Costa Rica is the safest country in Central America. Wealth is distributed more evenly than in North American or European countries. Simple living is common, but education, health and welfare systems are very good and freely available, making abject poverty rare, reducing crime.

Costa Rica does not have a military, and has not suffered the history of civil wars and violence so common among its neighbors. Combined with the above observation that Ticos rarely live in severe poverty it's not surprising that political battles are fought in the media rather than by subversives and "terrorists" in the streets.

Drugs are not produced in quantity in Costa Rica, and it is not a convenient pipeline from South to North America or Europe.

The Internet and modern mass media have created a society where we are aware of every little event, especially the negative ones. This isn't to say there aren't dangers, just that they are overstated, and it isn't to say you shouldn't take precautions, just don't be paralyzed by fear. The dangers of travel anywhere can be minimized by simple common sense, awareness and precautions.