Costa Rica Information

This is a review with the most important facts about Costa Rica.

Description:

Costa Rica or "rich coast" in English, lives up to its name in many ways. Even though it’s neighbors often struggle to achieve peace and economic stability, Costa Rica has enjoyed a stable democracy for more than 100 years and has a reputation for peace. In fact, since the peace process in 1987 Costa Rica is a neutral country and has not had an army since 1948.

As far as the seasons and weather, Costa Rica ia a very temperate climate. There are two seasons in Costa Rica. The rainy season is from May to mid-November and summer is from mid-November to April. Fortunately, in the rainy season it rarely rains all day long. Usually the mornings are bright and sunny with showers in mid-afternoon. Temperatures vary depending on elevation and location. Temperatures in the Central Valley of Costa Rica are generally between 66 to 75 degrees, yet temperatures are higher on the coasts and lower in the mountains.

In size, Costa Rica is a fairly small country, a grand total of 19,530 square miles which hosts around 3 million inhabitants, most of whom live in the Central Valley. For its size, the country has an amazing amount of diversity. From mountainous ranges, to tropical, dry, and cloud forests. Costa Rica is a naturist’s wonderland. There are over 10,000 identified species of plants, 850 species of birds, 800 species of butterflies, and 500 species of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, combined.

Location:
Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama

Area:
total: 51,100 sq km
water: 440 sq km
note: includes Isla del Coco
land: 50,660 sq km

Coastline:
1,290 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 NM
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 including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m

Land use:
arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.48%
other: 90.11% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
1,260 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; 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; coastal marine pollution; 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

Population:
3,896,092 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 30.1% (male 600,812; female 573,375)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 1,269,667; female 1,241,097)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 98,156; female 112,985) (2003 est.)

Median age:
total: 25.4 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 25.8 years (2002)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.43 years
male: 73.87 years
female: 79.11 years (2003 est.)

Ethnic groups:
white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%

Religions:
Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%

Languages:
Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica
local short form: Costa Rica
local long form: Republica de Costa Rica,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:
7 November 1949

Legal system:
based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction