What is the highest surface area recorded in Costa Rica?

The highest recorded value was 51,100 sq. km in 1961.

What is the lowest surface area recorded in Costa Rica?

The lowest recorded value was 51,100 sq. km in 1961.

How does Costa Rica rank for surface area?

Costa Rica ranks 128th out of 216 countries with data for 2023.

Is surface area rising or falling in Costa Rica?

Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.

Surface area in Costa Rica

Name: Surface area in Costa Rica
Creator: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
License: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)

Costa Rica: Surface area was 51,100 sq. km in 2023. ▬ Flat

Latest (2023)

51,100 sq. km

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

128th

of 216 countries

All-time high

51,100 sq. km

in 1961

All-time low

51,100 sq. km

in 1961

Years of data

1961–2023

Surface area in Costa Rica, 1961–2023

Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Measured in sq. km.

Analysis

The most recent figure for surface area in Costa Rica is 51,100 sq. km, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, surface area in Costa Rica peaked at 51,100 sq. km in 1961 and was at its lowest, 51,100 sq. km, in 1961.

Costa Rica ranks 128th of 216 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1960s	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	9
1970s	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	10
1980s	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	10
1990s	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	10
2000s	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	10
2010s	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	10
2020s	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	51,100 sq. km	4

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

125 Latvia 64,590 sq. km compare
126 Togo 56,790 sq. km compare
127 Bosnia and Herzegovina 51,210 sq. km compare
129 Slovakia 49,030 sq. km compare
130 Estonia 45,340 sq. km compare
131 Denmark 42,920 sq. km compare

See the full ranking of 263 places →

More agriculture & rural data for Costa Rica

Agricultural raw materials exports 1.1% (2024)
Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2024)
Rural population 20.3% (2025)
Rural population growth -1.6% (2025)
Rural population 1.04 million (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.4% (2025)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 3.46 billion current US$ (2025)
Land under cereal production 18,980 hectares (2024)
Cereal yield 3,807 kg per hectare (2024)
Cereal production 72,256 metric tons (2024)

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is surface area in Costa Rica?: Surface area in Costa Rica was 51,100 sq. km in 2023, according to FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
What is the highest surface area recorded in Costa Rica?: The highest recorded value was 51,100 sq. km in 1961.
What is the lowest surface area recorded in Costa Rica?: The lowest recorded value was 51,100 sq. km in 1961.
How does Costa Rica rank for surface area?: Costa Rica ranks 128th out of 216 countries with data for 2023.
Is surface area rising or falling in Costa Rica?: Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?: The figures come from FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), published as part of Surface area (sq. km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator: Surface area (sq. km)
Unit: sq. km
Source: FAO electronic files and web site, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 263 places, 16,395 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.