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Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total area: 51,100 sq km
land area: 50,660 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
note: includes Isla del Coco
Land boundaries: total 639 km, Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Coastline: 1,290 km
Climate: tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November)
Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Natural resources: hydropower potential
Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 7%
meadows and pastures: 45%
forest and woodland: 34%
other: 8%
Irrigated land: 1,180 sq km (1989 est.)
Population: 3,419,114 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35% (female 585,976; male 617,456)
15-64 years: 60% (female 1,013,491; male 1,036,195)
65 years and over: 5% (female 88,050; male 77,946) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.24% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 24.88 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 3.47 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.11 years
male: 76.21 years
female: 80.1 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.01 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican
Ethnic divisions: white (including mestizo) 96%, black 2%, Indian 1%, Chinese 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%
Languages: Spanish (official), English; spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1984)
total population: 93%
male: 93%
female: 93%
Labor force: 868,300
by occupation: industry and commerce 35.1%, government and services 33%, agriculture
27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica
local long form: Republica deCosta Rica
local short form: Costa Rica
Digraph: CS
Type: democratic republic
Capital: San Jose
Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose
Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution: 9 November 1949
Legal system: basedon Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Overview: Costa Rica's basically stable and progressive economy depends especially on tourism and export of bananas, coffee, and other agricultural products. In 1994 the economy grew at an estimated 4.3%, compared with 6.5% in 1993, 7.7% in 1992, and 2.1% in 1991. Inflation in 1993 dropped to 9% from 17% in 1992 and 25% in 1991, an indication of basic financial stability. Unemployment is officially reported at only 4.0%, but there is much underemployment. Costa Rica signed a free trade agreement with Mexico in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $16.9 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 4.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $5,050 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4% (1993); much underemployment
Budget:
revenues: $1.1 billion
expenditures: $1.34 billion, including capital expenditures of $110 million (1991
est.)
Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar
partners: US, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador, Netherlands, UK, France
Imports: $2.9 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
partners:US, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Germany
External debt: $3.2 billion (1991)
Industrial production: growth rate 10.5% (1992); accounts for 22% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 1,040,000 kW
production: 4.1 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,164 kWh (1993)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Agriculture: accounts for 19% of GDP and 70% of exports; cash commodities - coffee, beef, bananas, sugar; other food crops include corn, rice, beans, potatoes; normally self-sufficient in food except for grain; depletion of forest resources resulting in lower timber output
Currency: 1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos
Fiscal year: calendar year
Railroads:
total: 950 km (260 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways:
total: 35,560 km
paved: 5,600 km
unpaved: gravel and earth 29,960 km (1992)
Inland waterways: about 730 km, seasonally navigable
Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km
Ports: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 174
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 17
with paved runways under 914 m: 117
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 1
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 36