Evangelicals ‘one third of Costa Rica’

One third of the Costa Rican population identifies as evangelical and the highest percentage of evangelicals is aged between 18 and 24 years old, according to a new survey.

The Perception of the Costa Rican Population on Religious Values and Practices 2024, carried out by the Ecumenical School of Religious Sciences and the Institute of Social Studies in Population of the National University (UNA), revealed that 1.65 million of Costa Rica’s 5.18 million population identify as evangelicals, amounting to 33%, with the highest percentage found in the 18 to 24 age bracket, report Evangelical Focus.

The study highlighted that 96% of the South American country’s population believe in God or some sort of higher power. Fifty per cent identify as Catholic, with most aged over 55, while 800,000 (16%) identify as “believers without a religion”.

Other topics investigated by researchers included church attendance, and views on social issues including abortion and suicide. They found that just less than half of evangelicals attend church every week, compared to one in every three Catholics, and that the majority do not approve of abortion, suicide or prostitution.