page_title: Demographics of Costa Rica
section_title: Population and ancestry
hierarchical_section_title: Demographics of Costa Rica / Population and ancestry
caption_attribution_description: Español: Niños costarricenses en escuela.
context_page_description: According to the United Nations, in 2018 Costa Rica had an estimated population of 4,999,441 people. White and Mestizos make up 83.4% of the population, 7% are black people, 2.4% Amerindians, 0.2% Asians, and 7% other/none.
  In 2010, just under 3% of the population is of black African descent who are called Afro-Costa Ricans or West Indians and are English-speaking descendants of 19th-century black Jamaican immigrant workers. Another 1% is composed of ethnic Chinese, and less than 1% are Middle Easterners, mainly of Lebanese descent but also Palestinians. The 2011 Census provided the following data: whites and mestizos make up 83.4% of the population, 7% are black people, 2.4% Amerindians, 0.2% Asians, and 7% other/none.
  There is also a community of North American retirees from the United States and Canada, followed by fairly large numbers of European Union expatriates come to retire as well, and Australians. Immigration to Costa Rica made up 9% of the population in 2012. This included permanent settlers as well as migrants who were hoping to reach the U.S. In 2015, there were some 420,000 immigrants in Costa Rica and the number of asylum seekers rose to more than 110,000.
context_section_description: In 2018, Costa Rica had a population of 4,999,441. The population is increasing at a rate of 1.5% per year. At current trends the population will increase to 9,158,000 in about 46 years. The population density is 94 people per square km, the third highest in Central America.
  Approximately 40% lived in rural areas and 60% in urban areas. The rate of urbanization estimated for the period 2005–2015 is 2.74% per annum, one of the highest among developing countries. About 75% of the population live in the upper lands (above 500 meters) where temperature is cooler and milder.
  The 2011 census counted a population of 4.3 million people distributed among the following groups: 83.6% whites or mestizos, 6.7% black mixed race, 2.4% Native American, 1.1% black or Afro-Caribbean; the census showed 1.1% as Other, 2.9% (141,304 people) as None, and 2.2% (107,196 people) as unspecified.
  In 2011, there were over 104,000 Native American or indigenous inhabitants, representing 2.4% 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).
  The population includes European Costa Ricans (of European ancestry), primarily of Spanish descent, with significant numbers of Italian, German, English, Dutch, French, Irish, Portuguese, and Polish families, as well a sizable Jewish community. The majority of the Afro-Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of 19th century black Jamaican immigrant workers.
  The 2011 census classified 83.6% of the population as white or Mestizo; the latter are persons of combined European and Amerindian descent. The Mulatto segment (mix of white and black) represented 6.7% and indigenous people made up 2.4% of the population. Native and European mixed blood populations are far less than in other Latin American countries. Exceptions are Guanacaste, where almost half the population is visibly mestizo, a legacy of the more pervasive unions between Spanish colonists and Chorotega Amerindians through several generations, and Limón, where the vast majority of the Afro-Costa Rican community lives.
caption: Costa Rican school children
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