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Maggie Holmes
World Geography Period 3

Population and Climate Change of Costa Rica

Since 1960 the population and climate change, death rate, and tuberculosis case detection
rate, and the amount of natural disasters in Costa Rica has changed a lot leading up to the year
2012. There have been more natural disasters, a lower death rate, a higher tuberculosis case
detection rate, a higher temperature change, and a lower population change between the years
1960 and 2012.
Between the years 1960 and 2012 the population change has gone from about 3.4 in 1960
to about 1.3 in 2012. In 1960 Costa Rica was 1.334 million people, in 1965 it was 1.583 million,
in 1970 it was 1.822 million people, in 1975 the it was 2.052 million, in 1980 the population was
2.348 million, in 1985 the population was 2.699 million people, in 1990 it was 3.079 million
people, in 1995 it was 3.478 million, in 2000 the population was 3.93 million, in 2005 the
population was 4.32 million people, in 2010 the it was 4.67 million people, and in 2012 the
population was about 4.805 million people living in Costa Rica. 94% of the population are
White (including mestizo), while 3% are Black, 1% Amerindian, 1% Chinese and 1% from other
ethnic groups. (Population Of Costa Rica, n.d.). The amount of people living in Costa Rica has
been going up, but slowly over time the amount that it has been going up has become smaller
and smaller, which may mean that later on the population may not have much change, the
population may stay around the same numbers even with births and deaths.
Slowly within the years 1960 and 2012 the climate change has gone up, starting at about
-0.04 (Celsius) in 1960, then going to about -0.1 in 1965, then to 0.04 in 1970, then to -0.01 in
1975, then to 0.23 in 1980, then to 0.08 in 1985, then to 0.39 in 1990, then to 0.43 in 1995, then

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to 0.41 in 2000, then to 0.66 in 2005, then to 0.67 in 2010, then going to about 0.58 (Celsius) in
the year 2012. Over the years the global climate change has gone up and down but for the most
part has gone up, which is not a good thing, if the global temperature continues to go up more
over the next few years ice would melt and cause water to rise and begin to go over land, food
may become more scarce, life expectancy may become lower, and many more things would be
affected over time, and if it was to go up high enough life on earth would not exist due to the
climate.
Up until 1990, Costa Rica never had many natural disasters. To start with were, two hurricanes
and two earthquakes in Costa Rica between the years 1960 and 1990, one hurricane in 1963 and
another in 1969 which was Hurricane Martha then an earthquake in 1966 and another in 1974.
After 1990 there were many more earthquakes and a few more hurricanes. There was a hurricane
in 1993 which was Hurricane Gert, one in 1996 which was Hurricane Cesar-Douglas, one in
2009 which was Hurricane Ida, and one in 2011 which was the Tropical Depression Twelve-E.
Then there was one earthquake in 1990 at the entrance to the Gulf of Nicoya and an aftershock,
one in 1991 which was in the Limon-Pandora area, one in 1996, one in 1999 which was just
offshore, one in 2004 which was just offshore, one in 2009 which was 30 km north of San Jose,
and one in 2012 11 km east of Nicoya and an aftershock 13 km east-northeast of Hojancha. The
2009 M6.1 earthquake in Costa Rica was caused by a strike-slip fault segment that is
perpendicular to the much greater deformation belt that crosses Costa Rica roughly west to east,
connecting to the subduction zone in the Pacific to the west and continuing east to northern
Colombia. (Costa Rica, n.d.) and to this day the National Emergency Commission
(www.cne.go.cr) reports 33 people dead, 7 missing, 2,326 displaced individuals, 91 seriously
injured, 267 single-family dwellings damaged, 251 destroyed, and losses estimated in US$ 100

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million in an area that covers 180 square km. (Costa Rica, n.d.). If the amount of natural
disasters continues to go up over the next few years, there will be more and more deaths which
will cause the total population to go down more than it has in the past. If these trends continue
then Costa Rica could end up with little to no population.
Costa Ricas death rate has gone down by quite a bit since 1960, starting with around 11
people per 1,000 in 1960, going to about 4 people per 1,000 in 2012. Between the years 1960 and
2000 the death rate has been going down, but between the years 2000 and 2010 the death rate has
fluctuated quite a bit leading up to the jump in 2012. If the death rate of Costa Rica continues to
go up, even at a slow rate, over the next few years the population will begin to drop. The death
rate has gone up due to medical illnesses, natural disasters, and many other reasons.
Costa Rica has had some good years and some bad years, but if the years to come are more and
worse years, the population of Costa Rica could end up nonexistent. If the temperature continues
to rise food could become scarce, clean water could become scarce, and more problems could
come along with those in the years to come.

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Bibliography
Costa Rica. (n.d.). Retrieved from EERI Earthquake Engineering Research Institute:
https://www.eeri.org/category/learning-from-earthquakes/costa-rica/
Death Rate Costa Rica. (n.d.). Retrieved from Google Public Data:
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?
ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&ctype=b&strail=false&nselm=s&met_x=sp_dyn_le00_in
&scale_x=lin&ind_x=false&met_y=sp_dyn_tfrt_in&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&
met_s=sp_pop_totl&scale_s=lin&ind_s=false&dimp_c=country:region&ifdim=
country
Natural Disasters In Costa Rica. (n.d.). Retrieved from Costa Rica Guide:
http://costa-rica-guide.com/travel-map/natural-disasters.html
Population Of Costa Rica. (n.d.). Retrieved from Maps Of World:
http://www.mapsofworld.com/south-america/geography/costa-ricapopulation.html
Tuberculosis Case Detection Rate. (n.d.). Retrieved from Google Public Data:
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?
ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&ctype=b&strail=false&nselm=s&met_x=sp_dyn_le00_in
&scale_x=lin&ind_x=false&met_y=sp_dyn_tfrt_in&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&
met_s=sp_pop_totl&scale_s=lin&ind_s=false&dimp_c=country:region&ifdim=
country