Paraíso is a canton in the Cartago province of Costa Rica. The head city is in Paraíso district.

History

Paraíso was created on 7 December 1848 by decree 167.

Geography

Paraíso has an area of 476.99 km2 and a mean elevation of 1171 m. Paraíso is an elongated canton that stretches southeast from its head city to encompass a swatch of the Cordillera de Talamanca (Talamanca Mountain Range).

Government

Mayor

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton. As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the United We Can candidate, Michaell Álvarez Quirós, was elected mayor of the canton with 41.37% of the votes, with Merlyn Rojas Mora and Roger Ricardo Zúñiga Vega as first and second vice mayors, respectively.

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Paraíso's Municipal Council has 7 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor (regidor propietario) is absent. The current president of the Municipal Council is the Progressive Liberal Party member, Aldo Mata Coghi, with National Liberation Party member Silvia Elena Arce Araya as vice president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Districts

The canton of Paraíso is subdivided into the following districts:

Demographics

Paraíso had an estimated 65,941 inhabitants in 2022, up from the 57,743 people at the time of the 2011 census. In 2022, Paraíso had a Human Development Index of 0.778, ranking it 4th highest in its province.

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes: • CR RNP 2.svg National Route 2 • CR RNP 10.svg National Route 10 • CR RNS 224.svg National Route 224 • CR RNS 225.svg National Route 225 • CR RNT 404.svg National Route 404 • CR RNT 405.svg National Route 405 • CR RNT 408.svg National Route 408 • CR RNT 416.svg National Route 416

Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by Incofer goes through this canton.