Provinces of Costa Rica facts for kids

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

The seven provinces of Costa Rica

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

Related Pages

• Cantons of Costa Rica

See also

In Spanish: Provincias de Costa Rica para niños