Costa Rica

Index

More Facts & Figures

National name: República de Costa Rica

Current government officials

Languages: Spanish (official), English

Ethnicity/race: white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%

National Holiday: Independence Day, September 15

Religion: Roman Catholic 76%, Evangelical 14%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other Protestant 1%, other 5%, none 3%

Literacy rate: 94.9% (2011 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $54.47 billion; per capita $11,500. Real growth rate: –4%. Inflation: 5.3%. Unemployment: 6.5%. Arable land: 4%. Agriculture: coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber. Labor force: 2.155 million; agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.). Industries: microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products. Natural resource: hydropower. Exports: $10.77 billion (2011 est.): coffee, bananas, sugar, pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment. Imports: $15.08 billion (2011 est.): raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum. Major trading partners: U.S., Netherlands, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Brazil (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.482 million (2011); mobile cellular: 3,035,000 (2011). Radio broadcast stations: AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002). Television broadcast stations: 20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002). Internet hosts: 146,164 (2012). Internet users: 1,485,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 278 km (2011). Highways: total: 38,049 km; (2011). Waterways: 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2004). Ports and harbors: Caldera, Puerto Limon. Airports: 151 (2011 est.).

International disputes: legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on the border with Nicaragua remains unresolved.

Major sources and definitions