MigrantoMigration trends in Costa Rica
Latin America
608K people from around the world have made Costa Rica their home. That's 11.9% of the country population, arriving from 152 different countries
5.1M
Population
608K
Immigrants
51K
Emigrants
+557K
Inflow
Every 8th person in Costa Rica was born abroad
The #75 largest immigrant destination worldwide
Top corridors
The largest migration routes in Costa Rica
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
209.2K immigrants · 22.9K emigrants
2000
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 47%
2020
- The foreign-born population passed 500K residents
Today
- Panama replaced Nicaragua as the main destination for those leaving
- Without migration, the population would have declined
- Since 1990: 398.8K more foreign-born residents and roughly the same number of citizens living abroad
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
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