Results from the 2011 Census showed that 15,898 U.S. citizens live in Costa Rica, according to numbers released by the National Statistics and Census Institute.
U.S. expats make up 4.1 percent of the 385,899 foreigners living here. The majority of foreigners come from Nicaragua, accounting for 74 percent of immigrants in the country. The number of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica increased from 226,374 in 2000 to 287,766 in 2011. Colombians are second at 4.3 percent, followed by U.S. citizens. The Colombian population saw a massive leap from 5,898 in 2000 to 16,514 in 2011.
During the last census in 2000, the number of U.S. citizens in the country totaled 9,511. The foreign population makes up 9 percent of the 4.3 million people living in the country.
