Costa Ricans


Costa Ricans

 

the main inhabitants of Costa Rica. Population, more than 1.7 million (1971, estimate).

The Costa Ricans speak Spanish with certain local distinctions. They are primarily Catholics. The Costa Ricans are descendants of 16th- and 17th-century Spanish colonists with a small mixture of Indian and Negro. The Negroes (immigrants from islands of the West Indies) and some Indians (Bribri, etc.) are gradually being assimilated with the Costa Ricans. The majority of the Costa Ricans are engaged in agriculture, cultivating coffee and cacao and working on banana plantations; in the cities they are employed in industry, trade, handicrafts, and so forth. The culture of the Costa Ricans is similar to Spanish culture.

REFERENCE

Narody Ameriki, vol. 2. Moscow, 1959.