The Republic of Costa Rica, commonly known as Costa Rica, is located in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Its capital, San José, hosts the main institutions of government. Costa Rica is a unitary state with a presidential system of government, where the president acts as both head of state and head of government. 

Costa Rica is party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. It is also party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Costa Rica has not incorporated the broader refugee definition of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees into its domestic laws.