Costa Rica
Republic of Costa Rica
- Capital: San José
- Central America
- 2 neighbours in Travle
Costa Rica overview
Costa Rica is in Central America, North America. Its capital is San José. The World Bank counts about 5.2 million people for 2025 on 51,100 km² of surface area.
In the Travle map, Costa Rica has 2 neighbours: Nicaragua and Panama. From there, 21 countries can be reached by land.
Population, density and language
The World Bank counts 5,152,950 people in Costa Rica for 2025, which is 124th of 170 by population. Spread over 51,100 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 101 people per km², 63rd of 169 by density.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.
| Language | Share (est.) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 95% | official |
CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.
How big is Costa Rica, really?
With 51,100 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Costa Rica is 128th of 169 by surface area and covers 0.04% of the combined area of those entries.
In that ordering, Bosnia and Herzegovina (51,210 km²) is just larger; Slovakia (49,030 km²) just smaller.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.Costa Rica at a glance
- Capital
- San José
- Region
- Central America, North America
- Population
- 5,152,950 (2025)
- Surface area
- 51,100 km² (2024)
- Density
- 101 people per km²
- Official languages
- Spanish
- Currency
- Costa Rican Colon (CRC)
- Calling code
- +506
- Internet domain
- .cr
- Land neighbours
- 2 (Natural Earth) · 2 (Travle)
Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.
Costa Rica within Central America
Natural Earth places Costa Rica in Central America (UN subregion). Of the 8 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Costa Rica is 6th by population and 6th by surface area, with 2.8% of the combined population of those entries.
| Country | Population (2025) | Area km² (2024) |
|---|---|---|
 Mexico | 131,946,900 | 1,957,194 |
 Guatemala | 18,687,881 | 108,889 |
 Honduras | 11,005,850 | 112,492 |
 Nicaragua | 7,007,502 | 130,370 |
 El Salvador | 6,365,503 | 21,040 |
| Costa Rica | 5,152,950 | 51,100 |
 Panama | 4,571,189 | 75,320 |
 Belize | 422,924 | 22,966 |
Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.
Location, borders and position
Costa Rica is in Central America, North America. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern hemisphere and the western hemisphere. Its capital, San José, is at about 9.9° N and 84.1° W.
On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Costa Rica 2 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 2.
Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.
Where Costa Rica is on the map
Countries bordering Costa Rica
Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 2 land neighbours.
| Country | Direction | Land boundary in Natural Earth | Border in Travle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua | north | Yes | Yes |
| Panama | east | Yes | Yes |
Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.
Money and language in Costa Rica
Currency
- Costa Rican Colon: code CRC, numeric 188. ISO 4217 lists it for this country only.
Official languages
- Spanish: official in 23 territories in CLDR, including Costa Rica.
CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.
Currency, domain and dialling code
- Currency
- Costa Rican Colon (CRC)
Source: Unicode CLDR release-48-2 currencyData (region CR); code, name and number from ISO 4217 list one (SIX), published 2026-09-17; checked 2026-10-19. - Internet domain
- .cr
Source: IANA Root Zone Database; checked 2026-10-19. - International dialling code
- +506
Source: ITU, List of ITU-T Recommendation E.164 assigned country codes (position on 15 December 2016); checked 2026-10-19. - Time
- UTC-06:00 all year (2026)
IANA zones: America/Costa_Rica
Source: IANA Time Zone Database 2026e (zone.tab); UTC offsets computed for 15 Jan and 15 Jul 2026 with Node.js ICU tz 2026a; checked 2026-10-19.
Costa Rica codes and abbreviations
| Standard | Code |
|---|---|
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 | CR |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | CRI |
| ISO 3166-1 numeric | 188 |
| ISO 4217 currency (Costa Rican Colon) | CRC · 188 |
| Country-code top-level domain | .cr |
| ITU-T E.164 country code | +506 |
Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.
Fun facts about Costa Rica
- Spanish has official status in 23 territories in Unicode CLDR, Costa Rica among them.
- The longest Travle trip from Costa Rica takes 6 steps, to Canada.
- UNESCO lists 4 World Heritage properties in Costa Rica; the earliest inscription dates from 1983.
Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.
How far can you travel from Costa Rica in Travle?
Starting from Costa Rica and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.
| Steps | Countries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 2 | 2 | |
| 3 | 6 | |
| 4 | 9 | |
| 5 | 1 | |
| 6 | 1 |
In total 21 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 6 steps and end in Canada. The other 150 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (50 in Africa, 46 in Asia, 38 in Europe, 8 in North America, 7 in Oceania, 1 in South America).
Nearby routes from Costa Rica
Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.
- Nicaragua: 1 step (Costa Rica → Nicaragua)
- Panama: 1 step (Costa Rica → Panama)
Colombia: 2 steps (Costa Rica → Panama → Colombia)- Honduras: 2 steps (Costa Rica → Nicaragua → Honduras)
Brazil: 3 steps (Costa Rica → Panama → Colombia → Brazil)
Ecuador: 3 steps (Costa Rica → Panama → Colombia → Ecuador)- El Salvador: 3 steps (Costa Rica → Nicaragua → Honduras → El Salvador)
- Guatemala: 3 steps (Costa Rica → Nicaragua → Honduras → Guatemala)
Peru: 3 steps (Costa Rica → Panama → Colombia → Peru)
Venezuela: 3 steps (Costa Rica → Panama → Colombia → Venezuela)
World Heritage in Costa Rica
UNESCO lists 4 World Heritage properties in Costa Rica: 3 natural and 1 cultural. The first, inscribed in 1983, was Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park.
- Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park (natural, inscribed 1983, shared with other countries)
- Cocos Island National Park (natural, inscribed 1997)
- Area de Conservación Guanacaste (natural, inscribed 1999)
- Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís (cultural, inscribed 2014)
Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.
Costa Rica — frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Costa Rica?
San José.
Which countries border Costa Rica?
On land, Nicaragua and Panama, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.
What currency and language does Costa Rica use?
The currency is the Costa Rican Colon (CRC). Unicode CLDR gives Spanish official status.
How far can you travel from Costa Rica in Travle?
Following land borders only, 21 countries are reachable. The farthest need 6 steps: Canada.
How many people live in Costa Rica?
The World Bank counts 5,152,950 people for 2025.
How big is Costa Rica?
51,100 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.
What is the dialling code and internet domain of Costa Rica?
The international dialling code is +506 and the country-code domain is .cr.
What time zone does Costa Rica use?
UTC-06:00 all year (2026).
Keep exploring
- Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
- Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
- Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.