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Costa Rica Profile
 Costa
Rica (1997 est. pop. 4,250,000), 19,652
square miles (51,000 sq.
Km.), Located in Central America; bordered by Nicaragua in the North, the
Caribbean Sea in the East, Panama in the South, and the Pacific Ocean in the
West. The capital is San José.
The coastal areas are hot,
humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated. A massive chain of volcanic
mountains, rising to over 12,000 ft (3,658 m), traverses the country from NW to
SE; nestled within it lies the "meseta central",
a broad plateau with a spring like climate, where most Costa Ricans live.
Costa Rica is a largely
agricultural nation, exporting coffee, bananas, sugar, and beef. Industry is
being developed and manufactured goods such as textile and high technology
products are increasingly exported.
Costa Rica is among the most
politically stable Latin American countries, with a long democratic tradition,
literacy rate over 90% and no army as such.
| Costa Rica in numbers |
| Capital: |
San José |
| President |
Dr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella |
| Area: |
51.100 Kms 2 |
| Political Division : |
7 Provinces y 81 Municipalities |
| Population: |
4.112.442 habitants to 2001 |
| Official Language |
Spanish |
| Ubicación: |
Central America: north Nicaragua, southwest
Pacific Ocean, east Caribbean Sea, southeast Panama. |
| Production: |
Producto Interno Bruto -PIB- 2001 (preciosconstantes de
1991) en millones de US$11.736,3Tasa anual de crecimiento -PIB
2001/2000- 0,3%Producto Interno Bruto Per-cápita (PIB-2001/Pob-2001),
US$ 3.983,7 |
| Exports: |
Millions US$ 5.042,7 to 2001. |
| Imports: |
Consumer Goods in Millions US$ 6.546,3, a 2001 |
| Inflation: |
Accumulated to December / 2001, |
| Index of alphabetization |
95,2%, a 2001 (10,96) |
| Life Expectancy |
77 years to 2000 |
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