Costa Rica in Numbers
Costa Rica Fast Facts
Name: Republic of Costa Rica- Location: Central America, bordering Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
- Capital: San José
- Area: 51,100 km sq (about the size of the U.S. state of West Virginia)
- Population: 4.4 million (2007 estimation)
Infant mortality rate: 10.8 per 1,000 live births- Life expectancy: 76.56 years male, 81.56 years female
- Total fertility rate: 2.24 children per woman (2006 estimate)
- Ethnic divisions: white (including mestizo) 94%, Black 3%, Indian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%.
- Religions: Roman Catholic (official state religion) 76.3%. Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah’s witnesses 1.3%, Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8% and none 3.2%.
- Language: Spanish (official), English spoken in some parts of the country.
- Climate: Tropical and subtropical. Two seasons; dry season (late November to April), rainy season (May to early November). Cooler climates in highlands could be find.
- Literacy Rate: 96% (2003 estimate)
- Highest Point: Cerro Chirripó 3.810 m
- Administrative division: Seven provinces Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas, San Jose
- Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system, judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court.
- Direct election: democratic republic with two similar centrist dominant parties National Liberation Party (PLN) and Christian Unity Party (PUSC). Elections held every four years.
- Education: Free and compulsory through the end of the 9th year.
- Principal industries: Tourism, microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, plastic products, coffee, bananas
