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Costa Rica - People

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, about 3% of the population. Few of the native Indians survived European contact; the indigenous population today is less than 1% of the population.

Under the stimulus of profitable coffee and banana cultivation in the nineteenth century, the phenomenon of concentrated wealth arose. As some families accumulated fortunes, class differences began to emerge and became entrenched in the national character. According to popular perceptions, however, the society is still a relatively egalitarian one. Divisive cleavages of class and race, as well as glaring disparities of income and opportunity, are not as apparent as they are elsewhere in the region. Predominantly European in their origins, Costa Ricans have been spared the imposition of a ruling elite that is ethnically different from the bulk of the population.

One of the results of the high degree of ethnic and linguistic homogeneity is the relative lack of antagonism between social groups. A class structure does exist, and the middle class is predominant among the social categories. But relations between the highest income groups and the rest of the population are not apparently bitter, and factors such as education permit social mobility.

The heritage from the colonial era, when everyone was poor but independent and facing equal hardships and opportunities, has created an atmosphere conducive to social progress. Personalism, exemplified in the individual and the family, is a social value central to life In Costa Rica thus family honor and reputation are of great importance. Roman Catholicism is the country's official religion, a fact delineated in the Constitution.