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.
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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

Flag | Province | Map | ISO 3166-2 | Capital City | Area (km2) |
Population (2011) |
Density |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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San José | ![]() |
CR-SJ | San José | 4,965.90 | 1,404,242 | 282.8 |
![]() |
Alajuela | ![]() |
CR-A | Alajuela | 9,757.53 | 848,146 | 86.9 |
![]() |
Cartago | ![]() |
CR-C | Cartago | 3,124.67 | 490,903 | 157.1 |
![]() |
Heredia | ![]() |
CR-H | Heredia | 2,656.98 | 433,677 | 163.2 |
![]() |
Guanacaste | ![]() |
CR-G | Liberia | 10,140.71 | 326,953 | 32.2 |
![]() |
Puntarenas | ![]() |
CR-P | Puntarenas | 11,265.69 | 410,929 | 36.5 |
![]() |
Limón | ![]() |
CR-L | Puerto Limón | 9,188.52 | 386,862 | 42.1 |
Related Pages
See also
In Spanish: Provincias de Costa Rica para niños