About Costa Rica

Costa Rica: a wonderful country

Costa Rica is famous all over the world because of its ecological diversity and its unforgettable tourist destinations. Our mountains, forests, beaches and rivers represent just a little part of all the good things that Costa Rica has for visitors.

 

 

Government

Costa Rica is a democratic, free and independent republic located in Central America. It has been one of the most stable countries in the region for a long time.

The president, vice presidents, and fifty-seven Legislative Assembly delegates are elected for four-year terms, by voters through a democratic process.

The Supreme Electoral Body, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Procurator General of the Republic and the Office of the Ombudsman also enjoy a lot of independence.

The Supreme Court is divided into 4 chambers, one dealing with Constitutional Law, one dealing with Criminal Law and two dealing with Civil Law and Merchant Law.

Territory

Costa Rican territory is divided in seven provinces named Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas and San José, the main capital and the largest city. Costa Rican territory measures near 51,060 km2.

Costa Rica is bordered by Panama to the Southeastern, Nicaragua to the North, the Caribbean Sea to the east and south and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south.  Besides, there is a famous island named the “Isla del Coco”, located about 480 kms to the Southwest, near South America, that belongs to Costa Rica. It is one of the most important national parks of the country. This protected territory is really important for scientists because of its biodiversity.

Human Rights

Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army to become in a pacific territory with more teachers than soldiers.

Costa Rica is an active member of the United Nations and the Organization of American States The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations University of Peace are based in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican State is also a member of many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy.

Economy

The “Colón” is the unit of currency.  One Dollar equals approximately to five hundred “colones”. The Central Bank is the institution in charge to supervise Costa Rican economy.

Among Latin American countries, Costa Rica ranks 4th in terms of the 2007 Human Development Index, and 48th worldwide. Costa Rica is ranked 5th in the world in terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index.

The central government offers tax exemptions for those who are willing to invest in the country. Several global high tech corporations have already started developing in the area exporting goods including chip manufacturer, pharmaceutical companies, and consumer products companies.

Tourism

Ecotourism is very popular with the many tourists visiting the extensive national parks and protected areas around the country. Costa Rica was a real pioneer in this type of tourism and the country is recognized as one of the few with real ecotourism.

This beautiful territory has an enormous variety of tourist destinations and a lot of ideal places to live. Tropical beaches, extreme adventures, blue waters, beautiful mountains, gently people and many other amazing things are made of Costa Rica an ideal place to come for vacations or to live great experiences if you decide to be here for a long time.

Nature

While Costa Rica has only about 0.1% of the world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity. About 23% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests and reserves.

Visitors will find beautiful mountains and scenic volcanoes, most of them located into national parks. The taller peak is the “Chirripó Grande” with 3.819 meters and the biggest Volcano is the “Irazú” with 3.432 meters over sea level. The “Arenal” Volcano has activity all time and visitors normally can see lava flowing out in an unforgettable and beautiful spectacle.
On the Caribbean coast is the Tortuguero National Park that is home to spider, howler and white-throated Capuchin monkeys, the three-toed sloth, 320 species of birds and a great variety of reptiles. However “Tortuguero” is mostly recognized for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle. In fact the area and is considered the most important nesting site for this species. Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest here.
On the Pacific region is the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. It is home to about 2,000 different plant species. Almost four hundred types of birds can be found into the protected area, and over one hundred species of mammals.

People of Costa Rica

The “Ticos” (that is how Costa Rican people is called), are really nice. They are friendly and always ready to help you if you need a hand.

Costa Rican population is estimated in 4.133.884 people, with an interesting combination of races. Here you will find people with Indian and European roots but also people with Africans, Caribbean and Chinese ascendants.

Spanish is the official language, but especially at Limón, on the Caribbean cost, people talk English and a few other dialects too. The main religion is Catholicism but there are also different kinds of cults that people practices without any problem.

Costa Rican people are well known for being great hosts, they are very nice and kind human beings that always are willing to help tourists.  People love to dance and to play soccer, to go to the movies and to go to the beach sometimes. In Costa Rica visitors will find another important activity that people enjoy a lot: the “bulls”, and of course the carnivals organized locally in each province.

Education

The literacy rate in Costa Rica is of 96%, one of the highest in Latin America. Elementary and high schools are found throughout the country in almost every community. Universal public education is guaranteed in the Constitution. Primary education is obligatory for children from 7 years old, and both preschool and high school are free. There are both state and private universities in all provinces of the country.

It is important to highlight that the Costa Rican people love and enjoy peace and calm in that you can breathe in the country since 1948.

 

 

Transportation

Costa Rica has two airports, the main important one is the “Juan Santamaría” located in Alajuela, 18 km from San José, and the second and smaller one is the “Daniel Oduber”, located in Liberia, Guanacaste, on the north region.

Months ago the government activated the urban train as a service for the community and it has had a good acceptation by people, especially because it is very cheap.

There are also many private and public transportation services as buses, taxis and car rentals for visitors.

Weather

Because of its location, Costa Rica has a tropical weather with basically two clearly delimited seasons, summer or the dry one season which goes from December to April; and winter or the rainy one season that begins on May and ends on November.

The average temperature on the central part of the country is among 15ºc and 25ºc.  This particular weather makes that almost 47% of the country is coverage with Forrest and green patches. The rainforest is famous and thousands of visitors come to enjoy it every year.  

Because of this particular weather, tourism, agriculture and fishing are ones of the most important activities for Costa Rica’s economy.

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