Costa Rica

 

(kŏs'tə rē'kə) , officially Republic of Costa Rica, republic (2005 est. pop. 4,016,000), 19,575 sq mi (50,700 sq km), Central America. It is bounded on the north by Nicaragua, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast by Panama, and on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. The capital and largest city is San José. In addition to the capital, other important cities are Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, and Cartago.

Land and People

The coastal plains are low, hot, and heavily forested. Bananas, cocoa, and sugarcane are cultivated there. In the northwest is the Nicoya peninsula, a semiarid plain where cattle and grain are raised. A massive cordillera, with peaks over 12,000 ft (3,658 m) high, cuts the country from northwest to southeast. Within it, under the shadow of volcanoes such as Irazú, lies the Central Valley, with a perennially springlike climate. This valley is the heart of the country, where coffee is cultivated and most of the population and market facilities are located.

One of the most stable countries in Latin America, Costa Rica has a long democratic tradition and no regular military forces. The population is largely of Spanish and mestizo descent. The official language is Spanish, and English is also spoken. About 75% of the people are Roman Catholics; there is a large Protestant minority.

Economy and Government

Costa Rica is an agricultural country, although tourism and industry are being developed at a moderate pace. Industries include food processing and the manufacture of electronic components, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, and plastics. Bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, sugar, and beef are exported, as well as manufactured goods such as textiles, electronics, and medical equipment. Raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, and petroleum are imported. The United States is the largest trading partner.

The country is governed under the 1949 constitution. The president, who is both the chief of state and head of government, is elected to a single four-year term. Members of the unicameral 57-seat Legislative Assembly are also elected for four years. Administratively, the country is divided into seven provinces.

History

Early History through the Nineteenth Century

Although Columbus skirted the Costa Rican coast in 1502, resistance by the indigenous inhabitants and disease prevented the Spanish from establishing a permanent settlement until 1563, when Cartago was founded. The region was administered as part of the captaincy general of Guatemala. Few of the native inhabitants survived, and the colonists, unable to establish a hacienda system based on slave labor, generally became small landowners. From Cartago, westward expansion into the plateau began in the 18th cent.

Costa Rica became independent from Spain in 1821. From 1822 to 1823 it was part of the Mexican Empire of Augustín de Iturbide. It then became part of the Central American Federation until 1838, when the sovereign republic of Costa Rica was proclaimed. In 1857, Costa Rica participated in the defeat of the filibuster William Walker, who had taken over Nicaragua.

The cultivation of coffee, introduced in the 19th cent., led to the creation of a landed oligarchy that dominated the country until the administration of Tomás Guardia (1870–82). In 1874, Minor Cooper Keith founded Limón and introduced banana cultivation. Keith also started the United Fruit Company. Later many tracts had to be abandoned because of leaf blight. Costa Rica's history of orderly, democratic government began in the late 19th cent.

The Twentieth Century

The orderly pattern was broken in 1917, when Federico Tinoco overthrew the elected president, Alfredo González. The majority of Costa Ricans, as well as the United States, opposed Tinoco, and he was deposed in 1919. Costa Rica cooperated with the United States during World War II and after the war joined the United Nations and other international organizations. Following the war, United Fruit started new plantations on the Pacific coast.

In 1948 there was a second breakdown of the political system. In a close presidential election Otilio Ulate appeared to have defeated a former president, Dr. Rafael Calderón. But the incumbent, Teodoro Picado, accused Ulate's supporters of fraud and obtained a congressional invalidation of the election. A six-week civil war ensued, at the conclusion of which a junta led by José Figueres Ferrer, a backer of Ulate, assumed power. Picado was exiled and the armed forces were disbanded, to be replaced by a civil guard. Forces from Nicaragua backed Picado, and the Organization of American States (OAS) was called upon to mediate between the two countries.

In 1949 a new constitution was adopted, and the junta transferred power to Ulate as the elected president. Figueres was elected his successor in 1953. In UN-supervised elections in 1958, Mario Enchadi Jiménez defeated Figueres's candidate. Politics remained stable in the 1960s. The Irazú volcano erupted in 1963–64 and caused serious damage to agriculture; another volcano, Arenal, erupted in 1968 for the first time in hundreds of years, killing many. Figueres was again elected president in 1970, and Daniel Oduber Quiros was elected president in 1974, but the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) lost its majority in the legislature for the first time in 25 years. In the late 1970s the country entered a recession and found itself surrounded by increasingly unstable neighbors.

In the early 1980s the PLN returned to power. Oscar Arias Sánchez, the PLN candidate elected in 1986, worked to preserve his nation's neutrality. The economy continued to worsen, however, and in 1990 Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier of the Social Christian Unity party (PUSC) was elected to the presidency by a 3% margin. José María Figueres Olsen, the PLN candidate and son of José Figueres Ferrer, was elected president in 1994. In 1998, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría of the PUSC won the presidency; he was succeeded by fellow party member Abel Pacheco de la Espriella in 2002. The country was shaken in 2004 by charges that Presidents Calderón and Rodríguez had received illegal kickbacks from government contracts and that, after leaving office, President Figueres had received large consulting fees relating to government contracts. Former president Oscar Arias Sánchez was elected to a second term in 2006. In Oct., 2007, Costa Ricans approved joining the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Bibliography

See R. Fernández Guardia, History of the Discovery and Conquest of Costa Rica (1913); J. P. Bell, Crisis in Costa Rica: The 1948 Revolution (1971); H. D. Nelson, ed., Costa Rica, a Country Study (1984); C. Hall, Costa Rica (1985); M. Edelman and J. Kenen, ed., The Costa Rica Reader (1989).

República de Costa Rica Republic of Costa Rica
Flag Coat of arms
Motto ¡Vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz!  (Spanish) "May Work And Peace Live Forever"
Anthem Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera  (Spanish) Noble homeland, your beautiful flag
Capital (and largest city)		San José 9°55′N, 84°4′W
Official languages		Spanish
Demonym		Costa Rican
Government		Constitutional Republic
-	President	Óscar Arias
Independence
-	from Spain (via Guatemala)	September 15 1821
-	from the UPCA	1838
Area
-	Total	km² (129th)  sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.7
Population
-	July 2007 estimate	4,133,884 (119th)
-	census	2000
-	Density	85/km² (107th)  /sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2006 estimate
-	Total	$48.77 billion (84th)
-	Per capita	$12,000 (62nd)
Gini? (2001)		49.9 (high)
HDI (2005)		0.841 (high) (48th)
Currency		Costa Rican colón (CRC)
Time zone		(UTC-6)
Internet TLD		.cr
Calling code		[[+506]]

Costa Rica (literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica, IPA: [re'puβlika ðe 'kosta 'rrika]), is a Republic in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army.

History

Main article: History of Costa Rica

In Pre-Columbian times the Indigenous people, in what is now known as Costa Rica, were part of the Intermediate Area located between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions. This has recently been updated to include the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian area.

It was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The northwest of the country, the Nicoya Peninsula, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl (named after Nitin) cultural influence when the Spanish invaders (conquistadores) came in the sixteenth century. The center and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of the Indians died from disease and mistreatment by the Spaniards.

During Spanish Colonial times, the principal city in Central America was Guatemala City. Costa Rica's distance from this hub led to difficulty in establishing trade routes and was one of the reasons that Costa Ricans developed in relative isolation and with little oversight from the Spanish Monarchy ("The Crown"). While this isolation allowed the colony to develop free of intervention by The Crown, it also contributed to its failure to share in the prosperity of the Colonies, making Costa Rica the poorest Spanish Colony in Central America. Another contributing factor to this poverty was lack of indigenous peoples to use for slave labor. While many Spaniards in the other colonies had slaves to work their land, many Costa Rican settlers had to work their own land. For all these reasons, Costa Rica was by and large unappreciated and overlooked by the Crown, and left to develop on its own. It is believed that the circumstances during this period led to the formation of many of the idiosyncrasies that Costa Rica has become known for, while at the same time setting the stage for Costa Rica's development as a more egalitarian society than the rest of its neighbors.

Costa Rica's membership in the newly formed Federal Republic of Central America, now free of Spanish rule, was short lived. The distance from Guatemala City to the Central Valley of Costa Rica, where most of the population lived and still lives, was great. The local population had little allegiance to the government in Guatemala City, in part because of the history of isolation during Colonial times. Costa Rica's disinterest in participating as a province in a greater Central American government was one of the deciding factors in the break-up of the fledgling federation into independent states, which still exist today. However, all of the Central American nations still celebrate September 15th as their independence day, which pertains to the independence of Central America from Spain.

Most Caribbean Costa Ricans of African descent descend from Jamaican workers (not slaves)^{[citation needed]} brought in during the nineteenth century to work in the construction of railways connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limon on the Caribbean coast. The construction of the railways was funded by the United Fruit Company in exchange for land. This led to a major economic shift in the nation, in which fruit would come to rival the coffee trade as a major Costa Rican export.

During the nineteenth century, Italian and Chinese immigrants came to the country to work on the construction of the railroad system as well.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Costa Rica

See also: List of volcanoes in Costa Rica, Category:Waterfalls of Costa Rica, and Islands of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, 10° North of the equator and 84° West of the Prime Meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the North Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290 kilometers (802 mi) of coastline (212 km / 132 mi on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km / 631 mi on the Pacific). It is about the size of West Virginia and shares that state's reputation for excellent whitewater kayaking/rafting opportunities. Two of the country's most renowned rivers in that regard are the Rio Pacuare and the Rio Reventazon located just east of San Jose in the Central Highland region.

Costa Rica also borders Nicaragua to the north (309 km / 192 mi of border) and Panama to the south-southeast (639 km / 397 mi of border). In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometers (19,730 sq. mi) plus 589.000 square kilometers of territorial waters.

The highest point in the country is Cerro Chirripó, at 3,820 metres (12,500 ft), and is the fifth highest peak in Central America. The highest volcano in the country is the Irazú Volcano (3,431 m / 11,257 ft). The largest lake in Costa Rica is Lake Arenal.

Costa Rica also comprises several islands. Cocos Island stands out because of its distance from continental landmass (24 km² / 9.25 sq mi, 500 km or 300 mi from Puntarenas coast), but Calero Island is the biggest island of the country (151.6 km² / 58.5 sq mi).

Costa Rica protects 26% of its national territory within the Protected Areas system. It also possesses the greatest density of species in the world. [1]

Politics

Main article: Politics of Costa Rica

See also: Military of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a strong constitution. Although there are claims that the country has had more than 115 years of uninterrupted democracy,^{[citation needed]} their presidential election history shows otherwise (see List of Presidents of Costa Rica). Nonetheless, the country has had at least fifty-nine years of uninterrupted democracy, which is by far the longest in Latin America,^{[citation needed]} making it one of the most stable countries in the region. Costa Rica has avoided the violence that has plagued Central America.

Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is the country's center of power. There also are two vice presidents as well as a cabinet designated by the president. The president, vice presidents, and fifty-seven Legislative Assembly delegates are elected for four-year terms. A constitutional amendment approved in 1969 limited presidents and delegates to one term, although delegates were allowed to run again for an Assembly seat after sitting out a term.

In April 2003, the constitutional ban on presidential re-election was reversed, allowing Óscar Arias (Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 1987) to run for President for a second term. In 2006, Óscar Arias was re-elected in a tight and highly contested election, running on a platform of promoting free trade. He took office on May 8, 2006. Autonomous state agencies enjoy considerable operational independence; they include the telecommunications and electrical power monopoly, the nationalized commercial banks, the state insurance monopoly, and the social security agency. Costa Rica has no military by constitution but maintains domestic police forces for internal security. These include the Guardia Civil and the Guardia Rural.

Other current political issues include security, crime, and the limiting of large-scale emigration of people from Nicaragua.

Provinces and cantons

Main articles: Provinces of Costa Rica and Cantons of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is composed of seven provinces, which in turn are divided into 90 cantons ("cantón" in Spanish, plural "cantones"), each directed by a mayor. Mayors are chosen democratically every four years by each canton's people. There are no provincial legislatures.

1. Alajuela
2. Cartago
3. Guanacaste
4. Heredia
5. Limón
6. Puntarenas
7. San José

Economy

Main article: Economy of Costa Rica

In recent times electronics, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing, software development, and ecotourism have become the prime industries in Costa Rica's economy. High levels of education among its residents make the country an attractive investing location.

The economy has been expanding for Costa Rica in part because the Government had implemented a seven-year plan of expansion in the high tech industry. 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 Intel, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, and consumer products company Procter & Gamble. Trade with South East Asia and Russia has boomed during 2004 and 2005, and the country is expected to obtain full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007 (the country became an observer in 2004).

For the fiscal year 2005, the country showed a government deficit of 2.1%, internal revenue increased an 18%, exports increased a 12.8% and the number of visiting tourists increased a 19%, reaching 1.5 million people. Revised economic figures released by the Central Bank indicate that economic growth stood at 5%, nevertheless the country faced high inflation (14%) and a trade deficit of 5.2%. For 2006 the economy is expected to grow a 6.8%

The unit of currency is the colón (CRC), which trades around 518 [2] to the U.S. dollar; currently about 675 to the euro. On October 16, 2006, a new currency exchange system was introduced, allowing the value of the CRC colón to float between two bands as done previously by Chile. The idea is that by doing so the Central Bank will be able to better tackle inflation and discourage the use of US dollars. Since that time, the value of the colón against the dollar has stabilized.

Costa Rica's location provides easy access to American markets as it has the same time zone as the central part of the United States and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia. A country wide referendum has approved a free trade agreement with the United States.

Tourism

With a $1.7-billion-a-year tourism industry, Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the region. Eco-tourism is extremely popular with many tourists visiting the many protected areas around the country. Sex tourism has become a popular form of tourism and has been gaining popularity in Costa Rica where it already amounts for 10% of the billion dollar tourism industry.^[1] Costa Rica has been hailed as a national destination for sex tourists,^[2][3] this is largely because of legal prostitution.^[4] The government has made efforts to attack mainly child prostitution. A large child prostitution organization was dismantled by authorities in 2005, sending the female leader of the groups to 8 years in jail. Critics said the sentence was not strong enough and that the government efforts have been insufficient.

Foreign affairs

Costa Rica is an active member of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Costa Rica holds a seat on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and on the United Nations University of Peace and many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy.

Costa Rica's main foreign policy objective is to foster human rights and sustainable development as a way to secure stability and growth.

Costa Rica is also a member of the International Criminal Court, without a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98).

On June 1, 2007, Costa Rica broke ties with the Republic of China in Taiwan, switching to the People's Republic of China in mainland China. [3] fabio

Flora and fauna

See also: Wildlife of Costa Rica and List of birds of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.1% of the world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity.^{[citation needed]} Over 25% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests and reserves.

One national park that is internationally-renowned among ecologists for its biodiversity (including big cats and tapirs) and where visitors can expect to see an abundance of wildlife is the Corcovado National Park.^{[citation needed]}

Tortuguero National Park – the name Tortuguero can be translated as "Full of turtles" – is home to spider, howler and white-throated Capuchin monkeys, the three-toed sloth, 320 species of birds (including eight species of parrots), a variety of reptiles, but is mostly recognized for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle and is considered the most important nesting site for this species. Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest here.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve hosts two thousand plant species,^{[citation needed]} including numerous orchids. Over four hundred types of birds can be found here, and over one hundred species of mammals. As a whole, around eight hundred species of birds have been identified in Costa Rica. The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBIO) is allowed to collect royalties on any biological discoveries of medical importance.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Costa Rica

According to the CIA World Factbook, Costa Rica has a population of 4,133,884. Mestizos (mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry) and whites make up the majority of the population of Costa Rica comprising approximately 94% of the population (no figures are provided for the groups individually, as most Mestizos self-identify as white.) There are significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, German, Jewish, and Polish descent. Just under 3% of the population is of black African descent. The majority of the afro Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of nineteenth century black Jamaican immigrant workers. 1% is composed of ethnic Chinese, 1% of Amerindian peoples, and another 1% identified as "other."

As of today, the indigenous or Amerindian population numbers around 1%, or over 41,000 individuals. In the Guanacaste Province a significant portion of the population descends from a tri-racial mix of local Amerindians, Africans and Spaniards. There is also an expatriate community of people of all ages from the United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Britain, and other countries, especially in the Central Valley city of Escazu.

Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia and Nicaragua. As a result, an estimated 10% to 15% of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans,^[5] most of whom migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. There is also a growing number of Peruvian refugees. Moreover, Costa Rica took in lots of refugees from a range of other Latin American countries fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the 1970s and 80s - notably from Chile and Argentina.

Religion

Christianity is the predominant religion in Costa Rica, and Roman Catholicism is the official state religion as guaranteed by the Constitution of 1949. Some 92% of Costa Ricans are Christian [4] and like many other parts of Latin America, Protestant denominations have been experiencing rapid growth. However, three in four Costa Ricans still adhere to Roman Catholicism