Costa Rica
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica |
| Gevernment type | democratic republic |
| Capital |
name: San Jose
geographic coordinates: 9 56 N, 84 05 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA |
| Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) |
| Internet country code | .cr |
| Ports and terminals | Caldera, Puerto Limon |
| Agriculture products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber |
| Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products |
| Geography |
| Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama |
| Coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W |
| Continent | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Area |
total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
| Boundaries |
total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
| Coastline | 1,290 km |
| 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 |
| Natural resources | hydropower |
| Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes |
| People |
| Population | 4,075,261 (July 2006 est.) |
| 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 |
