According to Article 168[1] of the Constitution of Costa Rica, the political divisions are officially classified into 3 tiers of sub-national entities.
The Constitution of Costa Rica states, "For Public Administration purposes, the national territory is divided into provinces, these into cantons and cantons into districts." The country consists of 7 provinces (provincias), 84 cantons (cantones), and 489 districts (distritos).[2]
| Flag | Province | Map | Capital | Area (km2) | Population | Density (km2) | Human Development Index 2015[3] | GDP per capita 2023 (PPP 2015 dollar)[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alajuela | Alajuela | 9,757 | 885,571 | 90.8 | 0.778 | 19,100 | ||
| Cartago | Cartago | 3,124 | 490,903 | 156.2 | 0.786 | 20,000 | ||
| Guanacaste | Liberia | 10,141 | 354,154 | 34.9 | 0.755 | 17,500 | ||
| Heredia | Heredia | 2,657 | 433,677 | 163.2 | 0.807 | 19,900 | ||
| Limón | Puerto Limón | 9,189 | 386,862 | 42.1 | 0.735 | 16,300 | ||
| Puntarenas | Puntarenas | 11,266 | 410,929 | 36.5 | 0.741 | 17,400 | ||
| San José | San José | 4,966 | 1,404,242 | 282.8 | 0.792 | 19,800 | ||