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Languages

Languages of Costa Rica

San JoséLocal time

Spanish is Costa Rica's official language. Article 76 also requires the State to safeguard the maintenance and cultivation of national Indigenous languages.

Costa Rica
COUNTRY LANGUAGE PROFILE
español
Spanish
Text direction: LTR

Spanish is the official language of Costa Rica under Article 76 of the Constitution. The State is also required to maintain and cultivate Indigenous national languages.

Spanish
First listed core language
Not a speaker-share estimate
1
Writing system represented
Across the core language set
LTR
Primary text direction
Additional directions noted below

Language Overview

Spanish

Read the Characters

Spanish · 27 characters

Spanish · 27 characters
A
a
B
b
C
c
D
d
E
e
F
f
G
g
H
h
I
i
J
j
K
k
L
l
M
m
N
n
Ñ
ñ
O
o
P
p
Q
q
R
r
S
s
T
t
U
u
V
v
W
w
X
x
Y
y
Z
z

How to Read the Language Landscape

PolicyLegal and administrative language status may differ between national and subnational government.
Everyday useA language can be socially dominant without being the only language used at home, school, work or in media.
Community diversityIndigenous, minority, migrant and sign languages can remain important even when they are not part of a short national headline list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What languages are used in Costa Rica?

Spanish is the official language of Costa Rica under Article 76 of the Constitution. The State is also required to maintain and cultivate Indigenous national languages.

What writing systems are used in Costa Rica?

The represented writing system is Latin and the primary direction shown is left to right.

More about Costa Rica

Explore Costa Rica across the other DigifyWorld country-data sections.

Public HolidaysPublic holidays 2026 and 2027→Digital AdoptionInternet, payments and digital government→Population & DemographicsPopulation, age structure and projections→Economy SnapshotGDP, trade and economic structure→Currency & ExchangeCurrency, exchange rates and money→Human DevelopmentHDI and quality-of-life indicators→Geography & EnvironmentLand, climate and environment→Practical Country InfoTime, driving, electricity and codes→EducationSchool system and education data→

Sources & methodology

View sources used for this page
Costa Rica Legal Information System: Constitution, Article 76

Primary constitutional source. Spanish is the official language of the Nation; the State must safeguard the maintenance and cultivation of national Indigenous languages.

Unicode CLDR: Country/Region Names

Localized country display-name reference. CLDR names are customary UI/display names, not claims about a state’s full constitutional long-form name.

Unicode: Supported Scripts

Reference for the writing-system/script families represented in the character component.

Unicode: Writing Direction and Bidirectional Text

Reference for left-to-right and right-to-left script direction and bidirectional text behavior.

Unicode Character Database: NamesList

Reference for Unicode character names used as small readout labels under selected character samples; these labels are not presented as a complete transliteration standard.