What Language Do They Speak in Costa Rica?

Official language of Costa Rica Spanish

Facts last checked 9 October 2026.

The official language of Costa Rica is Spanish. Spanish is also an official language in 20 other countries worldwide.

Learn some Spanish before you go

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Languages of Costa Rica at a glance

Official language	Spanish
Number of official languages	1
Countries on this site where Spanish is official	21
People (demonym)	Costa Rican
Capital	San José
Internet domain	.cr

Other countries where Spanish is official

Spanish is also an official language in 20 other countries covered here:

Languages of neighbouring countries

Nicaragua	Spanish
Panama	Spanish

Costa Rica in context

Costa Rica covers 51,100 km², making it the 126th largest of the 196 countries on this site.
Its population density of about 104 people per km² ranks 86th of 196 (1st = most crowded).
It shares a land border with 2 countries: Nicaragua, Panama.
With 5,309,625 people, Costa Rica holds about 10.5% of the population of Central America.
Traffic drives on the right, and calendars start the week on Monday.
Costa Rica is a member state of the United Nations.

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Useful phrases for visitors to Costa Rica

Everyday Spanish phrases you will hear and use in Costa Rica:

English	Spanish
Hello	Hola
Thank you	Gracias
Please	Por favor
Goodbye	Adiós
Yes	Sí
No	No

Spellings can vary by region, and some languages use different forms for formal or informal speech. Even a simple greeting in the local language is usually appreciated.

Languages in Costa Rica — FAQ