Information about Costa Rica
This article is about the country in the Americas; "Costa Rican" and "Costa Ricans" redirect here.
| República de Costa Rica Republic of Costa Rica | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Motto ¡Vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz! (Spanish) "May Work And Peace Live Forever" | ||||||
| Anthem Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera (Spanish) Noble homeland, your beautiful flag | ||||||
) Location of Costa Rica | ||||||
| Capital | San José | |||||
| Largest city | San José | |||||
| Official languages | Spanish | |||||
| Demonym | Costa Rican | |||||
| Government | Constitutional Republic | |||||
| - | President | Óscar Arias | ||||
| Independence | ||||||
| - | from Spain (via Guatemala) | September 15 1821 | ||||
| - | from the UPCA | 1838 | ||||
| - | Water (%) | 0.7 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | July 2007 estimate | 4,133,884 (119th) | ||||
| - | census | 2000 | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2006 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $48.77 billion (84th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $12,000 (62nd) | ||||
| Gini? (2001) | 49.9 (high) | |||||
| HDI (2005) | ){kind=icon} 0.841 (high) (48th) | |||||
| Currency | Costa Rican colón (CRC) | |||||
| Time zone | (UTC-6) | |||||
| Internet TLD | .cr | |||||
| Calling code | +506 | 2 | ||||
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Costa Rica (literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, IPA: [re'puβlika ge 'kosta 'rrika]), is a Republic in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.
History
It was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The northwest of the country, the Nicoya Peninsula, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl (named after Nitin) cultural influence when the Spanish invaders (conquistadores) came in the sixteenth century. The center and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of the Indians died from disease and mistreatment by the Spaniards.
During Spanish Colonial times, the principal city in Central America was Guatemala City. Costa Rica's distance from this hub led to difficulty in establishing trade routes and was one of the reasons that Costa Ricans developed in relative isolation and with little oversight from the Spanish Monarchy ("The Crown"). While this isolation allowed the colony to develop free of intervention by The Crown, it also contributed to its failure to share in the prosperity of the Colonies, making Costa Rica the poorest Spanish Colony in Central America. Another contributing factor to this poverty was lack of indigenous peoples to use for slave labor. While many Spaniards in the other colonies had slaves to work their land, many Costa Rican settlers had to work their own land. For all these reasons, Costa Rica was by and large unappreciated and overlooked by the Crown, and left to develop on its own. It is believed that the circumstances during this period led to the formation of many of the idiosyncrasies that Costa Rica has become known for, while at the same time setting the stage for Costa Rica's development as a more egalitarian society than the rest of its neighbors.
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General map of Costa Rica
Costa Rica's membership in the newly formed Federal Republic of Central America, now free of Spanish rule, was short lived. The distance from Guatemala City to the Central Valley of Costa Rica, where most of the population lived and still lives, was great. The local population had little allegiance to the government in Guatemala City, in part because of the history of isolation during Colonial times. Costa Rica's disinterest in participating as a province in a greater Central American government was one of the deciding factors in the break-up of the fledgling federation into independent states, which still exist today. However, all of the Central American nations still celebrate September 15th as their independence day, which pertains to the independence of Central America from Spain.
Most Caribbean Costa Ricans of African descent descend from Jamaican workers (not slaves) brought in during the nineteenth century to work in the construction of railways connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limon on the Caribbean coast. The construction of the railways was funded by the United Fruit Company in exchange for land. This led to a major economic shift in the nation, in which fruit would come to rival the coffee trade as a major Costa Rican export.
During the nineteenth century, Italian and Chinese immigrants came to the country to work on the construction of the railroad system as well.
Geography
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On the Río Savegre, just below San Gerardo de Dota in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica.
- See also: List of volcanoes in Costa Rica
Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309 km / 192 mi of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km / 397 mi of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometers (19,730 sq. mi) plus 589.000 square kilometers of territorial waters.
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The crater of Volcán Irazú, an active volcano near Cartago, Costa Rica
The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,820 metres (12,500 ft), and is the fifth highest peak in Central America. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m / 11,257 ft). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.
Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island stands out because of its distance from continental landmass (24 km² / 9.25 sq mi, 500 km or 300 mi from Puntarenas coast), but Calero Island is the biggest island of the country (151.6 km² / 58.5 sq mi).
Costa Rica protects 26% of its national territory within the Protected Areas system. It also possesses the greatest density of species in the world. [1]
Politics
- Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a strong constitution. Although there are claims that the country has had more than 115 years of uninterrupted democracy, their presidential election history shows otherwise (see List of Presidents of Costa Rica). Nonetheless, the country has had at least fifty-nine years of uninterrupted democracy, which is by far the longest in Latin America, making it one of the most stable countries in the region. Costa Rica has avoided the violence that has plagued Central America.
- See also: Military of Costa Rica
Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is the country's center of power. There also are two vice presidents as well as a cabinet designated by the president. The president, vice presidents, and fifty-seven Legislative Assembly delegates are elected for four-year terms. A constitutional amendment approved in 1969 limited presidents and delegates to one term, although delegates were allowed to run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term.
In April 2003, the constitutional ban on presidential re-election was reversed, allowing Óscar Arias (Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 1987) to run for President for a second term. In 2006, Óscar Arias was re-elected in a tight and highly contested election, running on a platform of promoting free trade. He took office on May 8, 2006. Autonomous state agencies enjoy considerable operational independence; they include the telecommunications and electrical power monopoly, the nationalized commercial banks, the state insurance monopoly, and the social security agency. Costa Rica has no military by constitution but maintains domestic police forces for internal security. These include the Guardia Civil and the Guardia Rural.
Other current political issues include security, crime, and the limiting of large-scale emigration of people from Nicaragua.Provinces and cantons
Costa Rica is composed of seven provinces, which in turn are divided into 90 cantons ("cantón" in Spanish, plural "cantones"), each directed by a mayor. Mayors are chosen democratically every four years by each canton's people. There are no provincial legislatures.Economy
Metal church in Grecia, Costa Rica.
Old cathedral in Cartago, Costa Rica.
The economy has been expanding for Costa Rica in part because the Government had implemented a seven-year plan of expansion in the high tech industry. The central government offers tax exemptions for those who are willing to invest in the country. Several global high tech corporations have already started developing in the area exporting goods including chip manufacturer Intel, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, and consumer products company Procter & Gamble. Trade with South East Asia and Russia has boomed during 2004 and 2005, and the country is expected to obtain full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007 (the country became an observer in 2004).
For the fiscal year 2005, the country showed a government deficit of 2.1%, internal revenue increased an 18%, exports increased a 12.8% and the number of visiting tourists increased a 19%, reaching 1.5 million people. Revised economic figures released by the Central Bank indicate that economic growth stood at 5%, nevertheless the country faced high inflation (14%) and a trade deficit of 5.2%. For 2006 the economy is expected to grow a 6.8%
The unit of currency is the colón (CRC), which trades around 518 [2] to the U.S. dollar; currently about 675 to the euro. On October 16, 2006, a new currency exchange system was introduced, allowing the value of the CRC colón to float between two bands as done previously by Chile. The idea is that by doing so the Central Bank will be able to better tackle inflation and discourage the use of US dollars. Since that time, the value of the colón against the dollar has stabilized.
Costa Rica's location provides easy access to American markets as it has the same time zone as the central part of the United States and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia. A country wide referendum has approved a free trade agreement with the United States.Tourism
With a $1.7-billion-a-year tourism industry, Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the region. Eco-tourism is extremely popular with many tourists visiting the many protected areas around the country. Sex tourism has become a popular form of tourism and has been gaining popularity in Costa Rica where it already amounts for 10% of the billion dollar tourism industry.[1] Costa Rica has been hailed as a national destination for sex tourists,[2][3] this is largely because of legal prostitution.[4] The government has made efforts to attack mainly child prostitution. A large child prostitution organization was dismantled by authorities in 2005, sending the female leader of the groups to 8 years in jail. Critics said the sentence was not strong enough and that the government efforts have been insufficient.Foreign affairs
Costa Rica is an active member of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Costa Rica holds a seat on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and on the United Nations University of Peace and many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy.
Costa Rica's main foreign policy objective is to foster human rights and sustainable development as a way to secure stability and growth.
Costa Rica is also a member of the International Criminal Court, without a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).
On June 1, 2007, Costa Rica broke ties with the Republic of China in Taiwan, switching to the People's Republic of China in mainland China. [3] fabioFlora and fauna
An anhinga drying its feathers.Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.1% of the world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. Over 25% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests and reserves.- See also: Wildlife of Costa Rica
One national park that is internationally-renowned among ecologists for its biodiversity (including big cats and tapirs) and where visitors can expect to see an abundance of wildlife is the Corcovado National Park.
The Clay-colored Robin is Costa Rica's national bird.
Tortuguero National Park – the name Tortuguero can be translated as "Full of turtles" – is home to spider, howler and white-throated Capuchin monkeys, the three-toed sloth, 320 species of birds (including eight species of parrots), a variety of reptiles, but is mostly recognized for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle and is considered the most important nesting site for this species. Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest here.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve hosts two thousand plant species, including numerous orchids. Over four hundred types of birds can be found here, and over one hundred species of mammals. As a whole, around eight hundred species of birds have been identified in Costa Rica. The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBIO) is allowed to collect royalties on any biological discoveries of medical importance.Demographics
According to the CIA World Factbook, Costa Rica has a population of 4,133,884. Mestizos (mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry) and whites make up the majority of the population of Costa Rica comprising approximately 94% of the population (no figures are provided for the groups individually, as most Mestizos self-identify as white.) There are significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, German, Jewish, and Polish descent. Just under 3% of the population is of black African descent. The majority of the afro Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of nineteenth century black Jamaican immigrant workers. 1% is composed of ethnic Chinese, 1% of Amerindian peoples, and another 1% identified as "other."
As of today, the indigenous or Amerindian population numbers around 1%, or over 41,000 individuals. In the Guanacaste Province a significant portion of the population descends from a tri-racial mix of local Amerindians, Africans and Spaniards. There is also an expatriate community of people of all ages from the United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Britain, and other countries, especially in the Central Valley city of Escazu.
Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia and Nicaragua. As a result, an estimated 10% to 15% of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans,[5] most of whom migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. There is also a growing number of Peruvian refugees. Moreover, Costa Rica took in lots of refugees from a range of other Latin American countries fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the 1970s and 80s - notably from Chile and Argentina.Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion in Costa Rica, and Roman Catholicism is the official state religion as guaranteed by the Constitution of 1949. Some 92% of Costa Ricans are Christian [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html#People] and like many other parts of Latin America, Protestant denominations have been experiencing rapid growth. However, three in four Costa Ricans still adhere to Roman Catholicism.
Because of small but recent immigration from Asia, the Middle East, and other places, other religions have grown, the most popular being Buddhism (because of an increasing Chinese community of 40,000), and smaller numbers of Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu adherents.
There is a Jewish synagogue, the B'nei Israel Congregation, in San Jose, near La Sabana Park. Several homes in the neighborhood east of La Sabana Park are festooned with Stars of David and other recognizable Jewish symbols.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has seen modest growth in Costa Rica in the last forty years and has built one of only two temples in Central America in the San Antonio de Belen region of Heredia.Language
The only official language is Spanish. There are two main accents native to Costa Rica, the standard Costa Rican and the Nicoyan. The Nicoyan accent is very similar to the standard Nicaraguan accent due, in part, to its annexation from Nicaragua in 1822. A notable Costa Rican pronunciation difference includes a soft initial and double [r] phoneme that is not trilled as in most of the Spanish speaking world.[6].- See also: Central American Spanish
Jamaican immigrants in the 19th Century brought with them a dialect of English that has evolved into the Mekatelyu creole dialect.Marriage
Because Roman Catholicism is the official state religion, only that church's marriages are legally recognized by the government. Any persons wishing to wed outside of the Catholic church must hire a lawyer who will perform and then register their civil wedding for them.Culture
Inside of the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, the Costa Rican national theatre.
Costa Rica boasts a varied history. Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The northwest of the country, the Nicoya peninsula, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) came in the sixteenth century. The center and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of the Indians died from disease and mistreatment by the Spaniards.
The Atlantic coast, meanwhile, was populated with African workers during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Most afro Costa Ricans, however, derive from nineteenth-century Jamaican workers, brought in to work on the construction of railroads between the urban populations of the Central Plateau and the port of Limon on the Caribbean coast. Italian and Chinese immigrants also arrived at this time to work on railroad construction.Music
Though the music of Costa Rica has achieved little international renown, Costa Rican popular music genres include: an indigenous calypso scene which is distinct from the more widely-known Trinidadian calypso sound audience that supports nightclubs in cities like San José. American and British rock and roll and pop are popular and common among the youth (especially urban youth) while dance-oriented genres like soca, salsa, merengue, cumbia and Tex-Mex have an appeal among the somewhat older audience.Education
Second graders working in Centro Educativo Linda Vista de Santa Rosa, Guanacaste.
There are only a few schools in Costa Rica that go beyond the 11th grade. Those schools that finish at 11th grade receive a Costa Rican Bachillerato Diploma accredited by the Costa Rican Ministry of Education.References
1. ^ Schmidt, Blake. "Businesses Say No to Sex Tourism Industry", Tico Time, July 27, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
2. ^ Kovaleski, Serge F.. "Child Sex Trade Rises In Central America", Washington Post Foreign Service, Washington Post Foreign Service, 2000-01-02. Retrieved on 2006-12-20. Archived from the original on 2006-12-20. “... "an accelerated increase in child prostitution" in the country ... blamed largely on the unofficial promotion of sex tourism in Costa Rica over the Internet.
3. ^ Costa Rica. The Protection Project. Archived from the original on 2006-12-20. Retrieved on 2006-12-20. “...has come to rival Thailand and the Philippines as one of the world’s leading destinations for sex tourism.
4. ^ "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Costa Rica", U.S. State Department. Retrieved on 2007-09-28. “...Prostitution is legal for persons over the age of 18, and was practiced openly throughout the country, particularly in areas with heavy concentrations of tourists.... There are no specific laws against sex tourism, which was growing
5. ^ www.state.gov Background Note: Costa Rica - People
6. ^ The Phonemes of Costa Rican Spanish O. L. Chavarria-Aguilar Language, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1951), pp. 248-253
External links
- Costa Rica at the Open Directory Project
- Costa Rica Surf Reports
- Catholic Church in Costa Rica (Spanish)
- Environmental News from Costa Rica (Spanish)
- Costa Rica in Pictures
- Costa Rica Hotels
- Government and administration
- Casa Presidencial (Spanish) Official presidential site.
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, National Biodiversity Institute.
- Las Constituciones De Costa Rica De 1821-1949 (Spanish) Costa Rican Constitution
- Costa Rica Tourist Board (English) Costa Rica Official Web Site
- Entertainment, News and directories
- Costa Rica leading portal (Spanish) tuanix.com is Costa Rica Official portal
- Costa Rica Maps (Spanish) Digital maps of Costa Rica
- National anthem lyrics
- Himno Nacional de Costa Rica (Spanish) National Anthem Lyrics
- Travel & tourism
International membership Latin UnionAndorra Angola Argentina Bolivia Brazil Cape Verde Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cte d'Ivoire Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador France Guatemala Guinea-Bissau Haiti Holy See Honduras Italy Mexico Moldova Monaco Mozambique Nicaragua Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Portugal Romania San Marino So Tom and Prncipe Senegal Sovereign Military Order of Malta Spain Timor-Leste Uruguay Venezuela Official languages: Catalan French Italian Portuguese Romanian SpanishAmericas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area (28.
..... Read more.A motto (from Italian) is a phrase or a short list of words meant formally to describe the general motivation or intention of an entity, social group, or organization.Coat of arms elements
..... Read more.
Spanish, Castilian
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —
Spanish (
..... Read more.- For the Radiohead song, see "The National Anthem".
..... Read more."Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish language, Costa Rican National Anthem) is the national anthem of Costa Rica. It was originally adopted in 1853, with the music composed by Manuel María Gutiérrez. Words by José María Zeledón Brenes were added in 1900.
..... Read more.capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has a second meaning based on an alternative sense of "capital") is the center of government.
..... Read more.San José de Costa Rica
San José
Morazán Park in San José Downtown
Flag
Seal
Nickname: Chepe
Location of San José Canton between provinces
..... Read more.In 2005, Costa Rica had an estimated population of 4,016,173 persons. A reported 94% of people in Costa Rica are of either European (mostly Spanish) ancestry or are of Meztizo (mixed European and indigenous ancestry).
..... Read more.San José de Costa Rica
San José
Morazán Park in San José Downtown
Flag
Seal
Nickname: Chepe
Location of San José Canton between provinces
..... Read more.An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. It is typically the language used in a nation's legislative bodies, though the law in many nations requires that government documents be produced in other
..... Read more.
Spanish, Castilian
Writing system: Latin (Spanish variant)
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: —
ISO 639-3: —
Spanish (
..... Read more.A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a people or the inhabitants of a place. In English, the name of a people's language is often the same as this word, e.g., the "French" (language or people).
..... Read more.government is a body that has the power to make and the authority to enforce rules and laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group.[1]
..... Read more.Costa Rica
This article is part of the series:
Politics of Costa Rica- President
- scar Arias
- Legislative Assembly
- Political parties
- Elections
..... Read more.Óscar Arias Sánchez (born 13 September 1940, in Heredia, Costa Rica) is the current President of Costa Rica, a position he also held from 1986-1990. In 1987 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several Central American countries.
..... Read more.Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty.
The term independence is used in contrast to subjugation,
..... Read more.Motto
"Plus Ultra" (Latin)
"Further Beyond"
Anthem
"Marcha Real" 1
..... Read more.Motto
Unofficial: "El País de la Eterna Primavera"
"Land of Eternal Spring"
Official: "Libre Crezca Fecundo"
"Grow Free and Fertile"
Anthem
Himno Nacional de Guatemala
..... Read more.September 15 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.Events
- 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy.
..... Read more.18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1790s 1800s 1810s - 1820s - 1830s 1840s 1850s
1818 1819 1820 - 1821 - 1822 1823 1824
:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Read more.¹ Moved to San Salvador in 1834.
The Federal Republic of Central America, also known as the United Provinces of Central America, was a short-lived Latin American state in Central America.
..... Read more.18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1800s 1810s 1820s - 1830s - 1840s 1850s 1860s
1835 1836 1837 - 1838 - 1839 1840 1841
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Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Read more.Water is a common chemical substance that is essential to all known forms of life.[1] In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor.
..... Read more.In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 (per cent meaning "per hundred"). It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%". For example, 45 % (read as "forty-five percent") is equal to 45 / 100, or 0.45.
..... Read more.population is the collection of people or organisms of a particular species living in a given geographic area or mortality, and migration, though the field encompasses many dimensions of population change including the family (marriage and divorce), public health, work and the
..... Read more.list of countries ordered according to population. The list includes and ranks sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories. Figures are based on the most recent estimate or projection by the national census authority where available and generally rounded off.
..... Read more.gross domestic product, or GDP, is one of the ways for measuring the size of its economy. The GDP of a country is defined as the total market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time (usually a calendar year).
..... Read more.The purchasing power parity (PPP) theory was developed by Gustav Cassel in 1920. It is the method of using the long-run equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize the currencies' purchasing power.
..... Read more.There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). The GDP dollar estimates given on this page are derived from Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) calculations.
..... Read more.Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head.
It is usually used in the field of statistics to indicate the average per person for any given concern, e.g. income, crime rate.
..... Read more.
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