More than 7% of Costa Rica’s microenterprises closed in 2020, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). 

Poverty in Costa Rica reached 26.2% of households, the highest level since 1992, amid the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The last time that Costa Rica registered such a high level of poverty was in 1992, when it reached 29.4%.

Poverty in Costa Rica remained stable at 21% in the last year, while extreme poverty had a slight reduction of half a percentage point to 5.8%, the official statistical agency said Thursday.

The young people said they draw their primary support from family, friends and their churches.

En la segunda parte de nuestra serie sobre SIFAIS, entrevistamos a la líder inspiradora Alicia Avilés.

Iniciamos una serie explorando cómo la organización SIFAIS está logrando una transformación profunda en la comunidad de La Carpio.

President Luis Guillermo Solís said a new poverty index, created by Oxford University, puts people over statistics. The index reported that 21.8 percent of Costa Rican households are considered poor, totaling 1.26 million people.

Poverty in Costa Rica dropped slightly over the past year, but extreme poverty continues to rise -- to 7.2 percent in 2015, according to the latest census institute survey.

Extreme poverty will this year fall to less than 10 percent of the global population for the first time, although there is still "great concern" for millions in Africa, a World Bank report said Sunday.