Costa Rica is a unitary presidential republic that abolished its army in 1948. President Laura Fernández took office in May 2026 with a legislative majority, promising tougher action on crime and close ties with the United States.
In the 12 Axes register, Costa Rica leans hardest on Militarist – Pacifist: Pacifist 83%; the register median is balanced 50%.
Take the test and this line shows how close your twelve scores are to Costa Rica, and the axis where you differ most.
Where Costa Rica sits on each of the twelve axes, in four categories. The label is our estimate; the line under it says why.
Unitary
Weak municipalities, central government dominant
Representative Democracy
Direct elections, compulsory voting
Centrist
Fernández pushes tougher anti-crime measures
Cooperation
Neutral, strong ties with the US
Pacifist
Army abolished in 1948
Polyculturalist
Indigenous territories, immigrant integration policies
Mixed Economic
Universal health insurance via CCSS
Markets
Free-market economy with public utilities
Globalist
Free-trade zones, OECD member since 2021
Spiritual
Catholicism is the official religion
Moderate
Same-sex marriage legal since 2020
Neutral
No distinct state stance
Set against the median of all 195 countries in the register.
Militarist – Pacifist
On Militarist – Pacifist, Costa Rica is at Pacifist 83%. The register median is balanced 50%.
Federal – Unitary
On Federal – Unitary, Costa Rica is at Unitary 68%, almost the register median of Unitary 68%.
Closeness is 100 minus the root-mean-square distance on all twelve axes.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · freedomhouse.org
Map: Keepscases, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and resized.
Last updated: 2026-10-15
The tiers on this page are our estimates from public positions and policies. They are not an official statement by the person or the government concerned. Two independent passes scored every axis and a third settled the differences. How the register works. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].
