The Canton of Matina is the fifth in the province of Limón, Costa Rica and was created by law 4344 in 1969. Its head is the city of Matina. Although the head of the canton is the city of Matina, the town of Batán is also an important center of population and commerce. The main income of the canton is provided by agriculture, especially banana production and to a lesser extent livestock. According to the 2011 National Census, the population of the canton was 37,721 inhabitants, of which 14.5% were born abroad. The same census highlights that there were 10,410 occupied homes, of which, 37.1% were in good condition and there were problems of overcrowding in 10.5% of the homes.
Among other data, the literacy level of the canton is 96.0%, with an average schooling of 6.2 years. The same census details that the economically active population is distributed as follows: Primary Sector: 64.3%. Secondary Sector: 5.9%. Tertiary Sector: 29.8%.