Nicaraguan Immigration to Costa Rica: Tendencies, Policies, and Politics

Abstract

Like migration from Haiti, Bolivia, and Guatemala to the Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Mexico, respectively, Nicaraguan migration to Costa Rica is a major case of South-to-South migration in Latin America. It takes place in Central America, a region where migration—both intraregional and extraregional—is a structural dimension of everyday life. Demographers estimate that between 12 and 14 percent of Central Americans live in a country different from their country of birth. Military conflicts, economic inequalities, and, more recently, violence are among the main factors that expel Central Americans from their countries of birth (Sandoval 2015).