Costa Rica abolished its military soon after the victory in the 1948 civil war. The formal abolition of the armed forces took place on December 1, 1948, when President José Figueres Ferrer symbolically abolished the army by tearing down a wall of the Bellavista barracks. This act was followed by the constitutional prohibition of a standing army in the 1949 Constitution of Costa Rica, specifically in Article 12, which outlawed the army as a permanent institution. The country redirected military funds to education, healthcare, and social development, becoming one of the few nations without a standing military.

The abolition happened right after the civil conflict in 1948, which was the bloodiest in Costa Rica's 20th-century history. The army was abolished as part of a broader reform to promote peace, democracy, and civilian government control, setting Costa Rica apart as a pacifist nation in the international community.