Costa Rica
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OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Costa Rica |
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Costa Rica is an oasis of lush mountains, scenic vistas, gorgeous beaches, and tropical lifestyle. From the blue waters of the pacific to the warm turquoise coves of the Caribbean, it is country of unsurpassed beauty and biodiversity.
Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army. Among Latin American countries, Costa Rica ranks 4th in terms of the 2007 Human Development Index. Costa Rica is ranked 5th in the world in terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, up from the 15th place in 2006. In 2007 the government of Costa Rica said it wants to be the first developed country to become carbon neutral by 2021. Costa Rica is among the safest countries in Latin America and is currently the least impoverished Spanish speaking country in the world, with poverty percentages lower than that of Spain and other developed countries and levels of urbanization that nears those of countries such as Finland and Norway.
Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a very strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is the country's center of power. There also are two vice presidents and a 15-member cabinet. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for 4-year terms.
GEOGRAPHY
Area: 51,100 sq. km (19,730 sq. mi.) about the size of the states of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
Cities: Capital--San Jose (greater metropolitan area pop. 2.1 million, the greater metropolitan area as defined by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Policy includes the cities of Alajuela, Cartago, and Heredia). Other major cities outside the San Jose capital area--Puntarenas, Limon, and Liberia.
Terrain: A rugged, central range separates the eastern and western coastal plains.
Climate: Mild in the central highlands, tropical and subtropical in coastal areas.
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 kilometers (802 mi) of coastline (212 km / 132 mi on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km / 631 mi on the Pacific). It is about the size of West Virginia and shares that state's reputation for excellent whitewater kayaking/rafting opportunities.
Two of the country's most renowned rivers in that regard are the Rio Pacuare and the Rio Reventazon located near the city of Turrialba about two hours east of San Jose. Other notable whitewater areas are the Sarapiqui Valley area, several Pacific coast rivers near Quepos, and the southern Pacific drainage area around San Isidro de General.
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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| Waterfall on the Rio Savegre in the Talamanca Mountains |
The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,810 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 largest island of the country (151.6 km² / 58.5 sq mi).
Costa Rica protects 23% of its national territory within the Protected Areas system. It also possesses the greatest density of species in the world.
CULTURE
Costa Ricans often refer to themselves as tico (masculine) or tica (feminine). "Tico" comes from the popular local usage of "tico" and "tica" as diminutive suffixes (e.g., "momentico" instead of "momentito").
Ticos are friendly, full of hospitality, love to dance, and jump at any opportunity to celebrate. They are family-oriented, peaceful and fun loving.
Pura Vida (POO-rah VEE-dah), used by Costa Ricans since 1956, literally translated means "Pure Life." Contextually, it means "Full of Life" "Purified life", "This is living!", "Going great!" It is used as a greeting, a farewell, and to express satisfaction. It is a ubiquitous motto in Costa Rica, and it reflects the easy-going, laid-back attitude which permeates the tropical, stress-free lifestyle.
The phrase has become widely known in the USA and Europe. Some foreigners view the phrase as an expression of a leisurely lifestyle, of disregard for time and wanton friendliness. However, Costa Ricans use the phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, good spirits, enjoying life slowly, celebrating good fortune, whether small or large.
TOURISM
With a $1.9-billion-a-year tourism industry, Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region, with 1.9 million foreign visitors in 2007,, which translates into a relatively high expenditure per tourist of $1000 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. (54%) and the E.U. (14%). In 2005, tourism contributed with 8,1% of the country's GNP and represented 13,3% of direct and indirect employment.
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.
There are numerous activities and adventure tours available in Costa Rica: aerial trams, canopy zip lines, world class surfing, white water rafting, snorkeling, scuba diving, eco tours, jungle hikes, volcano trekking, fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, and much more.
POLITICS
Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a strong constitution. The country has had at least fifty-nine years of uninterrupted democracy, making it one of the most stable countries in the region. Costa Rica has been able to successfully avoid the widespread violence that has plagued most of Central America.
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.
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| President Oscar Arias hugs a supporter |
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 pacos forces for internal security. These include the Guardia Civil and the Guardia Rural.
On October 22, 2007, Costa Rica passed the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S.
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'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).
EDUCATION
The literacy rate in Costa Rica is of 96% (CIA World Factbook, February 2007), 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 both state and private universities.
MUSIC
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, pop and reggaeton are popular and common among the youth (especially urban youth) while dance-oriented genres like soca, salsa, bachata, merengue and cumbia have an appeal as well. Many dances and music of Costa Rica demonstrates an African, pre-Columbian, and Spanish influence. The guitar is a popular instrument especially as an accompaniment to Folk dances.
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. About 23% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests and reserves.
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.
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 is home to about 2,000 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.
HISTORY
In Pre-Columbian times the indigenous people, in what is now known as Costa Rica, were part of the international Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This has recently been updated to include the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian area. 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 conquerors (conquistadores) came in the sixteenth century. The central and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences.
The first European to reach what is now Costa Rica was Christopher Columbus in 1502. 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").
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 Costa Rica became a state in the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823 to 1839. In 1824 the capital was moved to San José, but due to an intense rivalry with Cartago, violence briefly ensued. 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, now 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 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 Afro-Costa Ricans, who constitute about 3% of the country's population, descend from Jamaican immigrants who arrived during the 1880s to work in the construction of railways connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limón on the Caribbean coast. US convicts and Chinese immigrants also participated in the construction project, conducted by US 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.
| Index (Year) | Source | Year of publication |
Countries sampled |
World Ranking |
Ranking Latin Am. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Environmental Performance (2008) |
Yale University |
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149 |
5º |
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Press Freedom (2007) |
Reporters Without Borders |
|
169 |
21º |
|
Democracy (2006) |
The Economist |
|
167 |
25º |
|
Global Peace (2007) |
The Economist |
|
121 |
31º |
|
Quality-of-life (2005) |
The Economist |
|
111 |
35º |
|
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness (2008) |
World Economic Forum |
|
130 |
44º |
|
Human Development (2005) |
United Nations (UNDP) |
|
177 |
48º |
|
Economic Freedom (2008) |
The Wall Street Journal |
|
162 |
49º |
|
Corruption Perception (2006) |
Transparency International |
|
163 |
55º |
|
Global Competitiveness (2007) |
World Economic Forum |
|
131 |
63º |
|
Income inequality (1989-2007)(3) |
United Nations (UNDP) |
|
126 |
100º |
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