A consolidated migration profile for Costa Rica:
who arrives, who leaves, how many people are hosted or displaced, and the national context behind those numbers.
Every figure below is a reported value from an official source — nothing is estimated or filled in.
CapitalSan Jose
RegionLatin America
Subregion—
Population5,152,950
Refugees hosted36,395People protected here
Refugees from here—Fled abroad
Migrants living here628,404Foreign-born stock
Net migration1,000Net inflow
Asylum-seekers178,212Awaiting a decision
Reporting year2025Most recent data
Latest figures · 2025
Key migration numbers
The headline counts for the most recent reporting year. Refugees hosted are people this country protects; asylum-seekers are still awaiting a decision; applications are new asylum claims lodged during the year.
2025Reporting year
36,395Refugees hosted
178,212Asylum-seekers
29,916Applications (year)
Migration balance
Incoming vs outgoing
Annual estimates
Net migration is arrivals minus departures over the year. Positive means more people moved in than out. Migrant stock is the total foreign-born people living here now.
Net migration (year)1,000Net inflow
Migrants living here628,404Migrant stock
Missing / dead migrants
No data available
IOM Missing Migrants Project
Historical series
Statistics
Recorded migrant, refugee and asylum populations over time. Each line is one category; gaps mean a year the source did not report a figure (the line bridges the gap rather than dropping to zero).
Population profile
Sex, age, religion & more
How the population breaks down across reported dimensions, grouped by the year each figure was reported (most recent first). Bars show each group’s share of the total; where only headcounts were published, the raw number is shown instead.
Religion
Religious make-up over time
National shares
Share of the population by faith across the recorded years. Each line is a stored national value; nothing is estimated.
Displaced population by age cohort for the most recent reported year. Age is summed across sexes in the source data, so this is a single series per cohort — not a male/female split.
Displaced population by sex over the reported years, stacked so the top line reads as the total.
Sex
Female52.7%
Male46.1%
Unknown1.2%
Age
0-40.8%
12-173.6%
18-5966.5%
5-114.1%
60+13.5%
Sex
Female38.6%
Male52.8%
Unknown8.6%
Age
0-40.9%
12-174.6%
18-5972.4%
5-114.8%
60+4.1%
Sex
Female48.7%
Male47.2%
Unknown4.1%
Age
0-40.8%
12-173.6%
18-5961.2%
5-112.8%
60+8.7%
Sex
Female47.4%
Male35.6%
Unknown17.0%
Age
0-41.1%
12-172.8%
18-5966.3%
5-113.4%
60+9.6%
Sex
Female43.0%
Male33.7%
Unknown23.3%
Age
0-40.4%
12-172.6%
18-5961.5%
5-112.4%
60+8.7%
Sex
Female0.1%
Male0.1%
Unknown99.8%
Age
18-590.0%
5-110.0%
Sex
Female40.1%
Male59.9%
Sex
Female39.9%
Male59.6%
Age
0-40.1%
12-170.3%
18-590.5%
5-110.5%
60+0.2%
Sex
Female3.7%
Male5.2%
Unknown91.1%
Sex
Female18.6%
Male26.0%
Unknown55.4%
Age
0-41.9%
12-174.7%
18-5932.2%
5-114.3%
60+1.5%
Sex
Female26.5%
Male36.3%
Unknown37.2%
Age
0-42.7%
12-176.7%
18-5945.1%
5-116.1%
60+2.2%
Sex
Female26.9%
Male36.6%
Unknown36.5%
Age
0-42.9%
12-176.8%
18-5945.3%
5-116.3%
60+2.2%
Sex
Female27.1%
Male37.0%
Unknown35.9%
Age
0-42.9%
12-176.8%
18-5945.7%
5-116.5%
60+2.1%
Sex
Female27.6%
Male37.8%
Unknown34.6%
Age
0-42.9%
12-176.6%
18-5947.1%
5-116.4%
60+2.3%
Sex
Female28.0%
Male38.5%
Unknown33.5%
Age
0-43.0%
12-176.7%
18-5947.8%
5-116.6%
60+2.4%
Sex
Female28.9%
Male39.5%
Unknown31.6%
Age
0-43.1%
12-176.9%
18-5949.1%
5-116.8%
60+2.5%
Sex
Female0.6%
Male1.3%
Unknown98.1%
Age
0-40.0%
12-170.0%
18-591.8%
5-110.1%
Sex
Female37.4%
Male46.7%
Unknown15.9%
Age
0-42.0%
12-178.9%
18-5960.5%
5-1110.5%
60+2.3%
Sex
Female0.6%
Male0.7%
Unknown98.7%
Age
12-170.1%
18-591.1%
5-110.1%
Sex
Female23.1%
Male27.8%
Unknown49.1%
Age
0-41.2%
12-173.8%
18-5937.6%
5-114.2%
60+0.9%
Country context
National indicators
Economy
GDP (current US$)102,904,921,157.48 USD2025GDP per capita (current US$)19,970.10 USD2025Unemployment (% of labour force)6.84 %2025Personal remittances received (US$)853,351,002.16 USD2025Personal remittances received (% of GDP)0.83 %2025
Returned refugees5.00 people2012Naturalisations49.00 people2025
Other
Gini index45.50 2025Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (% of population)0.80 %2025Life expectancy at birth, total (years)81.00 years2024Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group)106.39 %2024Current health expenditure (% of GDP)6.87 %2023
Context
Migration & quality of life
These charts place migration next to quality-of-life indicators over time. Correlation is not causation — a relationship here does not prove migration caused the change, or that a change caused the migration.
Economy
Gross domestic product
World Bank
GDP (current US$)
$102.90B
Reported 2025
GDP per capita (current US$)
$19,970
Reported 2025
Migrant stock as a share of the population (left axis, in percent) shown against life expectancy (right axis, in years) over the years.
Each point is one year: migrant share of population (x, in percent) versus life expectancy (y, in years).
Public safety
Recorded crime
Not migrant offending
National crime figures for context only — they describe the whole resident population and are not a measure of migrant offending.
Recorded crime by type
rate / 100k where available
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.75
Homicide
17.75
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.83
Homicide
12.91
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.19
Homicide
11.62
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.44
Homicide
11.32
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.90
Homicide
11.26
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.60
Homicide
11.80
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.34
Homicide
12.27
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.69
Homicide
11.88
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.73
Homicide
11.56
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.12
Homicide
10.01
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.51
Homicide
8.71
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.12
Homicide
8.73
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.75
Homicide
10.28
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.65
Homicide
11.57
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.60
Homicide
11.67
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.68
Homicide
11.53
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.67
Homicide
8.42
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.07
Homicide
8.12
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.85
Homicide
7.86
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.83
Homicide
6.67
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.81
Homicide
7.25
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.65
Homicide
6.33
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.41
Homicide
6.41
Crime
Rate / 100k
2.03
Homicide
6.32
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.66
Homicide
6.34
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.43
Homicide
5.92
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.05
Homicide
5.67
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.01
Homicide
5.22
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.51
Homicide
5.20
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.43
Homicide
5.27
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.15
Homicide
4.75
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.51
Homicide
4.87
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.55
Homicide
4.12
Crime
Rate / 100k
1.79
Homicide
4.45
Public expenditure
Expenses
Migration-related public spending only — Official Development Assistance received and provided (which, for donor countries, includes in-donor refugee costs), in US dollars, stacked so the top line reads as the combined total for each year.
Year
Amount (USD)
Category
2023
$144,591,003
ODA received
2022
$641,308,533
ODA received
2021
$80,645,805
ODA received
2020
$209,971,390
ODA received
2019
$57,226,414
ODA received
2018
$99,426,277
ODA received
2017
$99,262,054
ODA received
2016
$100,722,580
ODA received
2015
$111,296,623
ODA received
2014
$54,550,724
ODA received
2013
$32,822,323
ODA received
2012
$28,463,692
ODA received
2011
$35,553,719
ODA received
2010
$96,900,002
ODA received
2009
$112,613,205
ODA received
2008
$77,130,180
ODA received
2007
$64,411,819
ODA received
2006
$31,863,306
ODA received
2005
$32,614,971
ODA received
2004
$25,764,639
ODA received
2003
$40,010,262
ODA received
2002
$13,241,666
ODA received
2001
$14,266,666
ODA received
2000
$25,459,999
ODA received
1999
$3,445,233
ODA received
1998
$29,778,233
ODA received
1997
$3,751,900
ODA received
1996
$-213,333
ODA received
1995
$46,086,666
ODA received
1994
$88,540,001
ODA received
1993
$117,129,997
ODA received
1992
$159,149,994
ODA received
1991
$184,029,999
ODA received
1990
$222,500,000
ODA received
1989
$225,330,002
ODA received
1988
$182,190,002
ODA received
1987
$224,490,005
ODA received
1986
$181,630,005
ODA received
1985
$251,770,004
ODA received
1984
$199,509,995
ODA received
1983
$224,440,002
ODA received
1982
$63,720,001
ODA received
1981
$30,950,001
ODA received
1980
$24,700,001
ODA received
1979
$30,270,000
ODA received
1978
$35,639,999
ODA received
1977
$16,740,000
ODA received
1976
$13,460,000
ODA received
1975
$20,190,001
ODA received
1974
$15,940,000
ODA received
1973
$16,240,000
ODA received
1972
$15,660,000
ODA received
1971
$14,160,000
ODA received
1970
$12,070,000
ODA received
1969
$13,840,000
ODA received
1968
$11,910,000
ODA received
1967
$12,880,000
ODA received
1966
$12,740,000
ODA received
1965
$15,070,000
ODA received
1964
$11,520,000
ODA received
1963
$8,110,000
ODA received
1962
$9,200,000
ODA received
1961
$7,090,000
ODA received
1960
$4,210,000
ODA received
Sources & notes
Figures are consolidated from the UNHCR Refugee Data Finder and the World Bank / UNODC. Only reported values are shown — blanks mean a source did not publish a figure, never a fabricated estimate. Statistics describe recorded populations and movements and should not be read as causal relationships.
