* βeta

Costa Rica

X

Background :

Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including: disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country's democratic development. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. In December 2009, Costa Rica completed its 2-year term on the UN Security Council. 

Location :

Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

10 00 N, 84 00 W  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West -85.95
North 11.22
East -82.56
South 8.03

Area :

total 51 100 square km
land 51 060 square km
water 40 square km

Land boundaries :

total 639 km
Nicaragua (ni) 309 km
Panama (pa) 330 km

Coastline :

1290.00 km

Climate :

tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands 

Terrain :

coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes 

Elevation extremes :

lowest point 0 metres
highest point 3 810 metres

Land use :

arable land 4.40 %
permanent crops 5.87 %
other 89.73 %

Irrigated land :

1 080 square km

Natural hazards :

active volcanoes earthquakes
frequent flooding hurricanes
lides

current issues :

deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution 

international agreements :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Environmental Modification
Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea
Marine Dumping Marine Life Conservation
Ozone Layer Protection Wetlands
Whaling

Population :

4 253 877 

Indicators :

Growth rate 1.36 %
Birth rate 17.43 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 2.14 children born/woman
Death rate 4.34 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate 0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 26.70 %
15-64 years 67.10 %
65 years and over 6.20 %

Median age :

total 27.50 years
male 27.10 years
female 28.00 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.86 male(s)/female
total population 1.02 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 8.77 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 77.58 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 74.96 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 80.34 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.40 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 9 700
HIV-AIDS deaths 200

Religions :

Roman Catholic 76.30 %
Evangelical 13.70 %
Jehovah's Witnesses 1.30 %
other Protestant 0.70 %
other 4.80 %
none 3.20 %

Languages :

Spanish  
English  

Literacy :

total population 94.90 %
male 94.70 %
female 95.10 %

Country name :

conventional long form Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form Costa Rica
local long form Republica de Costa Rica
local short form Costa Rica

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 CR
ISO Numeric 188
ISO3 CRI
FIPS CS
ccTLD cr
English Costa Rica

Administrative divisions :

7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose 

Capital :

name San Jose
geographic coordinates 9 56 N, 84 05 W
time difference -6.00

International organization participation :

BCIE CACM
FAO G-77
IADB IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICC ICCt
ICRM IDA
IFAD IFC
IFRCS ILO
IMF IMO
IMSO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
Interpol LAES
LAIA (observer) MIGA
NAM (observer) OAS
OPANAL OPCW
PCA RG
SICA UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNHCR UNIDO
UNWTO UPU
Union Latina WCO
WFTU WHO
WIPO WMO
WTO

Independence :

1821-09-15 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1821-09-15

Executive branch :

President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 48 190 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 29 290 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate -2.50 %
PPP - per capita 11 300 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 6.50 %
industry 25.50 %
services 68.00 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 14.00 %
industry 22.00 %
services 64.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 2 089 999 people
Unemployment rate 6.40 %
Population below poverty line 16.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 48.00
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 8.30 %
Investment (gross fixed) 20.50 % of GDP
Current account balance - 662 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 4 089 000 000 $
Debt external 8 057 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad 540 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 11 640 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 2 035 000 000 $
Military expenditures 0.40 % of GDP
Public debt 49.30 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 1.50 %
highest 10% 35.50 %

Budget :

revenues 3 795 000 000 $
expenditures 4 908 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

bananas beans
beef coffee
corn dairy
melons ornamental plants
pineapples potatoes
poultry rice
sugar timber

Industries :

clothing construction materials
fertilizer food processing
medical equipment microprocessors
plastic products textiles

Energy :

Electricity Production 8 808 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 8 064 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 77 160 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 203 200 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 45 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 2 117 bbl/day
Oil Imports 47 860 bbl/day

Value :

8 096 000 000 $

Commodities :

bananas coffee
electronic components medical equipment
melons ornamental plants
pineapples seafood
sugar

Value :

10 530 000 000 $

Commodities :

capital equipment construction materials
consumer products petroleum
raw materials

Currency-name :

Costa Rican colon 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 1 438 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 1 887 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 51
Television broadcast stations 20
Internet Country code (ccTLD) cr
Internet Hosts 34 066
Internet Users 1 460 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 38
Pipelines - refined products 796 km
Roadways - total 35 330 km
Roadways - paved 8 621 km
Roadways - unpaved 26 709 km
Railways 278 km
Waterways 730 km

Photos

=  
Powered by Google App Engine  | Photos provided by Panoramio Logo are under the copyright of their owners   | 
♦ geognos.com ©®™2010 ♦ Visualizations by Google Visualization API  | Dynamic maps by Google Maps API v3  | Dynamic translations by Google AJAX Language API