Armed forces, personnel, equipment, deployments: the complete military file on Costa Rica.
| Active personnel (est.) | 15,000 |
|---|---|
| World rank by personnel | #113 / 162 |
POWER 55.43/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum +3 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Continuity held in San José: steady services and tech exports, the crime-fighting agenda advancing without institutional rupture.
A small, stable democracy executing its plan — modestly positive, as the score says.
Ministry of Public Security (Ministerio de Seguridad Pública de Costa Rica): National Police (Fuerza Pública), Air Surveillance Service (Servicio de Vigilancia Aérea), National Coast Guard Service (Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas), Drug Control Police (Policía Control de Drogas), Border Police (Policia de Fronteras), Professional Migration Police (Policía Profesional de Migración) Ministry of Presidency: Directorate of Intelligence and Security (DIS), Special Intervention Unit (UEI) (2025)
approximately 10-15,000 Ministry of Public Security personnel (2025)
the National Police are lightly armed although small special units are trained and equipped for tactical operations; the US has provided equipment and support to forces such as the Coast Guard, including secondhand US vessels and aircraft (2025)
Costa Rica relies on specialized paramilitary units within the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) for internal security missions and countering transnational threats such as narcotics smuggling and organized crime, as well as for participating in regional security operations and exercises; MPS forces have received advisory and training support from the US (2025)
