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Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, sharing a maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island.
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Costa Rica · 1960–2025
Population data from World Bank (2025), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Series covers 1960–2025.
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley. San José is Costa Rica's seat of national government, focal point of political and economic activity, and major transportation hub.
Alajuela is a district in the Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of the province, it is also the capital of the Province of Alajuela.
Cartago is the head city of Cartago canton of the Cartago Province, and is composed of the Oriental and Occidental districts as stated in the administrative divisions of Costa Rica. It was the capital of Costa Rica from 1574 to 1824.
Heredia is a district in the Heredia canton of Heredia province, Costa Rica. As the seat of the municipality of Heredia canton, it is awarded the status of city, and by virtue of being the city of the first canton, it is the Province Capital of Heredia province as well. It is 10 kilometers to the north of the country's capital, San José.
Liberia is a district and the largest city in the Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica, 215 kilometres (134 mi) northwest of the national capital, San José. Part of the Liberia canton, it is a major center of the country's tourism industry.
Limón, also known as Puerto Limón, is the capital city of both the province and canton of the same name. One of Costa Rica's seven "middle cities", Limón has a population of 71,514, which made it, as of 2022, the most-populous city in the country outside of the Greater Metropolitan Area and the second most-populous district in the nation.