Costa Rica - History, Geography, Politics, Famous Costa Ricans, Administrative divisions, Economy, Foreign affairs, Flora and fauna, Demographics
Official name Republic of Costa Rica, Span República de Costa Rica
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República de Costa Rica Republic of Costa Rica |
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| Motto: ¡Vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz! | |||||
| Anthem: Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera | |||||
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Capital (largest city) |
San José 9°56′N 84°5′W |
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| Official language | Spanish | ||||
| Government | Democratic Republic | ||||
| - President | Óscar Arias | ||||
| Independence | From Spain | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - Total |
51,100 km² (129th) 19,725 sq mi |
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| - Water (%) | 0.7% | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - 2005 estimate | 4,327,000 (119th) | ||||
| - Density |
85/km² (107th) 220/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate | ||||
| - Total | $45.14 billion (79th) | ||||
| - Per capita | $10,434 (63rd) | ||||
| HDI (2006) | 0.841 (high) (48th) | ||||
| Currency | Costa Rican colón (CRC) | ||||
| Time zone | (UTC-6) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .cr | ||||
| Calling code | +506 | ||||
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, IPA: [re'puβlika ðe 'kosta 'rika]), is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.
History
In Pre-Columbian times the Indigenous people, in what is now known as Costa Rica, were part of the Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. It is still unknown if any of these groups created the famous stone spheres of Costa Rica, between 200 BC and AD 1600. Costa Rica is also justly famous for its beautiful jade artifacts.
There is evidence of human habitation in Costa Rica as early as 10,000 BC in the southern Turrialba Valley. All these circumstances made Costa Rica, the southernmost province in the Captaincy General of Guatemala, the poorest and most irrelevant region.
Because Costa Rica was the southernmost province, it finally received the news of its independence on October 13th, 1821. The fact that not a single gunshot was fired to obtain its independence marked Costa Rica as a peace-loving nation. However, because this document only reached Costa Rica, it had little effect.
After gaining independence, Costa Rica, along with the other provinces of the Captaincy, briefly joined the Mexican Empire of Agustín de Iturbide. But because of the distance to the Mexican capital and other underlying conflicts, the Central American states including Costa Rica became federal states of the United Provinces of Central America (see: History of Central America) from 1823 to 1839. In 1838 Costa Rica proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent nation, under the rule of Braulio Carrillo Colina.
In 1856 the Costa Rican army, commanded by Juan Rafael Mora Porras joined forces with the other Central American nations to expel a filibuster invasion, commanded by William Walker. In the battles of Santa Rosa, Rivas and the San Juan campaign, the filibuster army was deterred from invading Costa Rica. In the Battle of Rivas, Juan Santamaría bravely set the place where the invaders had taken refuge on fire and thus became Costa Rica's National Hero.
20th century
Costa Rica has avoided the violence that has plagued Central America; making Costa Rica the first country ever to operate within the democratic system without the assistance of a military (an example that was later followed by other nations such as Panama after the American invasion of 1989 to oust General Manuel Noriega).
Costa Rica (Spanish for "Rich Coast"), was a largely agricultural country. However, during the last few decades, Costa Rica has achieved a relatively high standard of living.
Geography
Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian.
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.
The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, with 3,810 metres (12,500 ft), and is the fifth highest peak in Central America. The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.
Costa Rica also comprises several islands.
Costa Rica protects over 25% of its national territory within national parks. *
Politics
Costa Rica is a democratic republic with more than 115 years of democracy and a strong constitution. Costa Rica has avoided the violence that has plagued Central America;
Governors appointed by the president head the country's seven provinces, but they exercise little power. Costa Rica has no military by constitution but maintains domestic Police and armed National Guard forces for internal security.
See also: Military of Costa Rica
Famous Costa Ricans
Andrea Gomez, Cello Player.
Administrative divisions
Costa Rica is divided into 7 provinces:
San José (Capital) (political, technological and economical center of Costa Rica) Alajuela (central; north of capital San José, agriculture and industrial manufacturing) Cartago (former Costa Rican Provincial capital during colonial times) Heredia (central; north of capital, industrial manufacturing) Guanacaste (north-west, important touristic and agricultural area) Puntarenas (along most of the Pacific coast, with a large bulge in the south-west and a smaller one at the northern end at both sides of the Golfo de Nicoya, where the eponymous capital is located) Limón (Caribbean coast, agricultural and eco-tourism area)Economy
Historically, Costa Rica's economy has been based on agriculture, including the production of coffee, bananas, pineapples, and ornamentals, but in recent times ecotourism, electronics, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing and software development have become the prime industries. Costa Rica's location in the Central American isthmus provides easy 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.
The economy has been expanding for Costa Rica in part because the Government had implemented a seven year plan of expansion in the high tech industry.
For the fiscal year 2005 the country showed a government deficit of 2.1%, internal revenue increased an 18%, exports increased a 12.8% and the number of visiting tourists increased a 19%, reaching 1.5 million people.
Foreign affairs
Costa Rica is an active member of the United Nations, the Organization of the American States and many 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)
Flora and fauna
Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. Over 25% 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 turtle catcher or turtle hunter, it is also understood 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. Costa Rica as a whole has over 800 species of birds. The entity entrusted to do genetic and biochemical prospection on Costa Rica's biological wealth is the INBIO (Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad), and it is allowed to collect royalties on any biological discoveries of medical importance.
Also see:
Wildlife of Costa Rica List of birds of Costa Rica Instituto Nacional de BiodiversidadDemographics
In 2005, Costa Rica had an estimated population of 4,016,173 persons. The majority of people in Costa Rica are descended from Spanish settlers. Therefore, a vast majority of Costa Ricans are either of Spanish or to a lesser extent of mixed mestizo heritage. In addition, there are significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, German, Jewish, and Polish descent.
Christianity is a major religion in Costa Rica. Some 92% of Costa Ricans are Christian. However 3 in 4 Costa Ricans still adhere to Roman Catholicism. The phrase "Pura Vida" (literally pure life) is a motto ubiquitous in Costa Rica.
Costa Rican traditions and culture tend to retain a strong degree of Spanish influence. Costa Rica boasts a varied history. Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of the Indians died from disease and mistreatment by the Spaniards. The Atlantic coast, meanwhile, was populated with African slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries, although most Caribbean Costa Ricans of African ascent descend from Jamaican workers brought in during the 19th century to work in the construction of railways connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limon on the Caribbean coast.
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