Costa Rica

• tropical and subtropical;
• dry season (December to April);
• rainy season (May to November);
• cooler in highlands

total:

2.68 cu km/yr (29%/17%/53%)

per capita:

619 cu m/yr (2000)

• occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast;
• frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides;
• active volcanoes

• deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture;
• soil erosion;
• coastal marine pollution;
• fisheries protection;
• solid waste management;
• air pollution

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Marine Life Conservation

• four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country;
• one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever (2008)

noun:

Costa Rican(s)

adjective:

Costa Rican

conventional long form:

Republic of Costa Rica

conventional short form:

Costa Rica

local long form:

Republica de Costa Rica

local short form:

Costa Rica

name:

San Jose

geographic coordinates:

9 56 N, 84 05 W

time difference:

UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• based on Spanish civil law system;
• judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court;
• has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

• President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (since 8 May 2006);
• First Vice President Laura CHINCHILLA (since 8 May 2006);
• Second Vice President (vacant);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (since 8 May 2006);
• First Vice President Laura CHINCHILLA (since 8 May 2006);
• Second Vice President (vacant)

cabinet:

Cabinet selected by the president

elections:

• president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term;
• election last held 5 February 2006 (next to be held in February 2010)

election results:

• Oscar ARIAS Sanchez elected president;
• percent of vote - Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (PLN) 40.9%;
• Otton SOLIS (PAC) 39.8%, Otto GUEVARA Guth (PML) 8%, Ricardo TOLEDO (PUSC) 3%

• Authentic Member from Heredia [Jose SALAS];
• Citizen Action Party or PAC [Epsy CAMPBELL Barr];
• Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Gerardo Justo OROZCO Alvarez];
• Democratic Force Party or PFD [Marco NUNEZ Gonzalez];
• General Union Party or PUGEN [Carlos Alberto FERNANDEZ Vega];
• Homeland First or PP [Juan Jose VARGAS Fallas];
• Independent Worker Party or PIO [Jose Alberto CUBERO Carmona];
• Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth];
• National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Juan Carlos CHAVEZ Mora];
• National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes];
• National Liberation Party or PLN [Francisco Antonio PACHECO Fernandez];
• National Patriotic Party or PPN [Daniel Enrique REYNOLDS Vargas];
• National Restoration Party or PRN [Fabio Enrique DELGADO Hernandez];
• National Union Party or PUN [Arturo ACOSTA Mora];
• Nationalist Democratic Alliance or ADN [Jose Miguel VILLALOBOS Umana];
• Patriotic Union or UP [Jose Miguel CORRALES Bolanos];
• Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis FISHMAN Zonzinski];
• Union for Change Party or UPC [Antonio ALVAREZ Desanti];
• United Leftist Coalition or IU [Humberto VARGAS Carbonel]

• Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate);
• Chamber of Coffee Growers;
• Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate);
• Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate);
• Costa Rican Exporter's Chamber or CADEXCO;
• Costa Rican Solidarity Movement;
• Costa Rican Union of Private Sector Enterprises or UCCAEP [Rafael CARRILLO];
• Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP;
• National Association for Economic Development or ANFE;
• National Association of Educators or ANDE;
• National Association of Public and Private Employees or ANEP [Albino VARGAS];
• Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert BROWN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Tomas DUENAS

chancery:

2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-2945

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-4795

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa (temporarily closed), Washington, DC

consulate(s):

San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador Peter CIANCHETTE

embassy:

Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose

mailing address:

APO AA 34020

telephone:

[506] 519-2000

FAX:

[506] 519-2305

• five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band;
• above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA

agriculture:

14%

industry:

22%

services:

64% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

1%

highest 10%:

37.4% (2003)

• bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes;
• beef;
• timber

• bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar;
• seafood;
• electronic components, medical equipment

general assessment:

• good domestic telephone service in terms of breadth of coverage;
• restricted cellular telephone service;
• state-run monopoly provider is struggling with the demand for new lines, resulting in long waiting times

domestic:

point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available

international:

• country code - 506;
• landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable and the MAYA-1 submarine cable that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US;
• connected to Central American Microwave System;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

total:

278 km

narrow gauge:

278 km 1.067-m gauge

note: none of the railway network is in use (2007)

total:

35,330 km

paved:

8,621 km

unpaved:

26,709 km (2004)

total:

1

by type:

passenger/cargo 1 (2008)

males age 16-49:

1,134,205

females age 16-49:

1,095,763 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

958,013

females age 16-49:

925,727 (2008 est.)

male:

40,767

female:

38,899 (2008 est.)

current situation:

• Costa Rica is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor;
• women and girls from neighboring states, Russia, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines are trafficked into the country for sexual exploitation;
• Costa Rica also serves as a transit point for victims trafficked to North America and Europe;
• the government identifies child sex tourism as a serious problem;
• men, women, and children are also trafficked within the country for forced labor in fishing and construction, and as domestic servants

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Costa Rica is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of its failure to improve its inadequate assistance to victims;
• while Costa Rican officials recognize human trafficking as a serious problem, the lack of a stronger response by the government is of concern (2008)

• transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America;
• illicit production of cannabis in remote areas;
• domestic cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising;
• significant consumption of amphetamines