Background: Costa Rica is a Central American success story:
since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have
marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural
country, it has achieved a relatively high standard of living. Land
ownership is widespread. Tourism is a rapidly expanding industry.
Government
type: democratic republic
Capital: San Jose
Currency: 1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos
Geography of Costa Rica
Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific
Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 84 00 W
Area:
total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km
water: 440 sq km
note: includes Isla del Coco
Land boundaries:
total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Coastline: 1,290 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season
(May to November); cooler in highlands
Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m
Natural resources: hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 31%
other: 12% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast;
frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season; active volcanoes
Environment - current issues: deforestation and land use change,
largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and
agriculture; soil erosion; water pollution (rivers); coastal marine
pollution; wetlands degradation; fisheries protection; solid waste
management; air pollution.
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the
capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes,
Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65.
People of Costa Rica
Unlike many of their Central American neighbors, present-day Costa Ricans
are largely of European rather than mestizo descent; Spain was the primary
country of origin. However, an estimated 10% to 15% of the population is
Nicaraguan, of fairly recent arrival and primarily of mestizo origin.
Descendants of 19th-century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an
English-speaking minority and--at 3% of the population--number about 96,000.
Few of the native Indians survived European contact; the indigenous
population today numbers about 29,000 or less than 1% of the population.
Population: 4,016,173 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.38%
15-64 years: 63.37%
65 years and over: 5.25%
Population growth rate: 1.65%
Birth rate: 20.27 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 4.3 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.02 years
male: 73.49 years
female: 78.68 years
Total fertility rate: 2.47 children born/woman
Nationality:
noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican
Ethnic groups: white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese
1%, other 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant
0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.8%
male: 94.7%
female: 95% (1995 est.)
SOURCES: The World Factbook, U.S. Department of State |