Costa Rica (Translated as "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica, 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.

Geography

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.

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.

Politics

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, their presidential election history shows otherwise.  Nonetheless, the country has had at least fifty-nine years of uninterrupted democracy, which is by far the longest in Latin America, 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.

Economy

According to the CIA World Fact book, Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US$12,500, over 740,000 (18%) people below the poverty line and just over 270,000 (6.6%) unemployed. The Costa Rican economy grew nearly 5% in 2006 after experiencing 4 years of slow economic growth.

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 6.8%. 

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 unit of currency is the colón (CRC), which trades around 518 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.  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.

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.

Flora and fauna

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.  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.

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, 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

According to the CIA World Fact book, Costa Rica has a population of 4,133,884. The Costa Rican population is estimated to be 80% white, primarily of Spanish ancestry.  In contrast to its neighboring countries' populations, less mixing of the Spanish settlers and the indigenous populations occurred. Therefore, a vast majority of Costa Ricans are either of Spanish or to a lesser extent of mixed mestizo heritage. Together, European descendants and Mestizos (mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry) make up the majority of the population of Costa Rica comprising approximately 94% of the population. 

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, most of whom migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. There are also a growing number of Peruvian refugees.