Location - Central American between Nicaragua and Panama (between 8 and 11 degrees north of the equator)
Area - 50,895 square kilometers
Capital - San Jose (pop. 300,000) Population - 4,075,261 (July 2006 est.)
Spanish is the official language, but the variant spoken has features particular to Costa Rica.
On the Atlantic coast, however, descendants of Caribbean immigrants speak English,
as do many others throughout the country who learned it to better their employment prospects.
Religion - More than 90 percent of Costa Ricans are Roman Catholic.
GEOGRAPHY OF COSTA RICA
The country is divided by a backbone of volcanoes and mountains, an extension of the
Andes-Sierra Madre chain which runs along the western side of the Americas.
Rugged highlands are found throughout most of the country, ranging from approximately 1,000 to
2,000 meters (3,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level). Costa Rica has four distinct cordilleras or
mountain ranges -- Guanacaste and Tilaran in the north, Central and Talamanca in the south.
Costa Rica is part of the Pacific "Rim of Fire" and has seven of the isthmus's 42 active
volcanoes plus dozens of dormant or extinct cones. Earth tremors and small quakes shake
the country from time to time.
The last major quake hit on April 22, 1991. Centered on the Caribbean side southeast of
San Jose, it measured 7.4 on the Richter scale. The country's highest point is Mt.
Chirripo (3,797 meters). The capital, San Jose, and the neighboring major cities of
Alajuela and Heredie lies in the middle of the Meseta Central (Central Valley). Almost
two-thirds of the nation's population lives in this small, fertile valley. The Pacific
coastal plain is much narrower than its Caribbean counterpart. Both coasts are lined
with white and black sand beaches.
The country has a relatively long coastline in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans,
as well as a number of rivers and streams that attract specialist kayakers and rafters
from all over the world.
COSTA RICA ETHNIC RELATIONS
As much as 95 percent of Costa Ricans consider themselves "white." "Whiteness"
figures importantly in national identity. The indigenous population that survived
the conquest was small and, for the most part, rapidly became Hispanic. In the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, successful males of African, Indian, or mixed
ancestry married poorer "Spanish" women, using "whitening" to assure their children's
upward mobility. In the nineteenth century, immigration from Europe and the United States
"whitened" the population, particularly the elite.
COSTA RICA'S CLIMATE
Costa Rica is a tropical country which contains several distinct climatic zones.
here is no winter or summer as such and most regions have a rainy season from May to
November and a dry season from December to April. Annual rainfall averages 100 inches
nationwide with some mountainous regions getting as much as 25 feet on exposed eastern slopes.
Temperature is more a matter of elevation than location with a mean of around 72 degrees
in the Central Valley, 82 degrees on the Atlantic coast and 89 degrees on the Pacific coast.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF COSTA RICA
Human habitation can be traced back more than 10,000 years but it appears Costa Rica was sparsely populated and a relative backwater in the pre-Columbian era. When Columbus arrived on September 18, 1502 on his third and last voyage to the Americas, there were probably no more than 20,000 indigenous inhabitants they lived in several autonomous tribes, all with distinct cultures and customs. Many interesting gold, jade and pottery artifacts have been found throughout the region and are on display in several museums in San Jose.
The Indians gave Columbus gold and he returned to Europe with reports of a plentiful supply of the yellow metal. But the adventurers who arrived to cash in found only hostile Indians, swamps and disease for their trouble.
Central America gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. A brief civil war in 1823 was won by San Jose and Costa Rica joined the confederation.
Juan Mora Fernandez was elected the country's first head of state in 1824. His progressive administration expanded public education and encouraged the cultivation of coffee with land grants for growers. This quickly led to the establishment of new Costa Rican elite, the coffee barons, who quickly put their power to use by overthrowing the first Costa Rican president, Jose Maria Castro.
After more than a decade of political turmoil, General Tom s Guardia seized power in 1870. Though he ruled as a military dictator, his 12 years in power were marked by progressive policies like free and compulsory primary education, restraining the excesses of the military and taxing coffee earnings to finance public works. It was Guardia who contracted Minor Keith to build the Atlantic railroad from San Jose to the Caribbean. The post-Guardia years witnessed the fitful transition to full democracy.
An era of peaceful democracy in Costa Rica began in 1899 with elections considered the first truly free and honest ones in the country's history. The next important era began with the election of Dr. Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia in 1940. His enlightened policies included land reform, a guaranteed minimum wage and progressive taxation.
In 1986, a young lawyer called Oscar Arias Sanchez was elected president on the platform of peace. Arias' tireless efforts to promote peace in the region were rewarded when the five Central American presidents signed his peace plan in Guatemala City in 1987, an achievement that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.
COSTA RICAN'S FOOD IN DAILY LIFE
Maize is consumed as tortillas, which accompany rice and beans-typically eaten three times a day with eggs, cheese, meat, or chicken and with chayote stew or salad at lunch or supper. The midday meal was once the largest, but the long lunch break has succumbed to a fondness for fast food. Beverages include coffee, sugary fruit drinks, and soda. Alcohol consumption is high.
COSTA RICA'S GOVERNMENT
Costa Rica is a democratic republic. Under the 1949 constitution, all citizens are guaranteed equality before the law, the right to own property, the right of petition and assembly, freedom of speech and the right of habeas corpus. The constitution also divides the government into independent executive, legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch is composed of the president, two vice presidents and a cabinet. The legislature is the National Assembly, composed of 57 members elected by proportional representation. National elections are held every four years, on the first Sunday of February. Under a constitutional amendment enacted in 1969, a president may serve only one four-year term during his lifetime. Disputatious also are elected for four years and may serve a second term four years after the first ends. The largest political party is the National Liberation Party (PLN). Its main rival is the more conservative Social Christian Unity Party.
COSTA RICA CITIES
Jaco,
La Fortuna,
Liberia,
Limon,
Monteverde,
Nicoya,
Puntarenas,
San Jose,
Tabacon,
Tamarindo.
