The Costa Rica–Nicaragua border is the long international border, extending east–west, between the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

(E) and the Pacific Ocean (W) it separates the northern part of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

from the Southern part of

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. It passes near

Lake Nicaragua Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada (, , or ) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. Of tectonic origin and with an area of , it is the largest fresh water lake in Central America, the List of lakes by area, 19th largest lake in the world (by are ...

. The southern bank of the River San Juan lies on the border for much of its length. The border separates, from east to west: *Departments of Nicaragua: Río San Juan and Rivas. *Provinces of Costa Rica:

Limón Limón (), also known as Puerto Limón, is the capital city of both the province and canton of the same name. One of Costa Rica's seven "middle cities" (i.e., main cities outside of San José's Greater Metropolitan Area), Limón has a populat ...

, Heredia,

Alajuela Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela (canton), Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of ...

and Guanacaste. Costa Rica and Nicaragua were part of the

United Provinces of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

between 1823 and 1838. When this was dissolved both nations gained independence and the border was defined. In 2010 Costa Rican Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Roverssi complained that the map published by

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

did not correctly display the border between the two states. This provided a justification for entry of Nicaraguan military personnel into Costa Rica. The true border is based on the Cañas-Jerez Treaty of 1858 and the Cleveland Award of 1888. This is reflected in the map of the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) which coincides with the National Geographic Institute of Costa Rica.

References

Borders of Costa Rica Borders of Nicaragua International borders

External links

{{commons

See also

References

External links