Costa Rica EcoTours & Travel | About Costa Rica
With Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south, Costa Rica sits just north of the equator midway between North and South America, bordered by the Caribbean on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west. The country is slightly smaller than West Virginia. Ninety percent of its people live in the highlands. The citizens of Costa Rica are mostly of Spanish descent. The country has enjoyed a mostly stable history of democracy since 1899. The uprising of 1948 resulted in the establishment of a new constitution, still in use today, and the abolishment of the armed forces. Tourism is the country's most important industry. To protect the biodiversity of its exotic flora and fauna, the government has designated one-quarter of the land as national parks, and though Costa Rica owns off-shore oil deposits, the current administration has made development of the resource off-limits for environmental reasons.
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Costa Rica at a glance
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OFFICIAL NAME
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Republic of Costa Rica
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GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE
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Democracy
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PRESIDENT
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Oscar Arias (Sanchez)
National Liberation Party (PLN)
Awarded 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in brokering a peace accord among Central American countries. Degrees in law, economics, political science and honorary doctorates from several U.S. universities including Harvard.
First term 1986-1990)
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POPULATION
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4,327,000 (2005 est)
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CAPITAL
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San José
Population 2.1 million
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OTHER IMPORTANT CITIES (ranked by population)
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Alajuela
Cartago
Punta Arenas
Limon
Heredia
Liberia
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ETHNICITY
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European descent (including Mestizo) 94%
African descent 3%
Amerindian 1%
Chinese 1%
Other 1%
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LANGUAGES
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Spanish
English
Creole
Other Amerindian dialects
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LITERACY
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95.8%
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LIFE EXPECTANCY
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Men 74.4
Women 79.7
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RELIGION
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Roman Catholic 76%
Other Christian 16%
Other 5%
None 3%
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AREA
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19,700 square miles
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PROTECTED AREAS
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National parks 21
National reserves 15
Wildlife refuges 4
National forest 1
National monument 1
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NATIONAL FLOWER
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Guaria Morada (Purple Orchid)
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NATIONAL TREE
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Guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum)
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NATIONAL BIRD
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Clay-colored robin or Yiguirro
Turdus grayi
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MAJOR INDUSTRIES
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Food processing
Textiles
Fertilizer
Tourism
Timber
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MAJOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
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Coffee
Pineapples
Bananas
Sugar
Corn
Rice
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HOLIDAYS
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1/1 New Year's Day
3/19 St. Joseph Day
Floating Holy Week
4/11 Juan Santamaria Day
5/1 Labor Day
Floating Corpus Christi
6/29 St. Peter and St. Paul's Day
7/25 Guanacaste Day
8/2 Virgin de los Angeles Day
8/15 Mother's Day and Assumption Day
9/15 Independence Day
10/12 Columbus Day
11/2 All Soul's Day
12/8 Day of the Immaculate Conception
12/25 Christmas
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CUISINE
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Staple foods in Costa Rica include rice, beans, tortillas, chicken, beef, fish, tropical fruit, and fresh vegetables. Costa Rican cuisine is not very spicy and or interesting. Gallo pinto, a mix of fried rice and beans, is considered a national dish. Not all the news is bad. A popular breakfast consists of a hearty assemblage of eggs, beans and rice; there are some spicier Caribbean restaurants in the country. Many menus include international dishes, and vegetarian options are always available. For vacationers planning to exert a lot of energy, Costa Rica is an easy place to carbohydrate-load.
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CURRENCY
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Colon (CRC)
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TIME ZONE
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Same as US Central Standard Time, no daylight savings
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INTERNATIONAL DIALING CODE
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506
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ELECTRICITY
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110V, 60 Hz
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