI	$19 974 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	CR, CRI, 1885
Internet Domain	.cr6
Currency	Colon (CRC)7
Telephone	+5068

1. Overview
2. Costa Rica National and Social Development
3. Costa Rica's Demographics and Migration
4. Costa Rica's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
5. Costa Rica's Health
6. Costa Rica's Responsibility Towards The Environment
7. Costa Rica's Modernity and Learning
8. Costa Rica's Culture, Peace and Inequality
9. Religion and Beliefs
10. Links

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1. Overview

#costa_rica #spain #venezuela

“Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country's democratic development. In 1949, Costa Rica dissolved its armed forces. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“In Costa Rica trails lead to rushing waterfalls, mist-covered volcanoes and deserted beaches. Regardless of which you choose, this tropical playland is a feast for the senses. Whether you´re following the shimmer of a blue butterfly from palm to palm, staring into the yawning mouth of a deep purple orchid or watching wisps of fog roll in to soften the jagged edge of mountains, Costa Rica´s vivid colors last a lifetime. The canopies rustle with riotous troupes of monkeys, hillsides echo with the squawks of macaws and you can reach up to the trees and pick your day´s lunch. It might seem at times like some kind of wondrous tropical fantasy land, but this is Costa Rica.

As the preeminent eco- and adventure-tourism capital of Central America, Costa Rica has earned a rightful place in the cubicle daydreams of travelers around the world. With a world-class infrastructure, visionary sustainability initiatives and no standing army, Costa Rica is a green, peaceful jewel. Considering more than a third of the country enjoys some form of environmental protection and there´s greater biodiversity than the USA and Europe combined, it´s a country that earns the superlative descriptions.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

Along with 11 others, Costa Rica signed the Lima Declaration in 2017, condemning "the assault on democratic order and the systematic violation of human rights in Venezuela"₁₁.

2. Costa Rica National and Social Development

#economics #human_development #wealth

UN HDI (2021)12
Pos.		Higher is better Value12
1	Switzerland	0.962
2	Norway	0.961
3	Iceland	0.959
	...
55	Bahamas	0.812
56	Kazakhstan	0.811
57	Trinidad & Tobago	0.810
58=	Costa Rica	0.809
58=	Uruguay	0.809
60	Belarus	0.808
61	Panama	0.805
62	Malaysia	0.803
	The Americas Avg	0.75
	World Avg	0.72
q=191.

Gross National Income Per-Capita (2021)12
Pos.		Higher is better PPP $12
1	Liechtenstein	$146 830
2	Singapore	$90 919
3	Qatar	$87 134
	...
63	Uruguay	$21 269
64	Argentina	$20 925
65	Montenegro	$20 839
66	Costa Rica	$19 974
67	Serbia	$19 123
68	Belarus	$18 849
69	Dominican Rep.	$17 990
70	Mexico	$17 896
	The Americas Avg	$16 628
	World Avg	$20 136
q=193.

Social & Moral Development Index13
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank13
1	Denmark	29.1
2	Norway	32.3
3	Sweden	34.1
	...
27	Estonia	56.6
28	Cyprus	56.8
29	Czechia	57.2
30	Costa Rica	57.5
31	Monaco	59.0
32	Hungary	59.3
33	Poland	60.0
34	Singapore	60.3
	The Americas Avg	81.5
	World Avg	88.9
q=199.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

3. Costa Rica's Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #fertility #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population #yemen

Population:

Costa Rica's population is predicted to rise to 5.694 million by 2030. This rise is despite a low fertility rate, meaning, that this country is helping to alleviate problems with growing population in neighbouring countries by accepting immigrants, very likely as a requirement of maintaining an active workforce. This country has a fertility rate of 1.52. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population will grow, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity - the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate (two new children for each set of parents who die), which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1. The highest fertility rate ever detected in a single year was in Yemen in 1985, at 8.86.₁₄

Population2
Pos.		2018 Population2
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.4b
3	USA	327.1m
	...
116	Slovakia	5.5m
117	Norway	5.3m
118	Congo, (Brazzaville)	5.2m
119	Costa Rica	5.0m
120	Palestine	4.9m
121	Oman	4.8m
122	Liberia	4.8m
123	Ireland	4.8m
	World Avg	39.0m
q=195.

Life Expectancy Higher is better12
Pos.		2021 Years12
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
	...
45	Barbados	77.6
46	USA	77.2
47	Estonia	77.1
48	Costa Rica	77.0
49	Saudi Arabia	76.9
50	Albania	76.5
51	Poland	76.5
52	Sri Lanka	76.4
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best15
Pos.		202215
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
81	Fiji	2.46
82=	Croatia	1.53
82=	Belgium	1.53
84	Costa Rica	1.52
85=	Sweden	1.52
85=	Hungary	1.52
87	St Kitts & Nevis	1.51
88	Kosovo	1.51
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Old-Age Dependency Ratio Lower is better16
Pos.		2016 Per 10016
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3=	Chad	04.7
	...
123	Lebanon	21.1
124	Trinidad & Tobago	21.9
125	Bahamas	22.4
126	Costa Rica	22.6
127	Israel	22.9
128	Sri Lanka	23.7
129	Moldova	24.7
130	China	25.3
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

Migration:

Immigrants17
Pos.		2017 %17
1	UAE	88.4%
2	Kuwait	75.5%
3	Qatar	65.2%
	...
64	Malaysia	8.5%
65	Portugal	8.5%
66	Suriname	8.5%
67	Costa Rica	8.4%
68	Russia	8.1%
69	Congo, (Brazzaville)	7.6%
70	Botswana	7.3%
71	St Lucia	7.2%
	World Avg	9.4%
q=195.

Emigrants18
Pos.		2010 %18
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
142	Central African Rep.	2.9%
143	Angola	2.8%
144	France	2.8%
145	Costa Rica	2.7%
146	Rwanda	2.6%
147	Pakistan	2.5%
148	Vietnam	2.5%
149	Niger	2.4%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

4. Costa Rica's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#antisemitism #equality #freedom #freethought #gender #gender_equality #homosexuality #human_rights #international_law #mass_media #misogyny #morals #politics #prejudice #religious_tolerance #slavery #tolerance #women

Compared to The Americas (2025)19
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank19
1	Canada	14.7
2	Costa Rica	31.8
3	Uruguay	35.5
4	USA	38.6
5	Chile	47.9
6	Puerto Rico	50.8
7	Barbados	51.7
8	Argentina	53.3
9	St Vincent & Grenadines	54.2
10	Dominica	57.3
11	Brazil	60.3
12	Jamaica	64.1
13	Panama	64.4
	The Americas Avg	71.80
q=36.

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2025)19
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank19
1	Sweden	6.1
2	Denmark	8.6
3	Norway	9.0
	...
19	Switzerland	28.2
20	Italy	30.8
21	Portugal	31.3
22	Costa Rica	31.8
23	Japan	34.5
24	Uruguay	35.5
25	Estonia	36.9
26	USA	38.6
	World Avg	86.55
q=199.

The best countries in the world at ensuring human rights, fostering equality and promoting tolerance, are Sweden, Denmark and Norway₂₀. These countries are displaying the best traits that humanity has to offer. The worst countries are Somalia, N. Korea and Afghanistan₂₀.

21 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on supporting press freedom, eliminating modern slavery, supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms, its average Freedom in the World rating, commentary in Human Rights Watch reports, its nominal commitment to Human Rights, speed of uptake of HR treaties, opposing gender inequality, the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators), the year from which women could participate in democracy, its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice, LGBT equality and freethought. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe₂₀, whereas the worst are Africa, The Middle East and Asia₂₀.

For more, see:

• " Which are the Best Countries for Human Rights, Equality and Tolerance?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Human Rights & Tolerance:

Press Freedom Higher is better21
Pos.		202521
1	Norway	92.31
2	Estonia	89.46
3	Netherlands	88.64
	...
33	Slovenia	74.06
34	Armenia	73.96
35	Moldova	73.36
36	Costa Rica	73.09
37	Montenegro	72.83
38	Slovakia	71.93
39	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	71.79
40	Fiji	71.20
	The Americas Avg	55.99
	World Avg	54.65
q=179.

Slavery Lower is better22
Pos.		2018 % Victims22
1	Japan	0.03
2=	Canada	0.05
2=	Taiwan	0.05
4	Australia	0.06
5=	New Zealand	0.06
6	Chile	0.08
7=	Mauritius	0.10
7=	Uruguay	0.10
9	Costa Rica	0.13
10=	USA	0.13
10=	Argentina	0.13
12	Hong Kong	0.14
	The Americas Avg	0.25
	World Avg	0.65
q=167.

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom Lower is better23
Pos.		2014 Rank23
1	Hong Kong	1
2	Switzerland	2
3	New Zealand	3
	...
35	S. Korea	35
36	Spain	36
37	Hungary	37
38	Costa Rica	38
39	Slovenia	39
40=	Bulgaria	40
40=	Singapore	40
42	Uruguay	42
	The Americas Avg	72.4
	World Avg	79.7
q=159.

Freedom in the World Lower is better
Pos.		2024 Score
1=	Norway	1.0
1=	Canada	1.0
1=	Cape Verde	1.0
1=	Slovakia	1.0
1=	Chile	1.0
1=	San Marino	1.0
1=	Costa Rica	1.0
1=	St Vincent & Grenadines	1.0
1=	St Lucia	1.0
1=	Cyprus	1.0
1=	Denmark	1.0
1=	Dominica	1.0
	The Americas Avg	2.7
	World Avg	3.7
q=205.

Human Rights Watch Comments Higher is better24
Pos.		2017 Score24
1=	UK	9
1=	France	9
1=	Germany	9
	...
34	Liechtenstein	2
35=	Chile	2
36	Paraguay	1
37=	Costa Rica	1
37=	Norway	1
37=	Panama	1
40	Ukraine	0
41=	Nepal	0
	The Americas Avg	-0.8
	World Avg	-1.9
q=123.

Nominal Commitment to HR Higher is better25
Pos.		2009 Treaties25
1	Argentina	24
2=	Chile	23
2=	Costa Rica	23
2=	Ecuador	23
2=	Germany	23
2=	Mexico	23
2=	Peru	23
2=	Spain	23
2=	Slovenia	23
2=	Paraguay	23
2=	Serbia	23
2=	Sweden	23
	The Americas Avg	16.5
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

HR Treaties Lag Lower is better26
Pos.		2019 Avg Yrs/Treaty26
1	Ecuador	2.15
2	Uruguay	2.25
3	Tunisia	3.65
4	Colombia	3.68
5	Costa Rica	4.05
6	Mexico	4.08
7	Chile	4.12
8	Philippines	4.19
9	Bulgaria	4.24
10	Panama	4.26
11	Senegal	4.32
12	Namibia	4.36
	The Americas Avg	8.45
	World Avg	10.02
q=195.

Gender Equality:

Costa Rica is on the way towards ending gender inequality but women are still in an unfavourable position much of the time.

See:

• "Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

Gender Inequality Lower is better27
Pos.		202227
1	Denmark	0.01
2	Norway	0.01
3	Switzerland	0.02
	...
54	Romania	0.23
55	Saudi Arabia	0.24
56	Kuwait	0.24
57	Costa Rica	0.24
58	Hungary	0.24
59	Tunisia	0.24
60	Uruguay	0.24
61	Uzbekistan	0.24
	The Americas Avg	0.36
	World Avg	0.34
q=166.

Year Women Can Vote Lower is better
Pos.		Total Year
1	New Zealand	1893
2	Australia	1902
3	Finland	1906
	...
75=	Niger	1948
75=	Suriname	1948
75=	Seychelles	1948
78	Costa Rica	1949
79=	Chile	1949
79=	China	1949
79=	Bosnia & Herzegovina	1949
82	Barbados	1950
	The Americas Avg	1947
	World Avg	1930
q=189.

Prejudice:

Anti-Semite Opinions Lower is better28
Pos.		2014 %28
1	Laos	0
2	Philippines	3
3	Sweden	4
	...
50=	Kazakhstan	32
50=	Bangladesh	32
50=	Bosnia & Herzegovina	32
50=	Costa Rica	32
54	Uruguay	33
55=	Croatia	33
55=	Botswana	33
57	Nicaragua	34
	The Americas Avg	29.7
	World Avg	36.8
q=101.

LGBT Equality Higher is better29
Pos.		2017 Score29
1	Netherlands	103
2	Belgium	90
3	Sweden	86
	...
59	Fiji	32
60=	S. Korea	30
60=	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	30
60=	Costa Rica	30
60=	Suriname	30
60=	Venezuela	30
60=	Lithuania	30
66	Taiwan	25
	The Americas Avg	26.1
	World Avg	12.6
q=196.

Freedom of Thought Lower is better30
Pos.		202130
1=	Belgium	1.0
1=	Taiwan	1.0
1=	Netherlands	1.0
	...
58	Central African Rep.	2.5
59=	Chile	2.5
59=	Colombia	2.5
59=	Costa Rica	2.5
62	Austria	2.7
63=	Honduras	2.7
63=	Czechia	2.7
65	Canada	2.8
	The Americas Avg	2.7
	World Avg	3.0
q=196.

5. Costa Rica's Health

#alcohol #birth_control #costa_rica #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

Compared to The Americas (2025)31
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank31
1	Curaço	49.7
2	Aruba	49.9
3	US Virgin Islands	51.9
	...
13	Brazil	86.5
14	Barbados	88.3
15	Uruguay	88.4
16	Costa Rica	88.8
17=	Trinidad & Tobago	89.8
18	Chile	90.2
19	Bermuda	91.5
20	Dominica	91.9
21	Colombia	92.4
	The Americas Avg	92.66
q=44.

Health (2025)31
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank31
1	Monaco	14.3
2	Liechtenstein	30.1
3	Isle of Man	32.1
	...
81	Morocco	88.2
82	Barbados	88.3
83	Uruguay	88.4
84	Costa Rica	88.8
85	Iran	88.8
86	Qatar	89.1
87=	Bangladesh	89.8
87=	Trinidad & Tobago	89.8
	World Avg	97.60
q=213.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and The Isle of Man₃₂. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Cook Islands, The Marshall Islands and Niue₃₂.

25 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, obesity rate, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Balkans₃₂, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Africa and Australasia₃₂.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

Costa Rica does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. Costa Rica does better than average in its suicide rate₃₃ (but bad for The Americas), its average life expectancy₁₂, its smoking rate₃₄ (but bad for The Americas), its alcohol consumption rate₃₅ and in its fertility rate₁₅ (but bad for The Americas). But, there's bad news too. Costa Rica does worse than average in the prevalence of overweight adults₃₆, its adolescent birth rate₃₇ (still low for The Americas), its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₃₈ and in its immunizations take-up₃₉. The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% during the last 40 years. Life expectancy in Costa Rica improved by just +2.8yrs in the 30 years from 1990, significantly less than almost everywhere else in the world. Costa Rica is amongst only 41 countries who have seen their fertility rate drop by more than 4 since the 1960s. Its peak fertility rate was 6.71 in 1960.

Life Expectancy Higher is better12
Pos.		2021 Years12
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
	...
45	Barbados	77.6
46	USA	77.2
47	Estonia	77.1
48	Costa Rica	77.0
49	Saudi Arabia	76.9
50	Albania	76.5
51	Poland	76.5
52	Sri Lanka	76.4
	The Americas Avg	72.58
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Alcohol Consumption Lower is better35
Pos.		2016 Per Capita35
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
72=	Bahamas	4.4
72=	Ecuador	4.4
74	Bolivia	4.8
75=	Costa Rica	4.8
75=	Guinea-Bissau	4.8
75=	Myanmar (Burma)	4.8
75=	Zambia	4.8
75=	Zimbabwe	4.8
	The Americas Avg	6.9
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best15
Pos.		202215
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
81	Fiji	2.46
82=	Croatia	1.53
82=	Belgium	1.53
84	Costa Rica	1.52
85=	Sweden	1.52
85=	Hungary	1.52
87	St Kitts & Nevis	1.51
88	Kosovo	1.51
	The Americas Avg	1.80
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Smoking Rates Lower is better34
Pos.		201434
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
71	Belize	400
72	Swaziland	427
73	Sudan	428
74	Costa Rica	432
75	Botswana	449
76	Syria	459
77	Djibouti	476
78	Ivory Coast	477
	The Americas Avg	457
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate33
Pos.		2013 Per 100k33
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
	...
32	Colombia	9.9
33	Panama	10.9
34	Nicaragua	11.6
35	Costa Rica	12.1
36	Italy	12.8
37	Macedonia	13.5
38	Mauritius	13.7
39	UK	13.9
	The Americas Avg	13.57
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance Lower is better38
Pos.		2017 Rank38
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
107	Zimbabwe	107
108	Central African Rep.	108
109	Benin	109
110	Costa Rica	110
111	Dominica	111
112	Romania	112
113	Peru	113
114	Kenya	114
	The Americas Avg	94.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults Lower is better36
Pos.		1976 %36
1	Bangladesh	4.7
2	Vietnam	5.1
3	Nepal	5.4
	...
93=	S. Africa	28.2
93=	Guatemala	28.2
93=	Brazil	28.2
96	Costa Rica	28.6
97=	Mongolia	29.0
97=	Ecuador	29.0
99	Barbados	29.5
100	El Salvador	29.7
	The Americas Avg	30.7
	World Avg	27.1
q=191.

Adult Obesity Lower is better40
Pos.		2022 %40
1	Vietnam	2.1%
2	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	2.2%
3	Ethiopia	2.4%
	...
146	Dominica	31.5%
147	UAE	31.5%
148	Australia	31.8%
149	Costa Rica	32.0%
150	Paraguay	32.1%
151	Brunei	32.4%
152	Nicaragua	32.4%
153	Palestine	32.8%
	The Americas Avg	32.0%
	World Avg	24.7%
q=199.

Children's Health:

Adolescent Birth Rate Lower is better37
Pos.		2022 Per 100037
1	Hong Kong	1.6
2	Denmark	1.8
3	S. Korea	2.1
	...
97	Uruguay	35.2
98	Romania	35.4
99	Micronesia	35.7
100	Costa Rica	35.7
101	St Lucia	36.3
102	St Kitts & Nevis	36.8
103	Trinidad & Tobago	37.7
104	Argentina	37.9
	The Americas Avg	48.1
	World Avg	43.8
q=195.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 Higher is better39
Pos.		2015 Avg %39
1=	Hungary	99.0
1=	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
125	Sudan	89.2
126	Honduras	88.8
127	Kenya	88.5
128	Costa Rica	88.5
129	Colombia	88.4
130	Kiribati	88.4
131	Netherlands	88.1
132	Paraguay	88.1
	The Americas Avg	91.3
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

6. Costa Rica's Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #energy #environmentalism #food #internationalism #meat #over-exploitation #sustainability #the_environment #veganism #vegetarianism

Compared to The Americas (2025)41
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank41
1	Uruguay	43.2
2	Puerto Rico	47.1
3	Costa Rica	49.7
4	Chile	56.4
5	Peru	56.7
6	Dominican Rep.	65.0
7	Ecuador	65.6
8	Guatemala	66.1
9	Mexico	66.3
10	El Salvador	67.4
11	Brazil	70.2
12	Colombia	70.9
13	Argentina	78.5
	The Americas Avg	92.66
q=36.

Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025)41
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank41
1	Sri Lanka	34.9
2	Uruguay	43.2
3	Switzerland	45.0
	...
7	Nepal	47.9
8	India	49.5
9	Philippines	49.6
10	Costa Rica	49.7
11	Denmark	50.4
12	Mali	51.0
13	Madagascar	52.4
14	Nigeria	55.8
	World Avg	84.93
q=199.

We have known for a long term that we must protect the environment from habitation destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, and the emissions that cause climate change. In 1998, Greenpeace wrote that "Environment can no longer be meaningfully separated from health, quality of life, democracy, education, economy or trade"₄₂. What countries have been doing the right thing, via legislation and national culture? All countries' current and historical approach towards the environment is gauged via 21 datasets, including multiple decades of data on its forested percent change 2000-2020, its environmental performance, energy to GDP efficiency, its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population, reducing annual meat consumption per person and its score on the Green Future Index.

The countries that do the best (Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Switzerland) tend to have avoided the excesses of early industrial countries, and have not yet repeated the same mistakes of environmental destruction - at least, not on the same scale. The regions with the best average results per country are Central America, South America and Scandinavia. The worst are Eritrea, The Vatican City and Timor-Leste (E. Timor), and the worst regions Micronesia, Australasia and Melanesia.

For more, see:

• " Countries With the Best Environmental Records" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

One of the best in The Americas Costa Rica ranks 10th-best in the world regarding its responsibility towards the environment. This is computed from 21 data sets. Costa Rica comes in the best 20 in the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population₄₃. It does better than average when it comes to its score on the Green Future Index₄₄ (one of the best in The Americas), its environmental performance₄₅ (one of the best in The Americas), its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, its forested percent change 2000-2020₄₆ and in energy to GDP efficiency₄₇. Costa Rica does not succeed in everything, however. Costa Rica does worse than average in reducing annual meat consumption per person₄₈.

Forest Area Change 2000-2020 Higher is better46
Pos.		Total46
1	Guernsey	82.6%
2	Bahrain	75.2%
3	Iceland	64.7%
	...
42	Martinique	7.2%
43	Hungary	6.8%
44	India	6.7%
45	Costa Rica	6.2%
46	Switzerland	6.0%
47	Belarus	5.9%
48	Latvia	5.2%
49	Tunisia	5.2%
	The Americas Avg	-2.1%
	World Avg	-0.1%
q=234.

Environmental Performance Higher is better45
Pos.		201845
1	Switzerland	87.4
2	France	84.0
3	Denmark	81.6
	...
28	Slovakia	70.6
29	Lithuania	69.3
30=	Bulgaria	67.9
30=	Costa Rica	67.9
32	Qatar	67.8
33	Czechia	67.7
34	Slovenia	67.6
35	Trinidad & Tobago	67.4
	The Americas Avg	58.8
	World Avg	56.4
q=180.

Energy to GDP Efficiency Lower is better47
Pos.		2022 Avg47
1	Rwanda	0.25
2	Chad	0.26
3	Tanzania	0.31
	...
46	UK	0.80
47	Pakistan	0.81
48	Comoros	0.81
49	Costa Rica	0.81
50	Latvia	0.81
51	Ghana	0.83
52	Colombia	0.83
53	Lithuania	0.83
	The Americas Avg	1.42
	World Avg	1.23
q=165.

International Accords on the Environment Higher is better
Pos.		Total Avg Rate
1	Sweden	83%
2	Canada	82%
3	Norway	81%
	...
33	Kazakhstan	70%
34	Jordan	69%
35	Portugal	69%
36	Costa Rica	69%
37	Mexico	69%
38	Uzbekistan	69%
39	India	69%
40	Paraguay	69%
	The Americas Avg	60.7%
	World Avg	57.5%
q=197.

One of 18 countries who enacted Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in its first year (1975).

Rational Beliefs on the Environment Higher is better43
Pos.		2011 %43
1	Argentina	78.3%
2	Greece	77.6%
3	Brazil	77.1%
4	Trinidad & Tobago	74.5%
5	Costa Rica	74.2%
6	Cyprus	71.0%
7	Guatemala	70.9%
8	Philippines	70.8%
9	S. Korea	70.7%
10	Colombia	70.3%
11	Bolivia	69.3%
12	Paraguay	68.9%
	The Americas Avg	58.6%
	World Avg	39.9%
q=145.

Meat Consumption Lower is better48
Pos.		2021 kg48
1	Congo, DR	03.0
2	Burundi	03.5
3	Bangladesh	04.3
	...
107	Slovenia	61.2
108	Bulgaria	61.8
109	Moldova	61.9
110	Costa Rica	62.2
111	China	63.6
112	Uruguay	62.8
113	Jamaica	63.4
114	Slovakia	63.5
	The Americas Avg	70.3
	World Avg	52.5
q=185.

Green Future Index Higher is better44
Pos.		2023 Score44
1	Iceland	6.7
2	Finland	6.7
3	Norway	6.4
	...
21=	Poland	5.4
22	Austria	5.4
23	Bulgaria	5.3
24	Costa Rica	5.3
25	S. Africa	5.2
26	Uruguay	5.1
27	China	5.1
28	Japan	5.1
	The Americas Avg	4.6
	World Avg	4.8
q=76.

7. Costa Rica's Modernity and Learning

#education #english #intelligence #maths #modernity #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #technology #the_internet

Compared to The Americas (2020)49
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank49
1=	Canada	21.8
2	USA	26.4
3	Argentina	38.2
	...
9	Uruguay	57.6
10	Mexico	64.5
11	Peru	68.2
12	Costa Rica	69.8
13	Cuba	72.8
14	Trinidad & Tobago	74.5
15	Ecuador	74.8
16	Colombia	77.3
17	Bolivia	79.5
	The Americas Avg	81.34
q=35.

Modernity & Learning (2020)49
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank49
1	Finland	7.1
2	Belgium	12.9
3	Denmark	13.6
	...
65	Bahrain	66.2
66	Peru	68.2
67	Moldova	68.9
68	Costa Rica	69.8
69	Tunisia	70.8
70	China	71.4
71	Fiji	71.5
72	Cuba	72.8
	World Avg	86.31
q=190.

The most modern countries, with the best results from education, the highest levels of research, and with the easiest access to information on the Internet, are Finland, Belgium and Denmark₅₀. The worst countries are Eritrea, S. Sudan and Sierra Leone₅₀. Despite improves in global education, access to tertiary (adult) education is becoming increasingly unequal between the rich haves and the poor have-nots₅₁.

“Education, at all levels and ages, is the single most vital support for equality as well as being a country's most vital economic and social resource. [...] Every successful aspirant to modernisation and economic development, from Japan to South Korea, China to Chile, has got there with a big emphasis on education.”

Bill Emmott (2017)₅₂

15 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on Research and Development, Secondary Education, Length of Schooling, Intellectual Endeavours, Maths, Science & Reading, Religiosity, IQ, the percent of citizens with access to the internet, Freedom On The Internet, IT Security, IPv6 Uptake and digital quality of life. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe₅₀, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Africa and Micronesia₅₀.

For more, see:

• "Which Countries are Most Modern, With the Best Education and Internet Access?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Modernity and Education:

Research & Development Higher is better
Pos.		2016 % RDP PPP
1	S. Korea	4.2953
2	Israel	4.1153
3	Japan	3.5853
	...
59	UAE	0.4954
60=	Uganda	0.4855
60=	Cyprus	0.4856
62	Costa Rica	0.4754
63=	Qatar	0.4757
63=	Cuba	0.4756
65	Macedonia	0.4456
66=	Puerto Rico	0.4456
	The Americas Avg	0.47
	World Avg	0.84
q=126.

Secondary Education Higher is better58
Pos.		201858
1=	Luxembourg	100.0%
1=	Estonia	100.0%
1=	Austria	100.0%
	...
102	Lebanon	54.9%
103	Portugal	54.2%
104	Turkey	53.1%
105	Costa Rica	52.9%
106	Colombia	52.0%
107	Ecuador	51.9%
108	Tunisia	51.8%
109	India	51.6%
	The Americas Avg	63.0%
	World Avg	63.0%
q=169.

Length of Schooling Higher is better59
Pos.		2021 Years59
1	Australia	21.1
2	New Zealand	20.3
3	Greece	20.0
	...
21	Malta	16.8
22	Uruguay	16.8
23	Chile	16.7
24	Costa Rica	16.5
25	Singapore	16.5
26	S. Korea	16.5
27	Switzerland	16.5
28	Canada	16.4
	The Americas Avg	14.2
	World Avg	13.5
q=193.

Intellectual Endeavours Lower is better38
Pos.		2017 Rank38
1	Ukraine	1
2	Czechia	2
3	Hungary	3
	...
73	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	73
74	Chile	74
75	Argentina	75
76	Costa Rica	76
77	Jamaica	77
78	Colombia	78
79	Liberia	79
80	Kyrgyzstan	80
	The Americas Avg	99.8
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Maths, Science & Reading Higher is better60
Pos.		2015 Score60
1	Singapore	1655
2	Hong Kong	1598
3	Japan	1586
	...
51	Trinidad & Tobago	1269
52	Moldova	1264
53	Montenegro	1256
54=	Costa Rica	1247
54=	Mexico	1247
56	Albania	1245
57=	Thailand	1245
58	Colombia	1231
	The Americas Avg	1287
	World Avg	1389
q=70.

Religiosity Lower is better61
Pos.		2018 %61
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
	...
64=	Peru	73
65	S. Africa	75
66=	Ecuador	76
66=	Costa Rica	76
68	Puerto Rico	77
69=	Malaysia	77
69=	Colombia	77
71	Dominican Rep.	78
	The Americas Avg	65.4
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

IQ Higher is better62
Pos.		200662
1=	Hong Kong	108
1=	Singapore	108
3	S. Korea	106
	...
56=	Croatia	90
56=	Kyrgyzstan	90
56=	Chile	90
59	Costa Rica	89
60=	Laos	89
61	Ecuador	88
62=	Mexico	88
63	Brazil	87
	The Americas Avg	85.3
	World Avg	85.6
q=138.

Technology and Information:

Internet Users Higher is better63
Pos.		201663
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
85=	Seychelles	58%
86	Morocco	58%
87	Colombia	57%
88	Costa Rica	56%
89	Kazakhstan	56%
90=	US Virgin Islands	54%
90=	Serbia	54%
92	Maldives	54%
	The Americas Avg	56.4%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake Higher is better64
Pos.		2017 Ratio64
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
	...
75=	Zambia	0.1
76	Panama	0.1
77=	Croatia	0.1
77=	Costa Rica	0.1
77=	Serbia	0.1
80	Liechtenstein	0.0
81=	Cyprus	0.0
82	Philippines	0.0
	The Americas Avg	3.36
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

Digital Quality of Life Higher is better65
Pos.		202465
1	Germany	77.9%
2	Finland	76.9%
3	France	73.9%
	...
58	Kazakhstan	47.6%
59	Indonesia	47.5%
60	India	47.0%
61	Costa Rica	46.9%
62	Albania	46.7%
63	Azerbaijan	46.0%
64	Macedonia	45.7%
65	Moldova	45.5%
	The Americas Avg	44.7%
	World Avg	48.4%
q=121.

8. Costa Rica's Culture, Peace and Inequality

#capitalism #charitability #charity #corruption #culture #economics #equality #extremism #happiness #health #human_development #inequality #life_expectancy #morals #peace #politics #religious_violence #social_development #terrorism

Compared to The Americas (2020)66
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank66
1	Canada	23.1
2	Barbados	46.9
3	Costa Rica	47.3
4	Uruguay	52.6
5	USA	54.1
6	Chile	57.4
7	Trinidad & Tobago	62.1
8	Jamaica	69.5
9	Argentina	73.6
10	Cuba	73.8
11	Panama	78.4
12	Belize	78.8
13	Dominica	79.6
	The Americas Avg	79.19
q=33.

Culture, Peace & Inequality (2020)66
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank66
1	Denmark	11.2
2	Norway	13.9
3	Netherlands	14.4
	...
29	Spain	45.0
30	Japan	45.5
31	Barbados	46.9
32	Costa Rica	47.3
33	Cyprus	47.4
34	Portugal	48.2
35	Mauritius	48.3
36	Italy	48.6
	World Avg	78.12
q=180.

This is the final pillar of the Social and Moral Development Index; it has 22 datasets, including multiple decades of data on World Giving Index, resisting corruption, overall happiness, Creativity and Culture, Open Trading, Aid and Development, its Global Peace Index rating, Peacekeeping and Security, Refugees and UN Treaties, the impact of terrorism, Inequality in Life Expectancy, Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) and Multidimensional Poverty.

For more, see:

• "Which are the Countries for International Contributions, Creativity, Peace and Inequality?" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

National Culture:

Costa Rica has an adequate long-term record on corruption.

World Giving Index Higher is better67
Pos.		2022 %67
1	Indonesia	68.0
2	Kenya	61.0
3	USA	59.0
	...
42=	Dominican Rep.	44.0
42=	Kyrgyzstan	44.0
42=	Mexico	44.0
42=	Costa Rica	44.0
46	Vietnam	43.0
47=	Iran	43.0
47=	Kosovo	43.0
47=	Bolivia	43.0
	The Americas Avg	43.7
	World Avg	39.6
q=125.

Corruption Higher is better68
Pos.		2022 Points68
1	Denmark	90.0
2=	Finland	87.0
2=	New Zealand	87.0
	...
45	Dominica	55.0
46=	Poland	55.0
46=	St Lucia	55.0
48	Costa Rica	54.0
49=	Fiji	53.0
49=	Slovakia	53.0
51	Grenada	52.0
52=	Cyprus	52.0
	The Americas Avg	42.97
	World Avg	42.98
q=180.

Happiness Higher is better69
Pos.		2024 Score69
1	Finland	7.7
2	Denmark	7.5
3	Iceland	7.5
4	Sweden	7.3
5	Netherlands	7.3
6	Costa Rica	7.3
7	Norway	7.3
8	Israel	7.2
9	Luxembourg	7.1
10	Mexico	7.0
11	Australia	7.0
12	New Zealand	7.0
	The Americas Avg	6.31
	World Avg	5.58
q=147.

Creativity & Culture Lower is better38
Pos.		2017 Rank38
1	Belgium	1
2	Netherlands	2
3	Estonia	3
	...
29	Singapore	29
30	Spain	30
31	Romania	31
32	Costa Rica	32
33	Serbia	33
34	S. Korea	34
35	New Zealand	35
36	Belize	36
	The Americas Avg	80.2
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Open Trading, Aid & Development Lower is better38
Pos.		2017 Rank38
1	Ireland	1
2	Denmark	2
3	Sweden	3
	...
79	Tonga	79
80	Latvia	80
81	Romania	81
82	Costa Rica	82
83	Kuwait	83
84	Belarus	84
85	Saudi Arabia	85
86	Azerbaijan	86
	The Americas Avg	100.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Peace Versus Instability:

Global Peace Index Lower is better70
Pos.		2023 Score70
1	Iceland	1.12
2	Denmark	1.31
3	Ireland	1.31
	...
36	Lithuania	1.67
37	UK	1.69
38	Macedonia	1.71
39	Costa Rica	1.73
40=	Vietnam	1.75
40=	Albania	1.75
42	Botswana	1.76
43	S. Korea	1.76
	The Americas Avg	2.13
	World Avg	2.07
q=163.

Peacekeeping & Security Lower is better38
Pos.		2017 Rank38
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
	...
13	Cameroon	13
14	Singapore	14
15	Colombia	15
16	Costa Rica	16
17	Hungary	17
18	Japan	18
19	Chile	19
20	Kazakhstan	20
	The Americas Avg	82.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees & UN Treaties Lower is better38
Pos.		2017 Rank38
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
	...
19	New Zealand	19
20	Luxembourg	20
21	Ireland	21
22	Costa Rica	22
23	Thailand	23
24	Poland	24
25	S. Africa	25
26	Chile	26
	The Americas Avg	91.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Impact of Terrorism Lower is better71
Pos.		2019 Score71
1	Togo	0.00
2	Mongolia	0.00
3	Swaziland	0.00
	...
8	Benin	0.00
9	Mauritania	0.00
10	Slovenia	0.00
11	Costa Rica	0.00
12	Romania	0.00
13	El Salvador	0.00
14	Bhutan	0.01
15=	Trinidad & Tobago	0.02
	The Americas Avg	2.16
	World Avg	2.78
q=150.

Economic Inequality and Poverty:

Inequality in Life Expectancy Lower is better72
Pos.		201972
1	Iceland	2.40
2=	Singapore	2.50
2=	Hong Kong	2.50
	...
54	Oman	6.70
55	Bahamas	6.80
56	Sri Lanka	7.00
57=	Costa Rica	7.10
57=	Russia	7.10
59	Albania	7.20
60=	Lebanon	7.40
60=	Ukraine	7.40
	The Americas Avg	12.03
	World Avg	14.59
q=184.

Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) Lower is better73
Pos.		2023 %73
1	Slovakia	24.1%74
2	Slovenia	24.3%74
3	Belarus	24.4%75
	...
149	Paraguay	45.1%76
150	Comoros	45.3%77
151	Nicaragua	46.2%77
152	Costa Rica	46.7%78
153	Honduras	48.2%79
154	Guatemala	48.3%77
155=	Panama	48.9%78
155=	Congo, (Brazzaville)	48.9%80
	The Americas Avg	44.0%
	World Avg	36.5%
q=167.

9. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #catholicism #christianity #god #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion #religiosity #secularisation

Religiosity (2018)61
Pos.		Lower is better %61
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
	...
64=	Peru	73
65	S. Africa	75
66=	Ecuador	76
66=	Costa Rica	76
68	Puerto Rico	77
69=	Malaysia	77
69=	Colombia	77
71	Dominican Rep.	78
72=	Iran	78
72=	Tunisia	78
74	Bangladesh	80
75=	India	80
76	Iraq	82
77=	El Salvador	85
77=	Jordan	85
79	Palestine	86
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

Disbelief In God (2007)81
Pos.		Higher is better %81
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
	...
74=	Nicaragua	1
74=	Bolivia	1
74=	Colombia	1
74=	Costa Rica	1
74=	Honduras	1
74=	Brazil	1
74=	Ecuador	1
74=	S. Africa	1
74=	Venezuela	1
74=	Peru	1
74=	Guatemala	1
74=	El Salvador	1
74=	Panama	1
87	Somalia	0
88=	Sri Lanka	0
88=	Burundi	0
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₈₂:

Christian	90.9%
Muslim	0.1%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.8%
Jewish	0.1%
Unaffiliated	7.9%

It appears that when asked "What religion are you" many give pollsters the 'correct' answer despite how they actually feel, and despite what they actually believe. Although 92.1% of the populace say they belong to a religion, only 76% say that they are religious when the question is phrased as "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".

For more on this phenomenon, see:

• "Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls" by Vexen Crabtree (2009)

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%₈₃.

“The Catholic Church may be losing its grip [... - ] At present, Costa Rica is one of the few Western countries to have an official state religion. But a poll conducted by Unimer, for the newspaper La Nacion, showed that 47% of the Costa Rican population would rather live in a secular state - up from 41% two years ago. 30% of those questioned said they didn't mind if Costa Rica has an official religion or is secular, while 23% supported having the Catholic Church as an official religion (down from 27% in 2011).”

NSS (2013)₈₄

The International Humanist and Ethical Union produced a report in 2012 entitled "Freedom of Thought" (2012)₈₅, in which they document bias and prejudice at the national level that is based on religion, belief and/or lack of belief. Their entry for Costa Rica states:

“The constitution and other laws and policies protect freedom of religion or belief. However, the constitution establishes Catholicism as the state religion and requires that the state contribute to its maintenance. The constitution also prohibits the state from impeding the free exercise of other religions that do not impugn universal morality or proper behavior.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religion is responsible for managing the government's relationship with the Catholic Church and other religious groups. The ministry includes funding in its annual budget for maintenance and repairs of some Catholic churches. The Catholic Church receives exemptions from income and real estate taxes. The law allows the government to provide land to the Catholic Church. Government-to-church land transfers typically are effected through periodic legislation. Public schools provide Catholic religious instruction. Students may obtain exemptions with the permission of their parents.”

"Freedom of Thought" by IHEU (2012)₈₆

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?