EDU February 16, 2019

Costa Rica

Costa Rica [Spanish »rich coast«], officially Spanish República de Costa Rica, German Republic of Costa Rica, state in Central America with (2018) 5 million residents; The capital is San José.

Country facts

• Official name: Republic of Costa Rica
• License plate: CR
• ISO-3166: CR, CRI (188)
• Internet domain:.cr
• Currency: 1 Costa Rican Colón (Ȼ) = 100 Céntimos
• Area: 51,100 km²
• Population (2018): 5 million
• Capital: San José
• Official language (s): Spanish
• Form of government: Presidential Republic
• Administrative division: 7 provinces
• Head of State: President Carlos Alvarado Quesada (since May 8, 2018)
• Religion (s) (2016): Christians (71.8% Catholics; 12.3% Evangelicals and Pentecostals, 2.6% other Protestants), 10.4% non-denominational, 2.9% other religions
• Time zone: Central European Time -7 hours
• National Day: September 15th

Location and infrastructure

• Location (geographical): Central America
• Location (coordinates): between 8 ° and 11 ° north latitude and 83 ° and 86 ° west longitude
• Climate: Tropical climate
• Highest mountain: Chirripó (3 819 m)
• Road network (2017): 5 035 km
• Railway network (2014): 278 km

Population

• Annual population growth (2020): 1.1%
• Birth rate (2020): 14.8 per 1,000 residents.
• Death rate (2020): 4.9 per 1,000 residents.
• Average age (2020): 32.6 years
• Average life expectancy (2020): 79.2 years (men 76.5; women 82)
• Age structure (2020): 22.1% younger than 15 years, 8.8% older than 65 years
• Literacy rate (15-year-olds and older) (2018): 97.9%
• Mobile phone contracts (pre-paid and post-paid) (2017): 180 per 100 residents
• Internet users (2017): 72 per 100 residents

Economy

• GDP per capita (2018): US $ 11,744
• Total GDP (2018): US $ 59 billion
• GNI per capita (2018): US $ 11,520
• Education expenditure (2017): 7.4% of GDP
• Military expenditure: n / a
• Unemployment rate (15 years and older) (2017): 8.5%

Geography

Location

Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, Panama to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

It is divided into three landscape areas: the tropical lowlands on the Caribbean and Pacific coast, a central plateau and the cool high mountain region. The country is traversed by the Cordillera from northwest to southeast, the Cordillera Guanacaste in the northwest with six extinct volcanoes (up to 2,000 m above sea level), the Cordillera Central with five active volcanoes (including the Irazú, 3,432 m above sea level) and the Cordillera de Talamanca in the southeast (in the Chirripó 3 819 m above sea level).

To the south, the Cordillera Central merges into a shallow high basin (Meseta Central or Valle Central, 1,100–1,500 m above sea level), which is the main settlement area of ​​the country with favorable climate and fertile volcanic soils (around two thirds of the population at around 5 % of the state area); the capital San José is also located here.

The Caribbean coast is little indented (with lagoons and mangrove swamps), the Pacific more richly structured, especially by the Nicoya and Osa peninsulas.

Climate and vegetation

The tropical climate is characterized by high rainfall on the Caribbean coast (up to 6,000 mm annually under the influence of the northeast trade winds; trade winds), where evergreen tropical rainforest grows; Less precipitation (2,000–3,000 mm annually) falls on the Pacific coast with a humid climate and a dry season from January to April, where rain-green dry and wet forests still thrive. For comparison: in north-west Germany the amount of precipitation is around 700 mm and in the Alps up to 2,000 mm. The temperatures (26–27 ° C) are subject to slight seasonal fluctuations in the lowlands and, like the vegetation forms, are determined by the thermal elevation in the mountains (Tierra).

Between 1940 and 1990 the proportion of forest decreased from 75% to 25% of the country’s area. Deforestation led to environmental problems such as erosion and flooding. Efforts to reforestate since the 1990s and the designation of protected areas form the basis for environmentally friendly tourism: In 2017, the proportion of forests was 54% of the country’s area.