Costa Rica in Latin America, Its Role, Weight and Alliances
COSTA RICA · LATIN AMERICA
Key Facts
- —The basics Costa Rica, home to 5.15 million people in 2025, lies in Central America, which geographers count as part of North America, yet it belongs to Latin America and has sat in the OECD, the rich-country policy club, since May 2021.
- —Why it matters Costa Rica has no army, but on 22 September 2026 it joined 14 other governments in a US-led security statement; a new foreign minister, named on 5 October, is due to take over from 15 October after a row over that meeting.
- —The numbers Costa Rica produced US$102.9 billion in 2025, about 1.4% of Latin American and Caribbean output, or US$19,970 per person against a regional US$11,095, and grew 4.6%; the central bank forecasts 3.4% for 2026.
- —Who is who President Laura Fernández leads the 2026 to 2030 government, Ana Elena Pinto Lizano was named foreign minister from 15 October 2026, Rodrigo Chaves is minister of the presidency and finance, and Indiana Trejos runs foreign trade.
- —What to watch Costa Rica and the 12 CPTPP members must still formalise its accession to the Pacific trade pact after talks substantially ended on 6 May 2026, and President Fernández is due at the Ibero-American Summit in Madrid on 4 and 5 November 2026.
- —Power Index Costa Rica ranks 9th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 36.5 points (October 2026 edition).
- —What it means for you As of October 2026, US firms deal with a partner whose largest trade and investment link is the United States, under a pact in force since 1 January 2009, with the colón near 456 per US$1.
On the Costa Rica continent question, the answer is North America, yet the country is small by population and outsized in diplomacy. Here is where it fits in Latin America as of October 2026.
Geographically it is North America, because Costa Rica lies in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. Politically and statistically, this country of 5.15 million people belongs to Latin America.
Its weight is modest, but its income, its trade network and its diplomatic record are not. For US readers, it matters as a CAFTA-DR trade partner, a Shield of the Americas participant and a market for investors.
The Costa Rica Continent Question, Answered
Costa Rica sits on the Central American isthmus, with Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Geographers usually count Central America as part of North America, though many Latin American schools teach one American continent.
Statistically, the World Bank groups Costa Rica with Latin America and the Caribbean, a region of 666.6 million people in 2025. The sections below cover its weight, its memberships, its alliances and its border disputes.
For a full country profile, see Costa Rica Explained, and for daily news, The Rio Times Costa Rica page. For culture and daily life, read the pillar on Costa Rican people and customs.
Costa Rica’s Weight in Population and Economy
Costa Rica had 5,152,950 people in 2025, the World Bank’s latest data show. That is about 0.77% of Latin America and the Caribbean’s 666.6 million, or roughly one resident in 129.
Among the eight members of the Central American Integration System, Costa Rica ranks sixth by population. Guatemala has 18.7 million people and the Dominican Republic 11.5 million, against 5.2 million here.
The economy produced US$102.9 billion in 2025, about 1.4% of the region’s US$7.40 trillion, World Bank figures show. That makes it the third-largest of the eight, behind the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.
Output per person was US$19,970 in 2025, about 1.8 times the regional average of US$11,095. Guatemala has 3.6 times the people but only 1.2 times the output.
Real growth reached 4.6% in 2025, according to both World Bank data and IMF staff, led by goods exports from free-trade zones. The central bank’s July 2026 report forecasts 3.4% growth for 2026 and 3.5% for 2027.
IMF staff projected 3.8% growth for 2026 in March 2026, and listed rising crime as a risk to tourism and investment. The staff statement also shows the current account deficit narrowing to 0.7% of output in 2025.
Prices are barely moving, with 0.34% annual inflation in September 2026. INEC, the national statistics institute, reported it after 16 straight months of falling prices, La Nación and Teletica said.
The central bank held its policy rate at 3.00% on Thursday, 24 September 2026. Its inflation target is 3%, plus or minus one point.
On 24 September the bank said activity had slowed, mainly because firms in the special free-trade regimes are growing less. Its July report linked lower goods prices partly to a stronger colón, the national currency.
The colón traded at 455.96 per US$1 on 15 October 2026, according to open.er-api.com. That is the basis for conversions in this guide.
Who Speaks for Costa Rica Abroad
President Laura Fernández leads the 2026 to 2030 government, and predecessor Rodrigo Chaves is minister of the presidency and finance. The Presidency’s cabinet page lists Chaves in both posts.
On Thursday, 24 September 2026, Fernández fired Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar for attending a Shield of the Americas session unannounced. Her office said the 22 September session was mishandled and the omission did great strategic harm.
Indiana Trejos, the foreign trade minister, was named acting foreign minister. On Monday, 5 October 2026, Fernández named Ana Elena Pinto Lizano, a career diplomat, to the post from 15 October.
Pinto Lizano has more than two decades in the foreign service and was most recently ambassador to France and Monaco. The ministry is known as the Casa Amarilla, after its yellow headquarters in San José.
Fernández’s office announced security talks with Colombia’s President Abelardo De La Espriella in Barranquilla on 22 and 23 September 2026. She is also due at the Ibero-American Summit in Madrid on Wednesday, 4 November, and Thursday, 5 November 2026.
The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, October 2026 edition, ranks Costa Rica 9th of 14 countries, with 36.5 points. It scores third on state capacity and security at 75.0, but last on military means at 0.0.
The index is explained on the Latin America Power Map. It places Costa Rica in its group closer to Washington, because the country is in a US security framework and outside BRICS.
CELAC, the OAS and the Rio Treaty
Costa Rica belongs to CELAC, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, a 33-country forum without the United States. Uruguay took over its rotating presidency from Colombia in 2026, and Colombia’s foreign ministry backed the new chair on 15 April.
Colombia remains in CELAC’s leadership troika. Costa Rica sent then Foreign Minister Arnoldo André to the CELAC-EU summit in Santa Marta in November 2025.
The Organization of American States (OAS), which includes the United States, is the other forum where Costa Rica carries weight. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the hemisphere’s human rights court, has its seat in San José, the Court says.
The American Convention on Human Rights was adopted in San José in 1969 and is called the Pact of San José. The Court was installed in San José on 3 September 1979, after the OAS accepted Costa Rica’s offer to host it.
On 22 September 2026, the United States and 14 regional governments, including Costa Rica, issued a joint statement on hemispheric sovereignty. It rests on three pillars: economic, security and multilateral coordination.
They intend to ask the OAS Permanent Council for a meeting under Articles 6 and 13 of the Rio Treaty. That treaty is the hemisphere’s mutual-defence pact.
The first joint action targets 24 groups, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. Signatories declared their intent to impose asset freezes, visa restrictions and criminal liability for material support.
Costa Rica’s presidency calls the Shield fundamental against drug trafficking and organised crime, in its 24 September 2026 release. The signatories included Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
For the political background, see the report on the Shield of the Americas invitation. A second report covers Costa Rica’s security push.
SICA, CARICOM, Mercosur and the Andean Community
Costa Rica is one of eight members of the Central American Integration System (SICA), set up in December 1991. Revista E&N, citing EFE, listed the members when Belize took SICA’s rotating presidency on Thursday, 25 June 2026.
Lina Ajoy, until recently Costa Rica’s ambassador to Belize, is SICA’s secretary-general for 2026 to 2030, Belize’s foreign ministry said. A Costa Rican diplomat now runs the secretariat of the Central American bloc.
Costa Rica is not in CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, but has a free-trade agreement with it. It took effect on 15 November 2005 with Trinidad and Tobago, and later with Guyana, Barbados, Belize and Jamaica.
Trade with CARICOM fell from US$251 million in 2012 to US$191 million in 2021, COMEX data show. Costa Rica offers duty-free access to goods from CARICOM’s least developed members, with some exceptions.
COMEX lists no agreement with Mercosur, South America’s trade bloc, among those in force or in progress. Costa Rica is outside the four-member Andean Community, but has free-trade agreements with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Costa Rica instead looks to the Pacific. In December 2024, the Pacific Alliance formally accepted Costa Rica as a candidate for full membership, COMEX said.
The alliance groups Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Costa Rica applied to join the CPTPP, a Pacific trade pact of 12 economies, in August 2022.
It was invited to start the process on 28 November 2024, COMEX says. On Wednesday, 6 May 2026, the 12 members and Costa Rica welcomed the substantial conclusion of the accession talks.
In June 2026, CPTPP ministers said they were preparing Costa Rica’s legal instrument of accession. They want to formalise the conclusion as soon as possible.
Costa Rica also became the 38th member of the OECD in May 2021, the organisation said. COMEX, the foreign trade ministry, keeps a section for the OECD on its website.
Alliances From Washington to Beijing
The United States is Costa Rica’s main trade partner and its largest source of foreign direct investment, COMEX says. Two-way trade reached US$18.06 billion in 2024 under CAFTA-DR, the trade pact in force since 1 January 2009.
That trade was 41.4% of Costa Rica’s total trade in 2024, COMEX says. Bilateral trade grew by 7.7% a year on average from 2015 to 2024.
China is Costa Rica’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, COMEX says. Costa Rica set up diplomatic relations with Beijing in June 2007, and the free-trade agreement took effect on 1 August 2011.
Two-way trade with China grew from US$2.13 billion in 2016 to US$5.07 billion in 2025, COMEX figures show. The ministry says Costa Rica now holds export authorisations for China, including frozen pineapple, beef and pork.
Costa Rica has had a free-trade agreement with Mexico since 1995, updated by a 2013 pact covering five Central American states. COMEX puts Costa Rica-Mexico trade at US$1.55 billion in 2021.
Trade with Europe runs through the Central America-EU association agreement and, since 1 January 2021, a separate pact with Britain. COMEX also lists agreements in force with Canada, Chile, South Korea, Singapore, the European Free Trade Association and the United Arab Emirates.
Costa Rica has no armed forces, archived State Department notes say, so the Ministry of Public Security handles policing. That is why partnerships such as the Shield matter for its security.
The Nicaragua Border Cases at the World Court
Costa Rica’s sharpest dispute is with Nicaragua, over the San Juan River border and a beach at Isla Portillos. Costa Rica filed a border-area case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top court, on 18 November 2010.
On 2 February 2018, the ICJ ruled in joined cases that Costa Rica has sovereignty over the northern part of Isla Portillos. It left Harbor Head Lagoon and its sandbar to Nicaragua, and ordered the removal of a Nicaraguan military camp.
In that case, the court set compensation for Costa Rica at US$378,890.59. Nicaragua told the court on 22 March 2018 that it had paid the full sum on 8 March 2018.
Nicaragua is not among the 15 signatories of the 22 September 2026 statement. For Nicaragua’s side and the wider region, see Nicaragua and Its Neighbours in Central America.
How Costa Rica Compares With Its Peers
Costa Rica is richer per person than every other SICA member, narrowly ahead of Panama at US$19,790 in 2025. Guatemala produced US$6,598 per person and the Dominican Republic US$11,059, World Bank data show.
Uruguay, with 3.38 million people, produced US$25,216 per person in 2025, ahead of Costa Rica. Chile, with 19.86 million people, produced US$17,995.
Mexico’s economy, at US$1.83 trillion, is about 18 times Costa Rica’s, and Brazil’s, at US$2.28 trillion, about 22 times. Argentina, with 45.9 million people, produced US$14,898 per person.
In The Rio Times Power Index, Costa Rica ranks behind Ecuador and ahead of Paraguay and Panama. Its score is held back by military means at 0.0 and diplomatic influence at 14.0, and lifted by state capacity at 75.0.
Small size pushes Costa Rica toward rules, courts and trade deals rather than force. That is why the CPTPP, the OECD and the ICJ feature so heavily in its record.
What It Means for US Readers
For US firms, Costa Rica offers a trade pact in force since January 2009 and a colón near 456 per US$1. The central bank forecasts 3.4% growth for 2026, while inflation was only 0.34% in September 2026.
For US policy, Costa Rica has chosen to stand inside the Shield of the Americas while keeping a free-trade deal with China. The dismissal of its foreign minister on 24 September 2026 shows how sensitive the US relationship has become.
For visitors, the IMF names rising crime as a risk to tourism, so check the US State Department’s travel advice before booking. Costa Rica has no army, so security rests on its police and on partners.
For practical steps, see the guide to moving to Costa Rica and the cost of living in Costa Rica. Visitors to the capital can use the San José city page and What to Do in San José in October 2026.
What Is Not Known
Mercosur’s own website blocked this check, so its member list is not confirmed first-hand. COMEX lists no Mercosur agreement for Costa Rica.
No signing date is set for Costa Rica’s CPTPP accession, which ministers want to formalise quickly. It is also unclear when the Pacific Alliance will finish an accession protocol for Costa Rica.
This guide found no date for the OAS Permanent Council meeting that the signatories intend to request under the Rio Treaty. It is also unknown whether Costa Rica will send its foreign minister, or what measures it will adopt against the 24 groups.
INEC’s own website could not be opened, so the 0.34% inflation figure rests on La Nación and Teletica reports of INEC data. The 2025 output figures come from the World Bank, not from the central bank’s national accounts.
No release confirms the swearing-in of Ana Elena Pinto Lizano, whose appointment takes effect on 15 October 2026, the Presidency says. The foreign ministry’s own website also blocked this check.
Frequently Asked Questions
What continent is Costa Rica in?
Costa Rica is in North America, in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. Politically and statistically, it is grouped with Latin America and the Caribbean.
Is Costa Rica part of CELAC, the OAS and SICA?
Yes, Costa Rica is one of 33 CELAC countries and one of eight SICA members. It also takes part in the OAS and hosts the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San José.
Is Costa Rica in Mercosur or the Andean Community?
Costa Rica is not among the four Andean Community members, and COMEX lists no Mercosur agreement for it. It has free-trade agreements with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, and is a candidate for the Pacific Alliance.
Does Costa Rica have an army?
No, Costa Rica has no armed forces, the archived US State Department background notes say. Policing falls to the Ministry of Public Security.
How big is Costa Rica’s economy?
Costa Rica produced about US$102.9 billion in 2025, roughly 1.4% of Latin American and Caribbean output. Output per person was US$19,970, about 1.8 times the regional average.
What is the Shield of the Americas?
It is a US-led security coalition, and Costa Rica and 14 other governments issued a joint statement on 22 September 2026. The statement targets 24 criminal groups and seeks a meeting under the Rio Treaty.
Sources: World Bank, Costa Rica and regional data (API updated 8 October 2026); Central Bank of Costa Rica, monetary policy report, 30 July 2026; Central Bank of Costa Rica, policy rate decision, 24 September 2026; IMF staff statement, 2026 Article IV mission, 10 March 2026 (hosted by the central bank); La Nación, INEC consumer price index for September 2026, 7 October 2026; Teletica, INEC consumer price index for September 2026; Presidency of Costa Rica, release of 24 September 2026; Presidency of Costa Rica, release of 5 October 2026; Presidency of Costa Rica, Colombia visit release of 16 September 2026; Presidency of Costa Rica, Vatican and Ibero-American Summit release; Presidency of Costa Rica, cabinet page; US State Department, Joint Statement on Defending Hemispheric Sovereignty, 22 September 2026; US State Department, archived Costa Rica background note; COMEX, trade agreements in force and in progress; COMEX, China free-trade agreement; COMEX, CARICOM free-trade agreement; COMEX, CAFTA-DR; COMEX, Mexico free-trade agreement; COMEX, United Kingdom agreement; COMEX, CPTPP accession; COMEX, Pacific Alliance candidacy, December 2024; CPTPP joint ministerial statement on Costa Rica, 6 May 2026; CPTPP joint ministerial statement, 26 June 2026; OECD, Costa Rica becomes 38th member; Colombian foreign ministry, CELAC presidency, 15 April 2026; EU External Action Service, CELAC-EU summit; El Observador CR, Costa Rica at the CELAC summit, 7 November 2025; Inter-American Court of Human Rights, what the Court is; Revista E&N (EFE), SICA presidency handover, 25 June 2026; Spanish foreign ministry, SICA full members (2018); Belize foreign ministry, SICA secretary-general, 10 June 2026; Andean Community; ICJ, Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area; ICJ, Land Boundary in the Northern Part of Isla Portillos; The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, October 2026 edition; exchange rate from open.er-api.com (all accessed 16 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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