Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish Spanish , sometimes called Castilian (castellano), is a Romance language that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade. It was taken most notably to the Americas, and also to Africa and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkosta ˈrika]) is a country Country is a term referring to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. Usually, but not always, a country coincides with a sovereign territory and is associated with a state, nation and government in Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. Most of Central America is considered to be part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, bordered by Nicaragua Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,000 km2, and the second poorest in the Western Hemisphere. The country is bordered by Honduras to the to the north, Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere, bounded to the south and west by the American landmass, with the North Atlantic Ocean proper to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest. More specifically, it washes upon the South American countries of Venezuela and Colombia on the to the east.

Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.[2][3][4] Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages (i.e., those derived from Latin) – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken.Latin America has an area of approximately (7,880,000 sq mi), or almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface. As of 2008, its population was estimated at more than 569 countries in the Human Development Index The Human Development Index is an index used to rank countries by level of "human development", which usually also implies whether a country is a developed, developing, or underdeveloped country, ranking 50th in 2006.[5] The country is ranked 5th in the world, and 1st among the Americas The Americas, or America, are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America. The Americas cover 8.3% of the Earth's total surface area, in terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index The Environmental Performance Index is a method of quantifying and numerically benchmarking the environmental performance of a country's policies. This index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, first published in 2002, and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.[6][7] In 2007 the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon neutral Being carbon neutral, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset.The carbon neutral concept may be extended to include other greenhouse gases measured in terms of their carbon dioxide equivalence -- the impact country by 2021.[8][9][10] According to the New Economics Foundation The New Economics Foundation is an independent British think-tank, or, in their own description, a "think-and-do tank", Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index The Happy Planet Index is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was introduced by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in July 2006. The index is designed to challenge well-established indices of countries’ development, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI), which are seen as not taking and is the greenest country in the world. The HPI measures how much of the Earth's resources nations use and how long and happy a life their citizens enjoy as a result[11].

Contents

History

Main article: History of Costa Rica In Pre-Columbian times the Native Americans in what is now Costa Rica were part of a cultural complex known as the "Intermediate Area," between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions

In Pre-Columbian The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic to European colonization during the Early Modern period times the indigenous people The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans, First Nations, Amerigine, and by Christopher Columbus' geographical mistake Indians, modernly disambiguated as the American Indian, in what is now known as Costa Rica, were part of the international Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican The term Mesoamerica—literally, "middle America" in Greek—was first used by the German ethnologist Paul Kirchhoff, who noted that similarities existed among the various pre-Columbian cultures within the region that included southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, western Honduras, and the Pacific lowlands of Nicaragua and and Andean The Andes are the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7,000 km long, 200 km (120 mi) to 700 km (430 mi) wide (widest between 18° to 20°S latitude), and of an average height of about 4,000 m (13,000 ft) cultural regions. This has recently been updated to include the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian The Isthmo-Colombian area was defined in a chapter by John W. Hoopes and Oscar Fonseca Z. in the 2003 book Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. It is defined as a cultural area encompassing those territories occupied by speakers of the Chibchan languages at the time of European contact. It includes portions of eastern area. It was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met.

A Pre-Columbian incense Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term incense refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces burner with a crocodile A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all members of the order Crocodilia: i.e. the true crocodiles, the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae) and the gharials (family Gavialidae), or even the Crocodylomorpha which includes prehistoric crocodile relatives and lid (500 - 1350 CE), from Costa Rica.

The northwest of the country, the Nicoya Peninsula The Nicoya Peninsula is a peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and lies in the Guanacaste Province in the north, and the Puntarenas Province in the south. It is located at 10°00′00″N 85°25′00″W / 10°N 85.4166667°W. It varies from 19 to 37 miles (60 km) wide and is approximately 75 miles (121 km) long, and forms the, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl Nahuatl (Nahuatl pronunciation: [ˈnaː.watɬ] , with stress on the first syllable) is a group of related languages and dialects of the Nahuan (traditionally called "Aztecan") branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Collectively they are spoken by an estimated 1.5 million Nahua people, most of whom live in Central Mexico. All Nahuan cultural influence when the Spanish Spain /ˈspeɪn/ (Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), or the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north by France, conquerors (conquistadores Conquistador (meaning "Conqueror" in the Spanish and Portuguese languages) is the term used to refer to the Portuguese and Spanish soldiers,explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain and Portugal in the 15th through the 17th centuries following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher) came in the sixteenth century. The central and southern portions of the country had Chibcha Chibcha, also known as Muisca or Mosca, is "officially" an extinct Chibchan language of Colombia, formerly spoken by the Muisca people. The language was banned by King Charles III of Spain on May 10, 1770, as part of a de-indigenization project and remained so until the constitution of 1991 was written. Though officially extinct, some influences. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of these died from diseases such as smallpox Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple". The term "smallpox" was first used in Europe[12] and mistreatment by the Spaniards.

The first European to reach what is now Costa Rica was Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was a Genoese navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean—funded by Queen Isabella of Spain—led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. Although not the first to reach the Americas from Europe—he was preceded by the Norse, led by Leif Ericson, who in 1502.[13] During Spanish Colonial Territories of the Portuguese empire during the Iberian Union . Territories lost before or due to the Treaties of Utrecht-Baden (1713–1714). Territories lost before or during the Hispanic American wars of independence (1811–1828). Territories lost following the Spanish-American War (1898–1899). Territories granted independence during the times, the largest city in Central America was Guatemala City Guatemala City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala. It is also the capital city of the local Guatemala Department and the largest city in Central America. 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 This is a list of Spanish monarchs—that is, rulers of the country of Spain in the modern sense of the word. The forerunners of the Spanish throne, as well as of the Portuguese throne, were the following: ("The Crown According to the Spanish constitution, the monarch is also instrumental in promoting Ibero-American relations, the “nations of its historical community” . Currently the King of Spain serves as President of the fifty-three member Ibero-American States Organization"). While this isolation allowed the colony In politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception. The metropolitan state is the state that owns to develop free of intervention by The Crown, it also contributed to its failure to share in the prosperity of the Colonies.[14] Costa Rica was described as "the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all Americas" by a Spanish governor in 1719.[15]

Another contributing factor to this poverty was the lack of indigenous people used as forced labor The encomienda is a trusteeship labour system that was employed by the Spanish crown during the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the Philippines. The etymology of encomienda and encomendero lies in the Spanish verb encomendar, "to entrust". The encomienda was essential to the Spanish crown's sustaining its control over North,. While many Spaniards in the other colonies had tribal members working on their land, most of the Costa Rican settlers had to work on their own land themselves. For all these reasons Costa Rica was by and large unappreciated and overlooked by the Crown Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty (also associated to its role in the history of Central Europe). Under Habsburg rule (chiefly under Charles I and Philip II of Spain), Spain reached the zenith of its influence and power, controlling 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. Costa Rica became a "rural democracy" with no oppressed mestizo or indigenous class. It was not long before Spanish Portuguese, other populations of Latin Europe, Hispanics settlers turned to the hills, where they found rich volcanic soil and a climate Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Climate can be contrasted to weather, which is the present condition of these same elements over periods up to two weeks that was milder than that of the lowlands.[16]

Costa Rica joined other Central American provinces in 1821 in a joint declaration of independence from Spain. After a brief time in the Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide Agustín de Iturbide, also known as Agustín I, Constitutional Emperor of Mexico was born into a noble family in Valladolid, New Spain (now Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico). He was commissioned into the colonial army when still in his teens. When the Mexican War of Independence broke out in 1810, Iturbide rejected an offer to lead insurgent troops, Costa Rica became a state in the Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America, known as the United Provinces of Central America in its first year of creation, was a short-lived sovereign state in Central America, which consisted of the territories of the former Captaincy General of Guatemala. An experiment in republican democracy, it existed from July 1823 to 1840. The coat of arms on from 1823 to 1839. In 1824 the capital was moved to San José San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and is at the heart of the Gran Area Metropolitana or GAM, located in the Central Valley. San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation, but violence briefly ensued through an intense rivalry with Cartago Cartago is a city in Costa Rica, about 25 km east of the capital, San José. It is at an elevation of about 1435 m (some 4,707 ft) above sea level, at the base of the Irazú Volcano. Cartago is the capital of Cartago province. The city covers an area of 152,68 km². It includes the districts of city downtown: Oriental, Occidental (known as the. Although the newly independent provinces formed a Federation, border disputes broke out among them, adding to the region's turbulent history and conditions.

Costa Rica's membership in the newly formed Federal Republic of Central America, free of Spanish rule, was short lived; in 1838, long after the Central American Federation ceased to function in practice, Costa Rica formally withdrew and proclaimed itself sovereign. 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 A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state 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 15 as their independence day, which pertains to the independence of Central America from Spain.

Most Afro-Costa Ricans, who constitute about 3% of the country's population, descend from Jamaican Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length and as much as 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. Its indigenous immigrants Immigration is a modern phenomenon. It owes its existence to the needs of an ever more intensely integrated global capitalist economy to have people move around for the purpose of work, for reproduction of labor power or political asylum across the borders of, some believe, an increasingly obsolete inter-state system. ammigrants are people who who arrived during the 1880s to work in the construction In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager, design engineer, of railways Rail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways in British and Australian English . Railway transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth. Rail transport is capable of high capacity and is energy efficient, but lacks flexibility and connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limón on the Caribbean coast.[17] United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". After a conviction, convicts often become prisoners. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed "convicts" and Chinese Categories: Chinese people | Victims of Communist repressions in China | immigrants also participated in the construction project, conducted by U.S. businessman Minor C. Keith. In exchange for completing the railroad, the Costa Rican government granted Keith large tracts of land and a lease on the train route, which he used to produce bananas and export them to the United States. As a result, bananas came to rival coffee as the principal Costa Rican export, while foreign-owned corporations (including the United Fruit Company) began to hold a major role in the national economy.

Historically, Costa Rica has generally enjoyed greater peace and more consistent political stability compared with many of its fellow Latin American nations. Since the late nineteenth century, however, Costa Rica has experienced two significant periods of violence. In 1917-19, Federico Tinoco Granados ruled as a dictator until he was overthrown and forced into exile. Again in 1948, José Figueres Ferrer led an armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election. With more than 2,000 dead, the resulting 44-day Costa Rican Civil War was the bloodiest event in Costa Rica during the twentieth-century. Afterwards, the new, victorious government junta, led by the opposition, abolished the military and oversaw the drafting of a new constitution by a democratically-elected assembly. Having enacted these reforms, the regime finally relinquished its power on November 8, 1949, to the new democratic government. After the coup d'etat, Figueres became a national hero, winning the country's first democratic election under the new constitution in 1953. Since then, Costa Rica has held 12 presidential elections, the latest being in 2006. All of them have been widely regarded by the international community as peaceful, transparent, and relatively smooth transitions.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Costa Rica See also: List of volcanoes in Costa Rica, Islands of Costa Rica, and Category:Waterfalls of Costa Rica Hatham beach at Isla del coco.

Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the North Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290 kilometres (800 mi) of coastline, 212 km (132 mi) on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km (631 mi) on the Pacific

Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309 km or 192 mi of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km or 397 mi of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometres (19,700 sq mi) plus 589 square kilometres (227 sq mi) of territorial waters.

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 or 11,260 ft). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.

Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island (24 square kilometres/9.3 square miles) stands out because of its distance from continental landmass, 300 mi (480 km) from Puntarenas, but Calero Island is the largest island of the country (151.6 square kilometres/58.5 square miles).

Costa Rica protects 23% of its national territory within the Protected Areas system. It also possesses the greatest density of species in the world.[18]

Government

Main article: Politics of Costa Rica See also: Military of Costa Rica Óscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize winner, President of Costa Rica (1986-1990, 2006-present).

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,[19] their presidential election history shows otherwise. Nonetheless, the country has had at least 59 years of uninterrupted democracy, making it one of the most stable countries in the region. Costa Rica has been able to avoid the widespread violence that has plagued most of Latin America.

Costa Rica is a republic with three powers: executive responsibilities are vested in a president, legislative power is vested on the Legislative Assembly, and Judicial power is vested on the Supreme Court. There are two vice presidents as well as a cabinet designated by the president. The president, vice presidents, and 57 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.

The Supreme Electoral Body, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Procurator General of the Republic and the Office of the Ombudsman also enjoy a lot of independence.

The Supreme Court is divided into four chambers, one dealing with Constitutional Law, one dealing with Criminal Law and two dealing with Civil Law, Merchant Law and the like.

In April 2003, the constitutional amendment 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.

Certain 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 all of which have played an important role in the development of the Costa Rican high-indexed quality of life.

Costa Rica has no military by constitution.

Provinces, cantons, and districts

Provinces of Costa Rica. Main articles: Provinces of Costa Rica, Cantons of Costa Rica, and Districts of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is composed of seven provinces, which in turn are divided into 81 cantons ("cantón" in Spanish, plural "cantones"), each of which is directed by a mayor. Mayors are chosen democratically every four years by each canton's people. There are no provincial legislatures. The cantons are further divided into districts (distritos). The provinces are:

  1. Alajuela
  2. Cartago
  3. Guanacaste
  4. Heredia
  5. Limón
  6. Puntarenas
  7. San José

Economy

Intel microprocessor facility in Costa Rica is responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 4.9% of the country's GDP. A coffee plantation in the Orosi Valley. Main articles: Economy of Costa Rica and Tourism in Costa Rica

According to the CIA World Factbook, Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US$13,500 PPP (2007 estimate); however, this developing country still faces the fourth highest inflation rate in Latin America, lack of maintenance and new investment in infrastructure, over 16% of the people were below the poverty line (2006 estimate) and a 5.5% unemployment rate (2007 estimate).[20] The Costa Rican economy grew nearly 5% in 2006 after experiencing four years of slow economic growth.[21] Costa Rica is also the Latin American pioneer in the implementation of a modern welfare state. Its welfare spending is as high as that of Scandinavian countries.

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. In 2006 Intel's microprocessor facility alone was responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 4.9% of the country's GDP.[22][23] 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%, and exports increased a 12.8%. 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%. As of 2007, Costa Rica's inflation rate stands at 9.30%, Latin America's 4th highest inflation rate.[20]

In recent times electronics, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing, software development, and ecotourism have become the prime industries in Costa Rica's economy. High levels of education among its residents make the country an attractive investing location. Since 1999, tourism earns more foreign exchange than the combined exports of the country's three main cash crops: bananas, pineapples and coffee.[24] Coffee production has played a key role in Costa Rica's history and economy and by 2006 was the third cash crop export.[24] The largest coffee growing areas are in the provinces of San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, and Cartago. Costa Rica is famous for its gourmet coffee beans, with Costa Rican Tarrazú among the finest Arabica coffee beans in the world used for making espresso coffee, together with Jamaican Blue Mountain, Guatemalan Antigua and Ethiopian Sidamo.[25][26][27][28]

The unit of currency is the colón, which trades around 575[29] to the U.S. dollar; currently about 710 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 U.S. dollars. Since that time, the value of the colón against the dollar has stabilized.

Costa Rica's location provides 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 countrywide referendum has approved a free trade agreement with the United States. In the referendum on October 7, 2007, the voters of Costa Rica narrowly backed the free trade agreement, with 51.6% of "Yes" votes.[30]

Poás Volcano Crater is one of the country's main tourist attractions.

With a $2.2 billion per year tourism industry, Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region, with 2.0 million foreign visitors in 2008,[31] which translates into a relatively high expenditure per tourist of $1,100 per trip, and a rate of foreign tourists per capita of 0.46, one of the highest in the Caribbean Basin. Most of the tourists come from the U.S. and Canada (46%), and Europe (16%).[32] In 2005, tourism contributed with 8.1% of the country's GNP and represented 13.3% of direct and indirect employment.[33] Tourism now earns more foreign exchange than bananas and coffee combined.[24][34]

Ecotourism is extremely popular with the many tourists visiting the extensive national parks and protected areas around the country. Costa Rica was a pioneer in this type of tourism, and the country is recognized as one of the few with real ecotourism.[35] In the 2009 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica ranked 42nd in the world and first among Latin American countries.[36] Just considering the sub-index natural resources, Costa Rica ranks 6th worldwide in terms of the natural resources pillar, but 89th in terms of its cultural resources.

Foreign affairs

Costa Rica is an active member of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations University of Peace are based in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican State is also a member of many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy.

Costa Rica holds as a main foreign policy objective is to foster human rights and sustainable development as a way to secure stability and growth.[citation needed]

Costa Rica is a member of the International Criminal Court, without a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the United States military (as covered under Article 98).

Costa Rica also has a long-term disagreement with Nicaragua over the San Juan River which denotes the border between the two countries; the disagreement originates from the fact that the river, being Nicaraguan soil, is the only way of access to several communities in Costa Rica which need to be served by armed Costa Rican police forces.

On June 1, 2007, Costa Rica broke ties with the Republic of China in Taiwan, switching allegiance to the People's Republic of China in mainland China.[37]

Costa Rica is currently a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, having been elected for a non-renewable two-year term in the 2007 election. Its term expires on 31 December 2009; this is Costa Rica's sixth time on the Security Council.

Flora and fauna

An anhinga drying its feathers. Heliconius doris Linnaeus butterfly of Costa Rica See also: Wildlife of Costa Rica and List of birds of Costa Rica

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.[38][39] Around 25% of the country's land area is in protected national parks and protected areas,[40][41] the largest percentual of protected areas in the world.[42][43]

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.[44][45] Corocovado is the one park in Costa Rica where all four Costa Rican monkey species can be found.[46] These include the White-headed Capuchin, the Mantled Howler and the endangered Geoffroy's Spider Monkey.[46][47] They also include the Central American Squirrel Monkey, which is found only on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and a small part of Panama, and was considered endangered until 2008 when its status was upgraded to vulnerable.[48]

Costa Rican colibrì

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; and a variety of reptiles. The park is recognized for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle and is the most important nesting site for the species. Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest there.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is home to about 2,000 plant species,[49] including numerous orchids. Over 400 types of birds and over 100 species of mammals can be found there.[49]

As a whole, around 800 species of birds have been identified in Costa Rica. The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad is allowed to collect royalties on any biological discoveries of medical importance.

Costa Rica and parts of Panama are home to the vulnerable Central American Squirrel Monkey. Deforestation, illegal pet-trading, and hunting are the main reasons for its threatened status.

Costa Rica is a center of biological diversity for reptiles and amphibians, including the world's fastest living lizard, the spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis).[50]

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Costa Rica

Costa Rica has a population of 4,509,290. White accounted for 85%, Mestizo 10%, while 3% are Black/Afro-Caribbean, 1% Amerindian, 1% Chinese.[51] The white population is primarily of Spaniard ancestry[52] with significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, German, English, Dutch, French, Irish, Portuguese, Lebanese and Polish families, as well a sizable Jewish community

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, as well as slaves who were brought during the Atlantic slave trade.

The indigenous or Amerindian population numbers around 1%, or over 41,000 individuals. A significant portion of the population descends from a bi-racial mix of local Amerindians and Spaniards; most live in secluded Indian reservations in the Cordillera de Talamanca or Guanacaste.

There is also an expatriate community of people from the United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Britain, and other countries.

Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia and Nicaragua. As a result, an estimated 10% of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans,[53] most of whom migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. Moreover, Costa Rica took in many refugees from a range of other Latin American countries fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the 1970s and 80s—notably from Chile and Argentina, as well as El Salvador who fled from guerrillas and government death squads.[54]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Costa Rica Church of Our Lady of the Angels, during 2007 pilgrimage.

When it comes to religion, Costa Rica behaves similarly to European developed countries. Christianity is the predominant religion, and Roman Catholicism is the official state religion according to its 1949 Constitution, which at the same time guarantees freedom of religion.

According to the most recent nationwide survey of religion, conducted in 2007 by the University of Costa Rica, only 44.9% of Costa Ricans are practicing Catholics out of the 70.5% who ascribe to Roman Catholicism, 13.8% are Evangelical Protestants, 11.3% report that they do not have a religion, and 4.3% belonged to another.

Because of the recent small but continuous immigration from Asia, and the Middle East, other religions have grown, the most popular being Buddhism (because of an increasing Chinese community of 40,000), and smaller numbers of Jewish, Muslim, Bahá’í, and Hindu adherents.

There is a Jewish synagogue, the Sinagoga Shaarei Zion[55], in San José, near La Sabana Metropolitan Park. Several homes in the neighborhood east of the park are festooned with the Star of David and other recognizable Jewish symbols.[56]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has seen modest growth in Costa Rica in the last 40 years and has built one of only two temples in Central America in the San Antonio de Belen region of Heredia.[57]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Costa Rica See also: Central American Spanish and voseo

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.[58] A peculiarity of the Spanish in Costa Rica is the relative lack of the use of the pronoun tú, which is considered rather informal by native Costa Ricans. Instead, Costa Ricans use vos or usted. The conjugation of vos in Costa Rica is practically the same as in Argentina, with the exception of the subjunctive forms.

Jamaican immigrants in the 19th century brought with them a dialect of English that has evolved into the Mekatelyu creole dialect.

The institutionalized teaching of English in the public but most of all private educational systems is starting to produce a bilingual, educated youth workforce that is well habituated to the English language.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Costa Rica See also: Costa Rican cuisine Inside of the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, the Costa Rican national theater. Costa Rican breakfast with gallo pinto.

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 central and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. The Atlantic coast, meanwhile, was populated with African workers during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The Department of Culture, Youth, and Sports is in charge of the promotion and coordination of the cultural life. The work of the department is divided into Direction of Culture, Visual Arts, Scenic Arts, Music, Patrimony and the System of Libraries. Although the department creates many initiatives, they are constrained by the lack of resources.[citation needed] Permanent programs, nevertheless, are constantly high quality, such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica and the Youth Symphony Orchestra, brilliant conjunctions of two areas of work: Culture and Youth.[citation needed]

Costa Rican popular music genres include American and British rock and roll, pop and electro-rave, especially among the youth who are very well accustom to international trends.[citation needed] Reggae and reggaeton are popular as well, possibly because its main representatives are regionally grown. Dance-oriented genres like soca, salsa, bachata, merengue, cumbia and Costa Rican swing have been increasingly shifting toward an older demographic. The guitar is a popular instrument especially as an accompaniment to folk dances.

Education

Main article: Education in Costa Rica

The literacy rate in Costa Rica is of 96%,[59] one of the highest in Latin America. Elementary and high schools are found throughout the country in practically every community. Universal public education is guaranteed in the constitution. Primary education is obligatory, and both preschool and high school are free. There are only a few schools in Costa Rica that go beyond the 12th grade. Students who finish 11th grade receive a Costa Rican Bachillerato Diploma accredited by the Costa Rican Ministry of Education.

There are both state and private universities, with public universities been traditionally regarded as the best quality available in the country, as well as been historically one of the greatest social mobility tools available, given the large budget percentage committed to subsidize economically-challenged students. In recent years private universities and colleges have largely consolidated and now very well rival, quality-wise, that of the public sector

International rankings

Main article: International rankings of Costa Rica
Index (Year) Author / Editor / Source Year of publication Countries sampled World Ranking(1) Ranking Latin America(2)
Happy Planet Index (2.0) New Economics Foundation[60] 2009 143 1 1
Environmental Performance (2008) Yale University[7] 2008 149 5 1
Human Poverty, HPI-1 (2005)(3) United Nations (UNDP)[61] 2007-08 108 5 4
Poverty below $2 a day (1990-2005)(4) United Nations (UNDP)[62] 2007-08 71 8 3
Press Freedom (2007) Reporters Without Borders[63] 2007 169 21 1
Democracy (2006) The Economist[64] 2007 167 25 1
Global Peace (2008) The Economist[65] 2008 140 34 3
Quality-of-life (2005) The Economist[66] 2007 111 35 3
Prosperity Index (2008) Legatum Institute[67] 2008 104 38 4
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness (2009) World Economic Forum[68] 2009 133 42 1
Corruption Perception (2008) Transparency International[69] 2008 180 47 3
Economic Freedom (2008) The Wall Street Journal[70] 2008 162 49 5
Human Development (2006) United Nations (UNDP)[5] 2008 179 50 5
Global Competitiveness (2008) World Economic Forum[71] 2008-09 134 59 3
Income inequality (1989-2007)(5) United Nations (UNDP)[72] 2007-2008 126 100 5
Life Satisfaction Index (2006-2007) (6) Inter-American Development Bank[73] 2008 24 n.a(6) 1
(1) Worldwide ranking among countries evaluated. See notes (3) and (4) also
(2) Ranking among the 20 Latin American countries (Puerto Rico is not included).
(3) Ranking among 108 developing countries with available data only.
(4) Ranking among 71 developing countries with available data only. Countries in the sample surveyed between 1990-2005. Refers to population below income poverty line as define by the World Bank's $2 per day indicator
(5) Because the Gini coefficient used for the ranking corresponds to different years depending of the country, and the underlying household surveys differ in method and in the type of data collected, the distribution data are not strictly comparable across countries. The ranking therefore is only a proxy for reference purposes.
(6) The Life Satisfaction Index study was performed by the Inter-American Development Bank among 24 countries in the Latin American and the Caribbean region, based on IDB calculations based on Gallup World Poll 2006 - 2007 and World Development Indicators. Therefore, it is a regional index.

See also

Latin America portal
Main article: List of Costa Rica-related topics

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Costa Rica". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=238&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=39&pr.y=11. Retrieved on 2009-04-22.
  2. ^ El Espíritu del 48. "Abolición del Ejército" (in Spanish). http://www.elespiritudel48.org/docu/h013.htm. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  3. ^ "Costa Rica". World Desk Reference. http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/CR/defense.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-09.
  4. ^ "Costa Rica". Uppsala Universitet. http://www.pcr.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=39&regionSelect=4-Central_Americas. Retrieved on 2009-06-09.
  5. ^ a b UNDP Human Development Report 2008 Update. "Table 1: Human Development Index Trends" (PDF). http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-05-01. page 25-26
  6. ^ Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy / Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University. "Switzerland Tops 2008 Environmental Scorecard at World Economic Forum". http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/08-01-23-04.all.html. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  7. ^ a b Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy / Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University. "Environmental Performance Index 2008, Metrics for Costa Rica". http://epi.yale.edu/CostaRica. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  8. ^ John Burnett (2008-02-18). "". National Public Radio (NPR.org). . Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
  9. ^ Alana Herro (2007-03-12). "Costa Rica Aims to Become First "Carbon Neutral" Country". Worldwatch Institute. http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4958. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
  10. ^ Alejandro Vargas (2007-02-21). "País quiere ser primera nación con balance neutro de carbono" (in Spanish). La Nación. http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2007/febrero/21/aldea1002694.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
  11. ^ Ashley Seager (2008-07-04). "Costa Rica is the world's happiest and greenest counitry in the world.". The Guadian Unlimited (guardian.co.uk). http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/04/costa-rica-happy-planet-index. Retrieved on 2009-07-04.
  12. ^ The Story Of... Smallpox
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  18. ^ estudiofi
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  25. ^ Revista VEJA (2008-07-31). "Os melhores grãos do mundo" (in Portuguese). Editora Abril. http://veja.abril.com.br/300708/p_140.shtml. Retrieved on 2008-07-29. Edition 2071. Print edition pp. 140
  26. ^ Betty Fussell (1999-09-05). "The World Before Starbucks". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E0D7173BF936A3575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
  27. ^ Florence Fabricant (1992-09-02). "Americans Wake Up and Smell the Coffee". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DB153FF931A3575AC0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1. Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
  28. ^ "Ferris Gourmet Coffee Beans: Single origin coffees". Ferris Coffee & Nuts. http://www.ferriscoffee.com/coffee.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
  29. ^ Banco Central de Costa Rica
  30. ^ Latinamerica Press
  31. ^ Hassel Fallas (2008-12-18). "Llegada de turistas dejará $2.200 millones este año" (in Spanish). La Nación. http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2008/diciembre/18/economia1815172.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
  32. ^ "Informe de Encuestas IV Trimestre 2006. Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaria" (in Spanish). Instituto Costarricense de Turismo. 2006. http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/modEst/estudios_estadisticas.asp?idIdioma=2. Retrieved on 2008-06-06. 2006 Annual Survey from the Costa Rican Board of Tourism (ICT)
  33. ^ Altés, Carmen (2006), El Turismo en América Latina y el Caribe y la experiencia del BID, Inter-American Development Bank; Sustainable Development Department, Technical Paper Series ENV-149, Washington, D.C. available at http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=984876, p. 9 and 47
  34. ^ José Enrique Rojas (2004-12-29). "Turismo, principal motor de la economía durante el 2004" (in Spanish). La Nación. http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2004/diciembre/29/economia0.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-13.
  35. ^ Honey, Martha (1999), Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?, Island Press; 1 edition, Washington, D.C., p. 5, ISBN 1559635827
  36. ^ Jennifer Blanke and Thea Chiesa, Editors (2009). "The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009" (PDF). World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. http://www.weforum.org/pdf/TTCR09/TTCR09_Rankings.pdf.
  37. ^ Boston.com
  38. ^ Leo Hickman (2007-05-26). "Shades of green". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/may/26/saturday.costarica. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  39. ^ Honey, Martha (1999) (in Inglés), Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise?, Island Press; 1 edition, Washington, D.C., p. 128-181, ISBN 1-55963-582-7 Chapter 5. Costa Rica: On the Beaten Path
  40. ^ United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. "Issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries and recommendations on any further process" Table 1
  41. ^ Earth Trends (2003). "Biodiversity and Protected Areas - Costa Rica" (PDF). World Resources Institute. http://earthtrends.wri.org/pdf_library/country_profiles/bio_cou_188.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  42. ^ "Costa Rica National Parks and Reserves". World Headquarters. 2007. http://www.worldheadquarters.com/cr/protected_areas/. Retrieved on 2008-06-08.
  43. ^ Leonardo Coutinho and Otávio Cabral (2008-05-21). "O desafio da economia verde" (in Portuguese). Revista Veja. http://planetasustentavel.abril.com.br/noticia/desenvolvimento/conteudo_280147.shtml?func=2. Retrieved on 2008-06-08. Published on website "Planeta Sustentável"
  44. ^ Corcovado National Park
  45. ^ Diversity of Corcovado National Park
  46. ^ a b Hunter, L. & Andrew, D. (2002). Watching Wildlife Central America. Lonely Planet. p. 97. ISBN 1-86450-034-4.
  47. ^ Cuarón, A.D., Morales, A., Shedden, A., Rodriguez-Luna, E. & de Grammont, P.C. (2008). Ateles geoffroyi. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 20 February 2009.
  48. ^ Wong, G., Cuarón, A.D., Rodriguez-Luna, E. & de Grammont, P.C. (2008). Saimiri oerstedii. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 20 February 2009.
  49. ^ a b Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
  50. ^ Garland, T., Jr. (1984). "Physiological correlates of locomotory performance in a lizard: an allometric approach". American Journal of Physiology 247: R806-R815. http://www.biology.ucr.edu/people/faculty/Garland/Garl1984.pdf.
  51. ^ Costa Rica: Ethnic groups
  52. ^ White Settlement in Costa Rica
  53. ^ www.state.gov Background Note: Costa Rica - People
  54. ^ Biesanz, Karen Zubris; Biesanz, Mavis Hiltunen; Biesanz, Richard (1998). The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 118. ISBN 1-55587-737-0.
  55. ^ Link to the Costa Rican Jewish Community
  56. ^ Jewish Community in Costa Rica
  57. ^ San José Costa Rica LDS (Mormon) Temple
  58. ^ The Phonemes of Costa Rican Spanish O. L. Chavarria-Aguilar Language, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul - Sep., 1951), pp. 248-253
  59. ^ CIA World Factbook, January 2009
  60. ^ New Economics Foundation. "The Happy Planet Index". http://www.happyplanetindex.org/public-data/files/happy-planet-index-2-0.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-07-05.
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  62. ^ UNPD Human Development Report 2007/2008. "Table 3: Human poverty index: developing countries" (PDF). http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/hdr_20072008_en_indicator_tables.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-03-20. page 238-240
  63. ^ Reporters Without Borders. "Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007". http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19387. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  64. ^ The Economist Intelligence Unit. "The World in 2007, Democracy Index 2006" (PDF). http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/DEMOCRACY_INDEX_2007_v3.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  65. ^ The Economist Intelligence Unit et al. (Vision of Humanity website). "Global Peace Index Rankings". http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/results/rankings/. Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
  66. ^ The Economist Intelligence Unit. "Pocket World in Figures 2008" (PDF). http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  67. ^ "The 2008 Legatum Prosperity Index Table 2008" (PDF). Legatum Institute. http://www.prosperity.com/downloads/2008LegatumPItable.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-10-14.
  68. ^ World Economic Forum (2009). "The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009" (PDF). http://www.weforum.org/pdf/TTCR09/TTCR09_Rankings.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-03-05.
  69. ^ Transparency International. "2008 Corruption Perception Table". http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2008/cpi2008/cpi_2008_table. Retrieved on 2008-09-28.
  70. ^ The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. "Index of Economic Freedom 2008". http://www.heritage.org/research/features/index/countries.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-03-14.
  71. ^ World Economic Forum. "The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009". http://gcr.weforum.org/gcr/. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
  72. ^ UNPD Human Development Report 2007/2008. "Inequality in income or expenditure". http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/147.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-05.
  73. ^ Inter-American Development Bank. "Faster Economic Growth Hurts Life Satisfaction in Latin America and the Caribbean". http://www.iadb.org/NEWS/detail.cfm?id=4859. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.

Further reading

External links

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A. It s difficult for foreigners to find work in Costa Rica. The government doesn t like any one taking jobs away from Costa Ricans and the labor laws reflect this sentiment. Basically the only foreigners legally employed in Costa Rica work for their own businesses, possess skills not found in the country or work for companies that have special agreements the government..
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