Global InformationCosta Rica information
Republic of Costa Rica República de Costa Rica (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish) "National Anthem of Costa Rica" | |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | San José 9°56′N 84°5′W / 9.933°N 84.083°W |
| Official languages | Spanish |
| Recognized regional languages |
|
| Ethnic groups (2021[2]) |
|
| Religion (2021)[4] |
|
| Demonym(s) |
|
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
• President | Rodrigo Chaves |
• 1st Vice-President | Stephan Brunner |
• 2nd Vice-President | Mary Munive |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly |
| Independence from | |
• from Spain | 15 September 1821 |
• from First Mexican Empire | 1 July 1823 |
• from the Federal Republic of Central America | 14 November 1838 |
• Recognized by Spain | 10 May 1850 |
• Current constitution | 7 November 1949[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 51,179.92[5] km2 (19,760.68 sq mi) (126th) |
• Water (%) | 1.05 (as of 2015)[6] |
| Population | |
• 2022 census | 5,044,197[7] |
• Density | 220/sq mi (84.9/km2) (107th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $141.527 billion[8] (90th) |
• Per capita | $26,809[8] (66th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $85.590 billion[8] (85th) |
• Per capita | $16,213[8] (64th) |
| Gini (2022) |  47.2[9]high |
| HDI (2022) | 0.806[10] very high (64th) |
| Currency | Costa Rican colón (CRC) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +506 |
| ISO 3166 code | CR |
| Internet TLD | .cr .co.cr |
Costa Rica (UK: /ˌkɒstə ˈriːkə/, US: /ˌkoʊstə-/ ⓘ; Spanish: [ˈkosta ˈrika]; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica,[11] is a country in the Central American region of North America. Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million[12][13] in a land area of 51,060 km2 (19,710 sq mi). An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San José, with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.[14]
The sovereign state is a unitary presidential constitutional republic. It has a long-standing and stable democracy and a highly educated workforce.[15] The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%.[15] Its economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include sectors such as finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. Many foreign manufacturing and services companies operate in Costa Rica's Free Trade Zones (FTZ) where they benefit from investment and tax incentives.[16]
Costa Rica was inhabited by indigenous peoples before coming under Spanish rule in the 16th century. It remained a peripheral colony of the empire until independence as part of the First Mexican Empire, followed by membership in the Federal Republic of Central America, from which it formally declared independence in 1847. Following the brief Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, it permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army.[17][18][19]
The country has consistently performed favorably in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing 58th in the world as of 2022[update], and fifth in Latin America.[20] It has also been cited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as having attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, with a better record on human development and inequality than the median of the region.[21] It also performs well in comparisons of democratic governance, press freedom, subjective happiness and sustainable wellbeing. It has the 8th freest press according to the Press Freedom Index, it is the 35th most democratic country according to the Freedom in the World index and is the 23rd happiest country in the 2023 World Happiness Report.[22][23] It is also a major tourist destination in the continent.[24]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
livepopulation.comwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Costa Rica". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 4 October 2011. (Archived 2011 edition.)
- ^ "International Religious Freedom Report for 2017". www.state.gov. 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- ^ Murillo, Alvaro (7 July 2021). "Encuesta CIEP-UCR evidencia a una Costa Rica estatista y menos religiosa". Semanario Universidad. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Instituto Geográfico Nacional del Registro Nacional (2 July 2021). "Actualización en el Cálculo de las Áreas Continental e Insular de Costa Rica" [Update on the Calculation of the Continental and Insular Areas of Costa Rica] (PDF). Sistema Nacional de Información Territorial (in Spanish).
- ^ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
- ^ "National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos de Costa Rica, or INEC. 2022. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (CR)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "Gini Index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ (Spanish: República de Costa Rica), [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkosta ˈrika]
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
- ^ "Capital Facts for San José, Costa Rica". 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2017.[full citation needed]
- ^ a b "Amazon invests in Costa Rica as tiny nation carves out profitable niche in world economy". 11 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
- ^ "The Investment Promotion Agency of Costa Rica". www.cinde.org. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ "Abolición del Ejército". El Espíritu del 48 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ^ "Costa Rica". World Desk Reference. Archived from the original on 11 February 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
- ^ "Costa Rica". Uppsala University. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2009.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2019". United Nations Development Programme. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Table 1: Human development index 2010 and its components". UNDP Human Development Report 2010 (PDF). January 2010. pp. 5, 49, 144. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ "World Happiness, Trust and Social Connections in Times of Crisis". worldhappiness.report. 20 March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Costa Rica World Happiness Index". countryeconomy.com. 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ Brierley, Tor (29 September 2023). "Why This Popular Central American Country Is Breaking All Tourism Records Right Now". Travel Off Path. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.