Faces of Costa Rica

The Regional Level

Costa Rica's regional governments are made up of provincial, cantonal and municipal administrations.

The country is split into seven provinces, each of which is an electoral district for the country's national assembly. The number of legislators for each region is dependent upon a province's population -- with one legislator for each 30,000 people. A presidentally appointed governor oversees each province.

Each province is broken into cantons. There are 81 cantons in Costa Rica, governed by a municipal government selected by popular election. Council members are elected for four year terms. Each canton is broken into districts, which have their own governments and also participate in the cantonal government.