Demographics of Costa Rica
Some researchers have stated that around
95% of the Costa Rican population has some
native or African ancestry. Franklin Parker
in his Central American Republics (1964)
writes ?In the highland basins about the
capital a great majority of the persons are
European in stock - wholly so in some instances,
in others only preponderantly so with a trace
of Indian or Negro also present?. Although
it is true that some do not have any native
or African ancestry, to claim that the population
of Costa Rica is ?98% white? is a misrepresentation
of the facts. It is, though, one to which
many Costa Ricans subscribe, believing it
sets them apart from their darker-skinned
neighbors to the north and south. http://www.bjmjr.com/afromestizo/costa_rica.htm
The indigenous population today
numbers about
29,000 or less than 1% of the
population.
Descendants of 19th century Jamaican
immigrant
workers constitute an English-speaking
minority
and -- at 3% of the population
-- number
about 96,000. An important and
growing ethnic
group in Costa Rica are Nicaraguans
who represent
10% of the population. Most of
these Nicaraguans
are refugees from the Sandinista
regime that
existed in Nicaragua, and today
work as manual
laborers. Racism against the
Nicaraguans
is common, and their position
in society
has been compared to the Mexican
situation
in the United States.
The main migrants were once those
of German,
Polish, Italian, and Jewish ancestry,
but
today there is a growing number
of Amerindian
people who migrate for seasonal
work opportunities
as agricultural workers. There
is also a
growing number of Colombian,
Panamanian and
Peruvian refugees who call Costa
Rica home,
an example of Costa Rica's hospitality
and
peaceful government in Latin
America.
Demographic data from the CIA
World Factbook:
Population:
4,016,173 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.9% (male 593,540/female
566,361)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 1,330,481/female
1,300,664)
65 years and over: 5.6% (male
104,564/female
120,563) (2005 est.)
Median age:
Total: 26.03 years
Male: 25.59 years
Female: 26.5 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.48% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
18.6 births/1,000 population
(2005 est.)
Death rate:
4.33 deaths/1,000 population
(2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.02 male(s)/female
(2005
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live
births
Male: 10.85 deaths/1,000 live
births
Female: 9 deaths/1,000 live births
(2005
est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 76.84 years
Male: 74.26 years
Female: 79.55 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.28 children born/woman (2005
est.)
HIV/AIDS:
Adult prevalence rate: 0.6% (2003
est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS:
12,000 (2003
est.)
Deaths: 900 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
Noun: Costa Rican(s)
Adjective: Costa Rican
Ethnic groups:
White (including mestizo) 94%,
black 3%,
Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other
1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical
13.7%,
Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other
Protestant
0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
Languages:
Spanish (official), English
Literacy:
Definition: age 15 and over can
read and
write
Total population: 96%
Male: 95.9%
Female: 96.1% (2003 est.)
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