R&D labs in Costa Rica
The 311 Institute tracks 5 R&D labs in Costa Rica: 2 research institutes, 1 government, 1 university and 1 intergovernmental. Most are in San José, Turrialba and San Pedro, and the leading organisations include CATIE, Centro Nacional de Alta Tecnología and Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad. Their main focus areas are mechanical engineering, tropical agriculture, hardware and architecture and materials chemistry.
Part of the 311 Institute Global R&D Labs Directory. Compiled by Matthew Griffin. Last updated .
All 5 labs
| Lab and organisation | Location | Type and sector | Focus | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratorio Costarricense de MetrologíaLaboratorio Costarricense de Metrología | San Pedro, Costa Rica | Government Public policy and analysis | Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering | 2002 |
| Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos EstructuralesUniversidad de Costa Rica | San José, Costa Rica | University Industrials and manufacturing | Civil and Structural Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Transportation | |
| Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE)CATIE | Turrialba, Costa Rica | Intergovernmental Agriculture and food | Tropical agriculture | 1973 |
| Centro Nacional de Alta TecnologíaCentro Nacional de Alta Tecnología | San José, Costa Rica | Research institute Technology | Hardware and Architecture, Materials Chemistry, Computer Networks and Communications | 2003 |
| Instituto Costarricense de ElectricidadInstituto Costarricense de Electricidad | San José, Costa Rica | Research institute Environment and climate | Geophysics, Geology, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment | 1949 |
R&D ecosystems in Costa Rica
Other countries in North America
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Canada
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Greenland
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- United States
Questions and answers
How many R&D labs are there in Costa Rica?
The 311 Institute Global R&D Labs Directory lists 5 active R&D labs in Costa Rica as of October 2026: 2 research institutes, 1 government, 1 university and 1 intergovernmental.
Which organisations run the most R&D labs in Costa Rica?
In this directory the organisations with the most labs in Costa Rica are CATIE, Centro Nacional de Alta Tecnología and Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad.
Where are R&D labs concentrated in Costa Rica?
They cluster around San José, Turrialba and San Pedro. The largest R&D ecosystem is San José region.
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