Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, sharing a maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million in a land area of nearly 51,180 km (19,760 sq mi); the capital and larges. HistoryHistorians have classified the of Costa Rica as belonging to the, where the peripheries of the and native cultures overlapped. More recently, Costa. Costa Rica borders the to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Costa Rica also borders to the north and to the south. The highest point in the country is,. Costa Rica is governed by the which established a and a. is exercised by the, who is the.