Pre-Columbian peoples
Even if it is possible to admire the most beautiful pieces of pre-Columbian craftsmanship in the two museums of San José: the Gold Museum and the Jade Museum (the most important jade museum of the continent), the vestiges of the pre-Columbian past are rare, and even almost absent from Costa Rican territory. Only the site of Guayabo still testifies to the greatness of a past that is now over. Before the arrival of the Conquistadors, Costa Rica had 400,000 inhabitants, but colonization led to significant losses: today the ethnocultural groups of Costa Rica total only 50,000 people. The different ethnic groups that occupied this small territory were distinguished from each other by their origins, their languages and their diverse customs. Nevertheless, all the richness and complexity that made up these human societies fell into oblivion when they came up against the Spanish Conquest, determined to profoundly renew the beliefs and ways of life of the First Nations. Generally speaking, each community was led by a cacique whose importance was determined by the size of the territory and the number of inhabitants. The federation of several villages formed a "caciquat", the most important of which, at the arrival of the Spanish settlers, was that of Nicoya.
The main ethnic group in the North Pacific was the Chorotega, a people from the Aztec city of Cholula in Mexico. Settled in the northwest of Costa Rica around the ninth century, the Chorotegas cultivated corn, squash, cotton, tobacco, but also beans and cocoa. Their crafts, inherited from the Maya people, were expressed through the work of ceramics (jars, statuettes, etc.) and the work of jade. Like the Maya, they had their own calendar, based on astronomy, and their own writing system. Three great annual festivals marking the great stages of the culture of corn governed the calendar. Their villages, with several thousand inhabitants, were organized around squares, markets and temples. Real political and social structures governed the three main social classes. One thus distinguished the priests, the warriors and the prisoners of war, intended for the human sacrifices.
Further south, in the rainforest, the Brunkas occupied the entire area of the Sierra de Talamanca. Descendants of the Chibcha culture, a pre-Columbian community in present-day Colombia, they were experts in the craft techniques of gold work: they meticulously made necklaces and bracelets as well as traditional masks. Today, their work is still recognized and many art lovers buy objects made with their know-how. The Brunkas are also famous for their strange stone spheres whose meaning and use are unknown. Located on the Osa Peninsula and perfectly spherical, they can weigh up to sixteen tons and reach a diameter of two meters! Like the Chorotegas, they cultivated corn, but also beans and cotton.
On the Caribbean coast, the Huetares occupied almost the entire Atlantic coastline and could be found as far as the Central Valley. Hunters, gatherers, but also farmers, they made cassava and sweet potato the basis of their diet. Specialized in the work of volcanic stone, they dedicated themselves to the sculpture of altars decorated with human and animal figures. Only few traces of their architecture remain: the only notable monument of the Huetar culture are the ruins of Guayabo, a city built between the sixth and tenth centuries of our era, and abandoned around 1400 for reasons still unknown, even though excavations are still in progress on the ancient city of Guayabo which would have been inhabited by about ten thousand souls.
The Costa Ricans of today
For a long time, Costa Rica's population numbered only a few tens of thousands. Colonization was slow and difficult, resulting in heavy losses, and immigration was somewhat cautious: in 1800, the country had barely 50,000 inhabitants. By 1920, there were just 420,000, then 620,000 in 1940 and 800,000 in 1950. By the 1984 census, the population had risen to 2.4 million. The annual growth rate in recent decades has been 2.1%. In January 2025, statistical estimates put Costa Rica's population at 5.14 million. Around a third of the population is under the age of 25.
Throughout the 20th century, 70% of Costa Ricans still lived in the countryside! Long rural, the population became highly urbanized in the 2000s, in tandem with the boom in tourism. Costa Rica's openness to the rest of the world has also brought about a number of changes: for some years now, the country has been welcoming many Americans and more and more Europeans. Originally tourists, more and more of them are choosing Costa Rica as their retirement destination. Some towns, such as Tamarindo on the Pacific coast, speak almost more English than Spanish!
Long forgotten, Amerindian communities have gradually gained recognition for their people and their reserve. They often live far from towns and paved roads, and are not yet integrated into Costa Rican society, wishing to preserve their culture and traditions. As in the majority of countries with indigenous minorities, Costa Rica has not maintained the same development of living conditions for everyone: the Amerindian communities, although self-sufficient for the most part, live on the margins. Illiterate, living in dilapidated housing, deprived of schools and electricity, the populations of these communities do not always benefit from Western progress and modernity.
Multiple identities and ethno-cultural minorities
Costa Rica's population is highly mixed. Here, the word "white" refers to a wide range of skin colors, while the term "black" applies only to the descendants of African slaves. Home to many European populations, the country is, according to the latest census, 93% white, 3% black, 3% Asian and 1% native Amerindian. But why so much diversity in such a small country? This multicultural richness stems from various historical episodes. For example, in the 19th century, railroad construction attracted Chinese and Jamaican workers. Then, still at the end of the 19th century, many English, Irish, German, Polish, Italian and Basque immigrants settled here. Before the Second World War, fleeing the rise of Nazism, European Jews, Lebanese and Turks followed suit. Then, faced with the Latin American dictatorships that struck Chile, Uruguay and Argentina in the second half of the 20th century, many South Americans decided to flee to Costa Rica.
But among all these waves of migration, one population with a very special past has settled in Costa Rica for several generations: mostly represented in the Limón region, Afro-descendants proudly maintain the essence of a Caribbean culture marked by nostalgia, music, history and crossbreeding. Puerto Limón still bears the imprint of these cultural and musical influences, notably in calypso, popularized in the English-speaking West Indies but originally from West Africa. Rhythmic music and a veritable political weapon, calypso was imported to Costa Rica with the Jamaican slaves until the 20th century. Calypso is still very much a part of life on the Caribbean coast: everyone knows it, and everyone dances to it! Long excluded from the Hispano-American population, black communities were denied civil rights and subjected to xenophobic measures such as avoiding mixing with other populations on pain of "physiological degeneration and the development of idleness and vice". In the 1920s and 1930s, these same communities had no access to skilled jobs. On the eve of the Second World War, these protests culminated in a law banning black, Chinese and Arab people from entering the country. It wasn't until the Second Republic, in 1948, that discriminatory laws were abolished.
Today, the Amerindians have 22 reserves and territories throughout the country. However, for a long time, the country neglected the Amerindian communities, whose history goes back thousands of years. Over the years, laws and decrees have protected the lands of these ancestral communities, but unfortunately, they have been affected by the rise of the Western economy, and some lands are often illegally bought up by foreign companies. Attached to their traditions and living in isolation, certain ethnic groups are wary of outside visitors: to be accepted into certain communities, you'll have to go through rituals to avoid transmitting disease or bringing in evil spirits. Great connoisseurs of their environment, they maintain a way of life very close to nature. Their spiritual and cultural heritage is passed on to future generations. The Maleku and Bribris are among Costa Rica's oldest communities. The Maleku people, who have faced many upheavals in history, live on the plains of northern Costa Rica. Spread over three reserves, they now number just 600. The Bribris, scattered across the southern Cordillera de Talamanca, are the country's largest ethnic group. Of Aztec origin and adepts of shamanism, they are said to number 10,000 people spread over three reserves. With a past dating back over 5,000 years and far removed from any form of civilization, the Bribris are self-sufficient. However, this does not prevent them from being very open to tourism. To reach their villages nestled in the forest, you'll have to travel by 4x4 through the intricate jungle, then continue your journey aboard a pirogue. An emblematic people of Costa Rica, they perpetuate a unique bond with their land. In plots cultivated in the heart of the jungle, they process cocoa beans and make chocolate. Corn is still used to produce chicha, the traditional drink. If you visit the Malekus or Bribris, the village chiefs are sure to give you a taste of this fermented corn alcohol!
Pura vida mae
Costa Rica is undoubtedly the most famous country in Central America, despite a population of just 5 million. This popularity is due to its welcoming and generous people. Delighted to share the treasures of their country, the population is particularly warm and open to international tourism. Lovers of life and respectful of the wildlife that surrounds them, they honor each passing day with the country's most famous saying: "Pura vida" (which could be translated as "all's well"), perfectly translates the country's philosophy. Cherishing the moment is the Costa Rican way of life. "Pura vida" conveys this vision of the world, this joie de vivre, as well as being a much-used greeting for your fellow man.
Although the official language of Costa Rica is Spanish, the Ticos - as they are known - also have their own slang, i.e. words and expressions that can only be heard in the mouths of locals. Some peculiarities stem from pre-Columbian America: some words actually come from the languages of indigenous tribes who have allowed a certain cultural heritage to escape. Several ethnic minorities are fighting for the preservation and teaching of their increasingly rare dialects. On the Atlantic coast, Afro-descendants use an English Creole inherited from their Jamaican ancestors. You'll also find that Costa Ricans call each other "Ticos" for the simple reason that they constantly use this diminutive for every word, most often ending in "-ico". For example, chico (small) becomes chiquitico (even smaller). In this way, every word is associated with this diminutive: la petite rue, la petite voiture, la petite promenade, le petit chien, le petit café... This linguistic reflex is a way of softening interactions, of attenuating the harshness of certain remarks, which goes down a lot better and makes everyday life a lot more pleasant!
Always in a pacifist and respectful frame of mind, Costa Ricans reflect a social and democratic politics. The decision to abolish its army in the aftermath of a civil war has enabled the country to invest in health, education and environmental preservation. Proud of its democratic values, Costa Rica's flag features the three colors of France: blue, white and red, with five horizontal stripes. "France erects its colors vertically, because it is at the center of civilization. Costa Rica will erect them horizontally, because it is a nation that is beginning to receive the first rays of its true independence and of the civilization of the century." (Castro Madriz, President of the Republic, 1848).
A strong and intimate link with nature
In Costa Rica, nature is a daily ally. Accustomed to this profusion of nature, the Ticos are born with this capacity to marvel daily at the spectacle that the living world offers. Conscious of their environment and educated to the richness of their biodiversity, they are at one with this earth that moves and is part of their identity. An earthquake? A volcanic eruption? The Ticos are not necessarily alarmed: the love of the inhabitants for nature is also to accept its whims! By applying the adage "Pura vida", one can only be happy, and even more so if one is content with a simple life close to nature: this may be the secret of longevity in Costa Rica, one of the countries with the most centenarians. Here, as soon as a person is born, he or she forms a direct connection with nature. This guarantees a better quality of life on a daily basis: the inhabitants of Costa Rica enjoy the highest life expectancy in Central America and live on average up to 80 years! Qualified as a "blue zone" by scientists, the Nicoya Peninsula, in the northwest of the country, is a province where people live much longer than elsewhere: they are 10 times more likely to live to be 100 years old than in Europe! Home to many centenarians, it is indeed one of the five places in the world where people live the oldest on the planet. This can be explained by the quality of the local food (mainly vegetarian diet), the solidarity of the families and communities, the determination of each person's role within an activity... Families never separate, always reside in the same place and the elders work until the end of their life: each one has a mission!
Accustomed to growing their own food, some elders are true encyclopedias and have acquired over the years the experience to identify plants at first glance: those that are edible and/or medicinal, those that cleanse the kidneys, those that fight against malaria, cold or colds, those that are good anti-mosquitoes or that are treatment for circulation and treatment of veins. Here, turmeric grows in profusion!
The Ticos also have a more sporting relationship with nature. Almost a national sport, surfing is a religion for many of them! It is even common for Ticos to take a break from work and go for a surfing session to clear their heads. Simple novices or initiated, they are numerous to leave to the assault of the waves on the hundreds of kilometers of coasts which counts the country. The less sporty, however, meet on the beach to watch the sunset, a way to pay tribute to the beauty of their environment.
