Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0060
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Costa Rica
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Costa Rica 
 
 
                                Costa Rica
 
 
                                 Geography
 
Location:
     Middle America, between Nicaragua and Panama
Map references:
     Central America and the Caribbean, South America
Area:
total area:
     51,100 sq km
land area:
     50,660 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than West Virginia
note:
     includes Isla del Coco
Land boundaries:
     total 639 km, Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Coastline:
     1,290 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     200 nm
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to
     November)
Terrain:
     coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Natural resources:
     hydropower potential
Land use:
arable land:
     6%
permanent crops:
     7%
meadows and pastures:
     45%
forest and woodland:
     34%
other:
     8%
Irrigated land:
     1,180 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     deforestation, largely a result of land clearing for cattle ranching;
     soil erosion
 
 
natural hazards:
     subject to occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast;
     frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season; active
     volcanoes
international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear
     Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not
     ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Marine Life Conservation
 
                                  People
 
Population:
     3,342,154 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.31% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     25.48 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     3.52 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     1.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     11 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     77.8 years
male:
     75.88 years
female:
     79.81 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     3.06 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Costa Rican(s)
adjective:
     Costa Rican
Ethnic divisions:
     white (including mestizo) 96%, black 2%, Indian 1%, Chinese 1%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 95%
Languages:
     Spanish (official), English; spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     93%
male:
     93%
female:
     93%
Labor force:
     868,300
 
 
by occupation:
     industry and commerce 35.1%, government and services 33%, agriculture
     27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica de Costa Rica
local short form:
Digraph:
     CS
Type:
     democratic republic
Capital:
     San Jose
Administrative divisions:
     7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago,
     Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose
Independence:
     15 September 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Constitution:
     9 November 1949
Legal system:
     based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
     in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President Jose Maria FIGUERES Olsen (since 8 May 1994); First Vice
     President Rodrigo OREAMUNO Blanco (since 8 May 1994); Second Vice
     President Rebeca GRYNSPAN Mayufis (since 8 May 1994); election last
     held 6 February 1994 (next to be held February 1998); results -
     President FIGUERES (PLN party) 49.7%, Miquel Angel RODRIGUEZ (PUSC
     party) 47.5%
cabinet:
     Cabinet; selected by the president
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa):
     elections last held 6 February 1994 (next to be held February 1998);
     results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (61 total) PLN 28, PUSC
     29, minority parties 4
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
 
 
Political parties and leaders:
     National Liberation Party (PLN), Manuel AGUILAR Bonilla; Social
     Christian Unity Party (PUSC), Rafael Angel CALDERON Fournier; Marxist
     Popular Vanguard Party (PVP), Humberto VARGAS Carbonell; New Republic
     Movement (MNR), Sergio Erick ARDON Ramirez; Progressive Party (PP),
     Isaac Felipe AZOFEIFA Bolanos; People's Party of Costa Rica (PPC),
     Lenin CHACON Vargas; Radical Democratic Party (PRD), Juan Jose
     ECHEVERRIA Brealey
Other political or pressure groups:
     Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers (CCTD; Liberation
     Party affiliate); Confederated Union of Workers (CUT, Communist Party
     affiliate); Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers (CATD,
     Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; National
     Association for Economic Development (ANFE); Free Costa Rica Movement
     (MCRL, rightwing militants); National Association of Educators (ANDE)
Member of:
     AG (observer), BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
     ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
     IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL,
     UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Gonzalo FACIO Segreda
chancery:
     2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 234-2945
FAX:
     (202) 265-4795
consulate(s) general:
     Albuquerque, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
     New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego,
     San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
consulate(s):
     Austin and Raleigh
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     (vacant); Charge d' Affaires Joseph BECELIA
embassy:
     Pavas Road, San Jose
mailing address:
     APO AA 34020
telephone:
     [506] 20-39-39
FAX:
     (506) 20-2305
Flag:
     five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white,
     and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of
     the red band
 
                                  Economy
 
 
Overview:
     In 1993 the economy grew at an estimated 6.5%, compared with 7.7% in
     1992 and 2.1% in 1991. Increases in agricultural production (coffee
     and bananas), nontraditional exports, and tourism are responsible for
     much of the growth. Inflation in 1993 dropped to 9% from 17% in 1992
     and 25% in 1991, an indication of basic financial stability.
     Unemployment is officially reported at 4.0%, but much underemployment
     remains.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $19.3 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     6.5% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $5,900 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     9% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     4% (1993); much underemployment
Budget:
revenues:
     $1.1 billion
expenditures:
     $1.34 billion, including capital expenditures of $110 million (1991
     est.)
Exports:
     $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
     coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar
partners:
     US, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El Salvador, Netherlands, UK, France
Imports:
     $2.9 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
     raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
partners:
     US, Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Germany
External debt:
     $3.2 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 10.5% (1992); accounts for 22% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     927,000 kW
production:
     3.612 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,130 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials,
     fertilizer, plastic products
Agriculture:
     accounts for 19% of GDP and 70% of exports; cash commodities - coffee,
     beef, bananas, sugar; other food crops include corn, rice, beans,
     potatoes; normally self-sufficient in food except for grain; depletion
     of forest resources resulting in lower timber output
 
 
Illicit drugs:
     transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America;
     illicit production of cannabis on small scattered plots
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.4 billion; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $935
     million; Communist countries (1971-89), $27 million
Currency:
     1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates:
     Costa Rican colones (C) per US$1 - 150.67 (December 1993), 142.17
     (1993), 134.51 (1992), 122.43 (1991), 91.58 (1990), 81.504 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year
 
                              Communications
 
Railroads:
     950 km total, all 1.067-meter gauge; 260 km electrified
Highways:
total:
     35,536 km
paved:
     5,600 km
unpaved:
     gravel and earth 29,936 km (1991)
Inland waterways:
     about 730 km, seasonally navigable
Pipelines:
     petroleum products 176 km
Ports:
     Puerto Limon, Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puntarenas
Merchant marine:
     1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,878 GRT/4,506 DWT
Airports:
total:
     184
usable:
     165
with permanent-surface runways:
     27
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     9
Telecommunications:
     very good domestic telephone service; 292,000 telephones; connection
     into Central American Microwave System; broadcast stations - 71 AM, no
     FM, 18 TV, 13 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
 
                              Defense Forces
 
 
Branches:
     Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard
note:
     constitution prohibits armed forces
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 873,987; fit for military service 588,223; reach
     military age (18) annually 32,308 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $22 million, 0.5% of GDP (1989)
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.