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

volcanism:

• Arenal (elev. 1,670 m), which erupted in 2010, is the most active volcano in Costa Rica;
• a 1968 eruption destroyed the town of Tabacon;
• Irazu (elev. 3,432 m), situated just east of San Jose, has the potential to spew ash over the capital city as it did between 1963 and 1965;
• other historically active volcanoes include
  • Miravalles,
  • Poas,
  • Rincon de la Vieja,
  • and Turrialba

• 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

noun:

Costa Rican(s)

adjective:

Costa Rican

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever (2009)

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)

chief of state:

• President Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda (since 8 May 2010);
• First Vice President Alfio PIVA Mesen (since 8 May 2010);
• Second Vice President Luis LIBERMAN Ginsburg (since 8 May 2010);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda (since 8 May 2010);
• First Vice President Alfio PIVA Mesen (since 8 May 2010);
• Second Vice President Luis LIBERMAN Ginsburg (since 8 May 2010)

cabinet:

Cabinet selected by the president; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term;
• election last held on 7 February 2010 (next to be held in February 2014)

election results:

• Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda elected president;
• percent of vote - Laura CHINCHILLA Miranda (PLN) 46.7%;
• Otton SOLIS (PAC) 25.1%, Otto GUEVARA Guth (ML) 20.8%

• Accessibility Without Exclusion or PASE [Oscar Andres LOPEZ Arias];
• Citizen Action Party or PAC [Alberto CANAS Escalante];
• Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Gerardo Justo OROZCO Alvarez];
• Democratic Force Party or PFD [Marco GONZALEZ Nunez];
• Frente Amplio [Jose MERINO del Rio];
• Homeland First or PP (Patria Primero) [Juan Jose VARGAS Fallas];
• Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth];
• National Democratic Alliance or ADN [Jose Miguel VILLALOBOS Umana];
• National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes];
• National Liberation Party or PLN [Francisco Antonio PACHECO Fernandez];
• National Rescue Party or PRN [Fabio Enrique DELGADO Hernandez];
• National Union Party or PUN [Arturo ACOSTA Mora];
• Patriotic Alliance [Mariano FIGUERES Olsen];
• Patriotic Union or UP [Jose Miguel CORRALES Bolanos];
• Popular Vanguard [Trino BARRANTES Araya];
• Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis FISHMAN Zonzinski];
• Union for Change Party or UPC [Antonio ALVAREZ Desanti]

• 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 Muni FIGUERES Boggs

chancery:

2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 234-2945 or 2946

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-4795

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Anne Slaughter ANDREW

embassy:

Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose

mailing address:

APO AA 34020

telephone:

[506] 2519-2000

FAX:

[506] 2519-2305

• five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk toward the hoist side of the red band;
• Costa Rica retained the earlier blue-white-blue flag of Central America until 1848 when, in response to revolutionary activity in Europe, it was decided to incorporate the French colors into the national flag and a central red stripe was added;
• today the blue color is said to stand for the sky, opportunity, and perseverance, white denotes peace, happiness, and wisdom, while red represents the blood shed for freedom, as well as the generosity and vibrancy of the people

note: somewhat resembles the flag of North Korea; similar to the flag of Thailand but with the blue and red colors reversed

name:

"Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (National Anthem of Costa Rica)

lyrics/music:

Jose Maria ZELEDON Brenes/Manuel Maria GUTIERREZ

note: adopted 1949; the anthem's music was originally written for an 1853 welcome ceremony for diplomatic missions from the United States and United Kingdom; the lyrics were added in 1903

agriculture:

14%

industry:

22%

services:

64% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

39.4% (2009)

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

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

general assessment:

• good domestic telephone service in terms of breadth of coverage;
• under the terms of CAFTA-DR, the state-run telecommunications monopoly scheduled to be opened to competition from domestic and international firms, has been delayed by the nation's telecommunications regulator.

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 points for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), MAYA-1, and the Pan American Crossing submarine cables 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) (2009)

• multiple privately-owned television stations and 1 publicly-owned television station;
• cable network services are widely available;
• more than 100 privately-owned radio stations and a public radio network (2007)

total:

278 km

country comparison to the world: 122

narrow gauge:

278 km 1.067-m gauge

note: none of the railway network is in use (2010)

total:

38,049 km

country comparison to the world: 94

paved:

9,619 km

unpaved:

28,430 km (2008)

total:

1

country comparison to the world: 152

by type:

passenger/cargo 1 (2010)

males age 16-49:

1,255,798

females age 16-49:

1,230,202 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,058,419

females age 16-49:

1,037,053 (2010 est.)

male:

42,201

female:

40,444 (2010 est.)

current situation:

• Costa Rica is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• Costa Rican women and children are subjected to sex trafficking within the country;
• women and girls from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and other Latin American countries have been identified in Costa Rica as victims of sex trafficking and forced domestic service;
• child sex tourism is a serious problem;
• Costa Rica is increasingly a destination for men from other Central American countries and from Asian countries subjected to conditions of forced labor, particularly in the agriculture, construction, and fishing sectors

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Costa Rica did not demonstrate evidence of overall increasing efforts over the previous reporting period;
• authorities failed to convict or sentence any trafficking offenders, did not maintain specialized services or shelters for trafficking victims, and made limited efforts to raise public awareness about human trafficking;
• however, the government has made efforts including implementation of procedures to identify and assist trafficking victims, increased staffing of the anti-trafficking police unit, and the creation of a special team to identify potential trafficking victims among migrants (2011)

• 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;
• seizures of smuggled cash in Costa Rica and at the main border crossing to enter Costa Rica from Nicaragua have risen in recent years (2008)