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Costa Rica

Seal of Costa Rica  Although explored by the Spanish in the beginnings of the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved to be not possible due to several of factors like mosquitoes, heat, resistance by natives, and pirates.
Then, in 1563 a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler and fertile (by volcano ashes) central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries, up to 1821, when Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that declared together their independence from Spain.
Despite a large agricultural sector it still remaining, Costa Rica has enlarged its economy by including ecotourism and high technology industries. The land ownership is widespread and the standard of living is relatively high.
Costa Rica keeps safe 23% of its national territory within the Protected Areas system, and possesses the greatest density of species in the world.

(En Español: Costa Rica)

Facts about Costa Rica

Map of Costa Rica Location: Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama.
Coordinates: 9°55'N 84°4'W
Time Zone: UTC-6
Subdivisions: Provinces: 7, Cantons: 81, Districts: 473
Area: 51,100 km² (19,730 sq mi)
     Land: 51,060 km²
     Water: 40 km²
Land boundaries:
     Total: 639 km
     Border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Coastline: 1,290 km
Maritime claims:
     Territorial sea: 12 nm
     Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
     Continental shelf: 200 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
Population: 4,563,539 (2010)
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
Longest linear distance: 464 km (288.3 mi) NW-SE.
Shortest linear distance: 119 km (73.9 mi) NE-SW (this is the shortest distance between the oceans).
Capital: San José.
     Elevation: 1,156 m ASL (3,792.6 feet)
     Average Temperature: 20.3°C (68.5°F)
     Annual Rainfall: 1,500 - 2,000 mm (59-79 inches)
Features:
*First country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.
*First country in the world in the 2009 Happy Planet Index (HPI) (1).
*First among the Americas, and 3rd in the world, in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) (2).
*First among the Americas, and 11th in the world, in the 2008 Sustainable Society Index (SSI) (3).
*First country in Latin America in the 2009 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) (4).
*Greatest Density of Biodiversity in the world.


Costa Rica Symbols

Seal of Costa Rica

Costa Rica Seal

Seal description:
The seal was formerly a coat of arms, have above it a light blue ribbon containing the words, "AMERICA CENTRAL", and just below it near the top of the seal is a white ribbon with the words, "REPUBLICA DE COSTA RICA". The coat depicts the Costa Rican territory, with three volcanoes surrounded by evergreen tropical forest, as an isthmus (the Central American one) between two sea bodies (the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans), which are being navigated by a sailboat in each ocean; the sun at horizon and seven five-pointed stars in a blue sky in representation of the seven provinces.



Costa Rica National Flower

Common name: Guaria Morada.
Scientific Name: Guarianthe skinneri. *
Family: Orchidaceae (Orchid).
Ecosystem role: Epiphyte orchid.
Color: Purple ("morado").
Edict: 15 June 1939 as national flower.
* Formerly Cattleya skinneri, but the genus Guarianthe was separated from Cattleya based on phylogenetic analysis upon DNA sequence data. (5)


Costa Rica Flag

Flag description:
Five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue.
  


Costa Rica National Tree

Common name: Guanacaste.
Scientific Name: Enterolobium cyclocarpum.
Family: Fabaceae.
Ecosystem role: Phanerophyte (Tree).
Color: Lime green (leaves).
Edict: August 1959 as national tree.






  

Government type: Democratic Republic
Executive branch:
(The president is both the chief of state and head of government)
Chief of state: President Laura Chinchilla Miranda (since 8 May 2010) *
      First Vice President: Alfio Piva Mesén
      Second Vice President: Luis Liberman Ginsburg
Cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president.
Elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 7 February 2010 (next to be held February 2014).
Election results: Laura Chinchilla Miranda elected president at 7 February 2010.
Percent of vote:
      Laura Chinchilla Miranda (PLN) 46.7%
      Otton Solis (PAC) 25.1%
      Otto Guevara Guth (ML) 20.8%

* By the first time in the history of Costa Rica, a woman is elected president of the country.

Demographic Stastistical Data about Costa Rica


"Carreta Típica" San José, Costa Rica
Population Growth of Costa Rica
Based on 1973, 1984, 2000 Census & 2015 Extrapolation .

Courtesy of INEC

Population Growth of Costa Rica
Population: 4,253,877 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123

Population growth rate: 1.356% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98

"Carreta Típica" San José, Costa Rica
Population Distribution by Sex and Age of Costa Rica
Based on 2000 Census

Courtesy of INEC

Population Distribution by Sex and Age of Costa Rica

Population: 4,253,877 (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 581,916/female 555,216)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 1,443,606/female 1,411,168)
65 years and over: 6.2% (male 120,969/female 141,002) (2009 est.)

Median age:
total: 27.5 years
male: 27.1 years
female: 28 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.356% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98

Birth rate: 17.43 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119

Death rate: 4.34 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 203

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.77 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 161
male: 9.66 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.14 children born/woman (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122

"Carreta Típica" San José, Costa Rica
Distribution Map of Urban/Rural Population in Costa Rica
Based on 2000 Census.

Courtesy of INEC

"Carreta Típica" San José, Costa Rica
Urban/Rural Population Rate of Costa Rica
Based on 1984 & 2000 Census.

Courtesy of INEC

Urban/Rural Population in Costa Rica

Net migration rate: 0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64

Urbanization:
urban population: 63% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

"Carreta Típica" San José, Costa Rica
Map of Etnic Diversity of the Population of Costa Rica
Based on 2000 Census.

Courtesy of INEC

Etnic Diversity of the Population of Costa Rica

 Costa Rica has a population of 4,253,877. White accounted for 85%, Mestizo 10%, while 3% are Black/Afro-Caribbean, 1% Amerindian, 1% Chinese. The white population is primarily of Spaniard ancestry 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.

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.[16] United States convicts and Chinese 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.

"Carreta Típica" San José, Costa Rica
Distribution Map of Population Older than 65 years in Costa Rica
Based on 2000 Census.

Courtesy of INEC

Life expectancy in Costa Rica

Infant mortality rate:
total: 8.77 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 161
male: 9.66 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.58 years
country comparison to the world: 53
male: 74.96 years
female: 80.34 years (2009 est.)

Notes & References:
1
2009 Happy Planet Index (HPI). New Economics Foundation (NEF).
2
2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) Ranking. Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Yale University / Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University.
3
2008 Sustainable Society Index (SSI) Ranking. Sustainable Society Foundation.
4
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009. (TTCI) World Economic Forum.
5
Dressler, R. L. & Higgins W. E. (2003). Guarianthe, a generic name for the "Cattleya" skinneri complex. LANKESTERIANA. International Journal
on Orchidology, 7
: 37-38. [http://www.lankesteriana.ucr.ac.cr/PUBlankester/Table of contents/Lankesteriana 7/dressler_higgins2003.html]
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