Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the North Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290 kilometers (802 mi) of coastline (212 km / 132 mi on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km / 631 mi on the Pacific). It is about the size of West Virginia.

Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the NORTH (309 km / 192 mi of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km / 397 mi of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometers (19,730 sq. mi) plus 589.000 square kilometers of territorial waters.

The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripo, with 3,810 metres (12,500 ft), and is the fifth highest peak in Central America. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazu Volcano (3,431 m or 11,257 ft). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.

Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island stands out because of its distance from continental landmass (24 km? or 9.25 sq mi, 500 km or 300 mi from Puntarenas coast), but Calero Island is the biggest island of the country (151.6 km? or 58.5 sq mi).

Costa Rica protects over 25% of its national territory within national parks. It also possesses the greatest density of species in the world.

How secure is a real estate purchase in Costa Rica?

It is just as safe to buy titled land in Costa Rica as it would be in the US, Canada, or Europe. The same principles of offer and acceptance and public registration of ownership, leans and encumbrances are no different here.

Additionally, there are no restrictions on foreign ownership of real estate in Costa Rica as there are in some other countries such as Mexico. So, a foreigner has the exact same rights on titled real estate as does a Costa Rican.

Because of specific laws that govern real estate within 200 meters of the ocean, there are risks that you must take to own real estate in this region that lie outside of the general statement regarding titled land.