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Provinces of Costa Rica facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Provinces are like big regions or areas that help manage a country. In Costa Rica, these areas are called provincias (which means provinces in Spanish). They are a very important part of how the country is organized.

Costa Rica's main rule book, the Constitution, explains this. Article 168 says that the country is split into provinces. These provinces are then divided into smaller parts called cantons. And cantons are further split into even smaller areas called districts.

As of 2016, Costa Rica has 7 provinces. Inside these, there are 81 cantons and 473 districts. This system helps the government manage different parts of the country more easily.

How Costa Rica's Provinces Were Formed

The way Costa Rica is divided today started a long time ago. On December 7, 1848, a special Law (Law No. 36) was passed. This law was the first to divide the country into provinces, cantons, and districts.

At first, this law created 6 provinces:

  • San José
  • Alajuela
  • Cartago
  • Heredia
  • Guanacaste

The law also created a special area called comarca for Puntarenas. A comarca was an old type of region that is not used anymore. Later, in 1858, Puntarenas became a full province.

Then, in 1870, Limón was also made a comarca. It was formed from the eastern part of the Cartago province. Finally, in 1902, Limón became the seventh province of Costa Rica.

List of Costa Rica's Provinces

Costa Rica provinces named
The seven provinces of Costa Rica
Flag Province Map ISO 3166-2 Capital City Area
(km2)
Population
(2011)
Density
Bandera de la Provincia de San José.svg San José San Jose in Costa Rica.svg CR-SJ San José &&&&&&&&&&&04965.9000004,965.90 &&&&&&&&01404242.&&&&&01,404,242 282.8
Bandera de la Provincia de Alajuela.svg Alajuela Alajuela in Costa Rica.svg CR-A Alajuela &&&&&&&&&&&09757.5300009,757.53 &&&&&&&&&0848146.&&&&&0848,146 86.9
Bandera de la Provincia de Cartago.svg Cartago Cartago in Costa Rica.svg CR-C Cartago &&&&&&&&&&&03124.6700003,124.67 &&&&&&&&&0490903.&&&&&0490,903 157.1
Bandera de la Provincia de Heredia.svg Heredia Heredia in Costa Rica.svg CR-H Heredia &&&&&&&&&&&02656.9800002,656.98 &&&&&&&&&0433677.&&&&&0433,677 163.2
Bandera de la Provincia de Guanacaste.svg Guanacaste Guanacaste in Costa Rica.svg CR-G Liberia &&&&&&&&&&010140.71000010,140.71 &&&&&&&&&0326953.&&&&&0326,953 32.2
Bandera de la Provincia de Puntarenas.svg Puntarenas Puntarenas in Costa Rica.svg CR-P Puntarenas &&&&&&&&&&011265.69000011,265.69 &&&&&&&&&0410929.&&&&&0410,929 36.5
Bandera de la Provincia de Limón.svg Limón Limon in Costa Rica.svg CR-L Puerto Limón &&&&&&&&&&&09188.5200009,188.52 &&&&&&&&&0386862.&&&&&0386,862 42.1

Related Pages

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Provincias de Costa Rica para niños

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