Unlike many of their Central American neighbors, present-day Costa Ricans are largely of European rather than mestizo descent; Spain was the primary country of origin. However, an estimated 10% to 15% of the population is Nicaraguan, of fairly recent arrival and primarily of mestizo origin. Descendants of 19th-century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority and--at 3% of the population--number about 119,000. Few of the native Indians survived European contact; the indigenous population today numbers about 29,000 or less than 1% of the population.

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.

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.

Religion:

Roman Catholic 69%, Protestant approx. 18%, none 12%, others 1%.

Languages: