Costa Rican People Culture and Customs

GUIDES · COSTA RICA

Costa Rican people call themselves ticos, greet each other with pura vida and live in a republic whose Constitution bans a permanent army. For US visitors, a few local words, the right form of address and the tipping rules make every encounter easier.

Who Costa Rican People Are: Population Basics

INEC put the population at 5,044,197 in its 2022 population and housing estimate. That is about 700,000 more people than in 2011, a growth rate of 1.4% a year.

Women make up 50.2% and men 49.8%.

The country is ageing. People aged 65 or older were 10.1% of the population in 2022, against 5.6% in 2000.

Children under 15 fell from 31.9% to 20.8% over the same period, INEC said.

Most Costa Ricans live in the centre. San José province had 1,601,167 residents and Alajuela 1,035,466, together more than half the total.

Guanacaste, in the northwest, is the least populous province but grew fastest, at 2.12% a year.

The Constitution, as amended, defines the country as a democratic, free, independent, multiethnic and multicultural republic. A University of Costa Rica anthropologist told DW, the German broadcaster, that the multicultural wording was only added in 2015.

Pura Vida and the Tico Identity

The nickname tico comes from the local diminutive ending -tico, as in tiernitico for very tender. Arturo Agüero Chaves, a member of the Academia Costarricense de la Lengua, defined tico in his 1996 dictionary.

He called it a nickname given abroad that Costa Ricans also use for themselves.

Pura vida does many jobs. It serves to greet, say goodbye, thank, describe and agree, said Virginia Marchena, co-author of a new book on the phrase.

She spoke to La Teja, a San José daily, in October 2026.

The phrase arrived from Mexico. La Nación, a San José daily, reports that the comedy Pura vida, starring Antonio Espino, known as Clavillazo, was released in 1955.

It reached San José cinemas a year later, and Clavillazo’s character says the phrase 13 times.

Víctor Manuel Sánchez, a philologist in the Academia Costarricense de la Lengua, calls it a true costarriqueñismo, a Costa Rican expression. In Mexico it mostly meant very good and applied to things.

In Costa Rica it also describes people, health and agreement. He said so to Semanario Universidad, the University of Costa Rica weekly, in February 2026.

For many residents the phrase is also a philosophy. Marchena described it as a spirit of taking things calmly, in peace and harmony, and of closeness to nature.

Foreign residents, she said, tend to stress that deeper meaning more than locals do.

Tico Spanish: Mae, Tuanis, Diay and Other Common Phrases

Costa Rican Spanish has its own vocabulary. A handful of words come up in almost every conversation.

These are the ones a visitor is most likely to hear, with their documented meanings.

• Mae: dude or guy, used for men and women alike (el mae, la mae). It began as maje, meaning fool, in mid-20th-century youth slang, a 2020 University of Costa Rica study found.
• Tuanis: great or cool. La Nación traces it to malespín, a Central American letter-swapping code in which bueno became tuanis, not to the English too nice.
• Diay: short for idiay, from y de ahí. It means well? or so? in questions, and works as a filler while thinking, Agüero’s dictionary says.
• ¡Upe!: the call used at a door to ask whether anyone is home.
• Por dicha: fortunately. Costa Ricans add it almost without fail when they say they are well, Agüero noted.
• Brete, chante, chunche: work, house and thing. La Nación links chante to Nahuatl, the Aztec language.
• Tiquicia: a joking name for Costa Rica itself.

Mae is now so flexible that people use it for pets and even objects, the 2020 study added. It is informal, so keep it for friends rather than officials.

Note that some slang words cross borders. The Royal Spanish Academy dictionary lists tuanis as Salvadoran and Honduran, which fits the malespín story told by La Nación.

Etiquette: Greetings, Usted, Tico Time and Tipping

Forms of address work differently from Mexico or Spain. Agüero’s 1996 dictionary records that tú is not used in Costa Rica, and that vos is the friendly, family form.

Usted is the safe choice with anyone you have just met, including shop staff, drivers and older people.

Start every exchange with a greeting before the request. A simple buenos días or buenas tardes before the question is a polite habit worth adopting.

Punctuality can be looser in social settings. A 2016 Semanario Universidad column noted that lateness is not uncommon in the country.

It followed a president’s 20-minute delay for Pope Francis. Visitors should still treat flights, tours and business meetings as fixed.

Tipping has a legal basis. Ley 4946 of 1972 gives table-serving restaurant and bar staff a 10% charge on the bill, written as servicio 10%.

Employers may not share in it.

Anything above that 10% is a voluntary tip, Delfino.cr, a Costa Rican news site, reported in October 2025. A bill to make waiters share the charge with other restaurant workers had been rejected in a legislative committee, it reported.

Family, Faith and Everyday Hospitality

Family life carries public weight. Mother’s Day on 15 August is a national holiday, and so is 2 August, the feast of the Virgin of the Angels.

Both appear on the official 2026 holiday list.

Article 75 of the Constitution makes Roman Catholicism the state religion, while other faiths may be practised freely. Our Costa Rica Religion and Culture Guide covers churches, the Romería pilgrimage to Cartago and evangelical growth.

Peace is part of the national story. Article 12 bans an army as a permanent institution.

The Day of the Abolition of the Army, 1 December, is a public holiday. Police forces keep public order.

Hospitality often starts at the door with ¡upe!, the traditional call of a visitor. Lunch at a soda, a small café and diner, is an easy way to see daily life up close.

Regional Differences: Central Valley, Guanacaste and Limón

The four central provinces, San José, Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago, held about 73% of residents in 2022, by INEC’s counts. The five most populous cantons alone house a quarter of the population.

Guanacaste has its own identity. Its national holiday on 25 July marks the Annexation of the Partido de Nicoya, a district smaller than the modern province.

Agüero even noted that guanacastecos were the exception in using diay.

On the Caribbean side, in Limón province, Afro-Costa Rican culture takes centre stage each August, the national month of Afro-descendant history. It ends with a holiday on 31 August, the Day of Black People and Afro-Costa Rican Culture.

Talamanca, the southern Caribbean canton that includes Puerto Viejo, grew faster than any other canton from 2011 to 2022. Its population rose by 4.23% a year, INEC said.

Eight indigenous peoples live in Costa Rica: Bribri, Cabécar, Maleku, Boruca, Térraba, Huetar, Chorotega and Ngäbe-Buglé. They are spread over 24 indigenous territories.

The 2011 census counted 104,143 indigenous people, 2.4% of the population.

Land remains disputed. A 1977 law reserves the territories for their communities.

Yet a 2026 study by UNED, the state distance university, estimates one hectare in three is held by outsiders, DW reported.

How US Visitors Can Connect Respectfully

Learn five phrases before you land: buenos días, con permiso, gracias, pura vida and por dicha. Use usted until someone switches to vos with you, and match their tone.

Check the bill before tipping. If it shows servicio 10%, extra money is a thank-you, not an obligation.

At counters without table service, the legal charge does not apply.

Ask before photographing people, and in indigenous territories follow the instructions of local guides. Visit around the August celebrations in Limón or the July holiday in Guanacaste to see regional culture at its liveliest.

Slow down and allow extra time for buses and errands. Patience reads as respect, and a calm pura vida will smooth more situations than a complaint.

What It Means for US Readers

For travellers, Costa Rica is familiar ground. Arrivals from the United States reached 1,627,807 in 2025, up 0.4% from 2024, La Nación reported from official figures.

The US, Canada and Europe together supplied 81% of all tourists.

US citizens need no visa for stays under 180 days, according to the State Department’s Costa Rica page, checked in October 2026. They need a passport valid for the length of the stay and a return or onward ticket.

The State Department rates Costa Rica at Level 2, exercise increased caution.

For expats and retirees, the cultural rules matter more than the paperwork. Usted, por dicha and a slower pace open doors with landlords, officials and neighbours.

For investors and employers, labour customs such as the legal 10% service charge shape costs in restaurants and bars. Read the full country picture in our Costa Rica coverage before committing money.

What Is Not Known

INEC confirmed in July 2023 that coverage of the 2022 census was partial, so its totals are estimates. An updated ethnic breakdown was not available in the sources reviewed, leaving 2011 figures as the latest official measure.

Data on Afro-Costa Ricans is thin. Teletica, a national broadcaster, reported in 2022 that the 2011 census was the last measurement of this group.

The origin of pura vida is not settled either. Other theories link it to the US film Easy Rider, to rural speech or to surf culture, La Teja noted.

There is also no official measure of tico time, and no official count of US residents in the sources reviewed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Costa Rican people called?

Costa Rican people call themselves ticos and ticas. The nickname comes from the -tico diminutive ending common in local speech, as in tiernitico for very tender.

What does pura vida mean?

Pura vida is used to greet, say goodbye, thank, describe people or places and agree. It came from a Mexican comedy released in 1955 and shown in San José a year later.

What does mae mean in Costa Rica?

Mae means dude or guy and is used for men and women alike. It began as maje, meaning fool, in mid-20th-century youth slang.

Do you tip in Costa Rica?

Restaurants and bars with table service add a 10% service charge by law, shown as servicio 10%. Anything above that is a voluntary tip.

How many people live in Costa Rica?

INEC estimated the population at 5,044,197 in 2022. San José and Alajuela provinces together hold more than half of all residents.

Do US citizens need a visa for Costa Rica?

No. US citizens need no visa for stays under 180 days, but they need a passport valid for the stay and a return or onward ticket, per the State Department.

Sources: Teletica on INEC 2022 population estimate; elmundo.cr on INEC census coverage; Delfino.cr, Censo 2022; Constitution of Costa Rica; Agüero Chaves, Diccionario de costarriqueñismos (1996); La Nación on Costa Rican sayings; Semanario Universidad on pura vida; La Teja on the pura vida book; Leoni de León and Cordero Monge, Mae (2020); Royal Spanish Academy, tuanis; Ley 4946; Delfino.cr on the 10% service charge; Semanario Universidad, La impuntualidad; Teletica, 2026 holidays; Teletica/DW on indigenous peoples; INEC 2011 census, indigenous territories; Teletica on Afro-Costa Rican data; La Nación on 2025 tourist arrivals; US Department of State, Costa Rica. All accessed 12 October 2026.