Report on Costa Rica

Introduction | Geography | People | Government | Economy| Communications | Transportation | Military | Transnational Issues

Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has achieved a relatively high standard of living. Land ownership is widespread. Tourism is a rapidly expanding industry.

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

10 00 N, 84 00 W

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total:  51,100 sq km

land:  50,660 sq km

water:  440 sq km

note:  includes Isla del Coco

slightly smaller than West Virginia

total:  639 km

border countries:  Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km

1,290 km

exclusive economic zone:  200 NM

territorial sea:  12 NM

tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands

coastal plains separated by rugged mountains

lowest point:  Pacific Ocean 0 m

highest point:  Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m

hydropower

arable land:  6%

permanent crops:  5%

permanent pastures:  46%

forests and woodland:  31%

other:  12% (1993 est.)

1,200 sq km (1993 est.)

occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes

deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; water pollution (rivers); coastal marine pollution; wetlands degradation; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution

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

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

3,773,057 (July 2001 est.)

0-14 years:  31.38% (male 605,728; female 578,128)

15-64 years:  63.37% (male 1,209,084; female 1,181,754)

65 years and over:  5.25% (male 92,314; female 106,049) (2001 est.)

1.65% (2001 est.)

20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

at birth:  1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:  1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:  1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:  0.87 male(s)/female

total population:  1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

total population:  76.02 years

male:  73.49 years

female:  78.68 years (2001 est.)

2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.)

0.54% (1999 est.)

12,000 (1999 est.)

750 (1999 est.)

noun:  Costa Rican(s)

adjective:  Costa Rican

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

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

Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon

definition:  age 15 and over can read and write

total population:  94.8%

male:  94.7%

female:  95% (1995 est.)

conventional long form:  Republic of Costa Rica

conventional short form:  Costa Rica

local long form:  Republica de Costa Rica

local short form:  Costa Rica

democratic republic

San Jose

7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

7 November 1949

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

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

chief of state:  President Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (since 8 May 1998); First Vice President Astrid FISCHEL Volio (since 8 May 1998), Second Vice President Elizabeth ODIO Benito (since 8 May 1998); note - president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:  President Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (since 8 May 1998); First Vice President Astrid FISCHEL Volio (since 8 May 1998), Second Vice President Elizabeth ODIO Benito (since 8 May 1998); note - president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:  Cabinet selected by the president

elections:  president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 1 February 1998 (next to be held 3 February 2002)

election results:  Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (PUSC) 46.6%, Jose Miguel CORRALES (PLN) 44.6%

unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:  last held 1 February 1998 (next to be held 3 February 2002)

election results:  percent of vote by party - PUSC 41%, PLN 35%, minority parties 24%; seats by party - PUSC 27, PLN 23, minority parties 7

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)

Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]

note:  mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN; numerous small parties share less than 25% of population's support

Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown]

BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

chief of mission:  Ambassador Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein

chancery:  2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:  [1] (202) 234-2945

FAX:  [1] (202) 265-4795

consulate(s) general:  Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa

consulate(s):  Austin

chief of mission:  Ambassador John DANILOVICH

embassy:  Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose

mailing address:  APO AA 34020

telephone:  [506] 220-3939

FAX:  [506] 220-2305

five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the red band

Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt and with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector.

purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.)

3% (2000 est.)

purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.)

agriculture:  12.5%

industry:  30.7%

services:  56.8% (1999)

20.6% (1999 est.)

lowest 10%:  1.3%

highest 10%:  34.7% (1996)

11% (2000 est.)

1.9 million (1999)

agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.)

5.2% (2000 est.)

revenues:  $1.95 billion

expenditures:  $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products

4.3% (2000)

5.805 billion kWh (1999)

fossil fuel:  2.41%

hydro:  83.32%

nuclear:  0%

other:  14.27% (1999)

5.303 billion kWh (1999)

165 million kWh (1999)

69 million kWh (1999)

coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber

$6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment

US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999)

$5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum

US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999)

$4.2 billion (2000 est.)

Costa Rican colon (CRC)

CRC

Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 318.95 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997), 207.69 (1996)

calendar year

450,000 (1998)

143,000 (2000)

general assessment:  very good domestic telephone service

domestic:  point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available

international:  connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999)

AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998)

980,000 (1997)

6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997)

525,000 (1997)

.cr

3 (of which only one is legal) (2000)

150,000 (2000)

total:  950 km

narrow gauge:  950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000)

total:  37,273 km

paved:  7,827 km

unpaved:  29,446 km (1998 est.)

730 km (seasonally navigable)

petroleum products 176 km

Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas

total:  1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT

ships by type:  passenger 1 (2000 est.)

152 (2000 est.)

total:  29

2,438 to 3,047 m:  2

1,524 to 2,437 m:  1

914 to 1,523 m:  19

under 914 m:  7 (2000 est.)

total:  123

914 to 1,523 m:  28

under 914 m:  95 (2000 est.)

Coast Guard, Air Section, Ministry of Public Security Force (Fuerza Publica)

note:  Costa Rica has no military, only domestic police forces, including the Coast Guard and Air Section

18 years of age

males age 15-49:  1,035,090 (2001 est.)

males age 15-49:  692,973 (2001 est.)

males:  39,411 (2001 est.)

$69 million (FY99)

1.6% (FY99)

legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua

transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine; those who previously only trafficked are now becoming users