Portal:Costa Rica

Republic of Costa Rica
*República de Costa Rica* (Spanish)
Republic of Costa Rica República de Costa Rica (Spanish)
	Flag Coat of arms
	Anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish); "National Anthem of Costa Rica"
ISO 3166 code	CR

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The Costa Rica Portal

Introduction

Costa Rica (UK: /ˌkɒstə ˈriːkə/, US: /ˌkoʊstə-/ ^ⓘ; Spanish: [ˈkosta ˈrika]; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in the Central American region of North America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million0 in a land area of nearly 51,180 km² (19,760 sq mi). An estimated 352,381 people live in the capital and largest city, San José, with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.

The sovereign state is a presidential republic. It has a long-standing and stable constitutional democracy and a highly educated workforce. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include sectors such as finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. Many foreign manufacturing and services companies operate in Costa Rica's Free Trade Zones (FTZ) where they benefit from investment and tax incentives.

Costa Rica was inhabited by indigenous peoples before coming under Spanish rule in the 16th century. It remained a peripheral colony of the empire until independence as part of the First Mexican Empire, followed by membership in the Federal Republic of Central America, from which it formally declared independence in 1847. Following the brief Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, it permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army. (Full article...)

The Costa Rica Quiz

True or false: voting is mandatory in Costa Rica.

Answer

True, but in practice this is not enforced.^[2]

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Costa Rican ships captured by the Panamanians as a war trophy after the fighting on the Coto River.

The Coto War (Spanish: Guerra de Coto) was a conflict between Panama and Costa Rica fought between 21 February and 5 March 1921. The casus belli occurred when a Costa Rican expeditionary force led by Colonel Héctor Zúñiga Mora occupied the town of Pueblo Nuevo de Coto, a hamlet on the banks of the Coto River. At that time the hamlet was in the Alanje district of the Panamanian province of Chiriquí. Zúñiga justified the incursion by the fact that there was no definite border between Costa Rica and Panama. The event ignited nationalism both in Costa Rica and in Panama.

In the Costa Rican capital, San José, and in the rest of the country, volunteers and regular forces were organized to fight against the Panamanians. In Panama, especially in Chiriqui, armed groups were organized that managed to repel the Costa Rican forces. The war moved to the north into the province of Bocas del Toro, where Costa Rica raided Panamanian troops and advanced without further resistance. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that goalkeeper Daniela Solera had the most touches of any Costa Rican player in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup?
... that in August 2021 Sheika Scott became the youngest player to score in the Costa Rican Women's Premier Division, at just 14 years old?
... that footballer Alexandra Pinell scored the Costa Rica U20 team's only goal at the FIFA tournament hosted by their country?

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...that the Landmarks Foundation helps conserve sacred sites such as the stone spheres of Costa Rica and the moai of Easter Island?

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Image 1Countries (in blue) which have signed Free Trade Agreements with Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 2Provinces 1 Alajuela, 2 Cartago, 3 Guanacaste, 4 Heredia, 5 Limón, 6 Puntarenas, 7 San José (from Costa Rica)
Image 3The golden toad, an amphibian once endemic to Costa Rica, is now extinct. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 4Costa Rican school children (from Costa Rica)
Image 5Costa Rica supporters at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil (from Costa Rica)
Image 6Real GDP per capita development in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 7The Ujarrás historical site in the Orosí Valley, Cartago province. The church was built between 1686 and 1693. (from Costa Rica)
Image 8Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) (from Costa Rica)
Image 9Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Cartago), during the 2007 pilgrimage (from Costa Rica)
Image 10José María Castro Madriz formally declared Costa Rica as independent from the Federal Republic of Central America in 1848. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 11Costa Rica's tropical landscape (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 12The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from Costa Rica)
Image 13An Intel microprocessor facility in Costa Rica that was, at one time, responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 5% of the country's GDP (from Costa Rica)
Image 14Costa Rican breakfast with gallo pinto (from Costa Rica)
Image 15Development of life expectancy in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 16The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 17Costa Rican Women in traditional dress (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 18A coffee plantation in the Orosí Valley (from Costa Rica)
Image 19Las Carretas (oxcarts) are a national symbol. (from Costa Rica)
Image 20Barack Obama and Laura Chinchilla with Costa Rican children in San José (from Costa Rica)
Image 21The mangrove hummingbird is endemic to Costa Rica and specializes in feeding from the tea mangrove plant with its uniquely shaped beak. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 22Gallo Pinto (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 23Population pyramid for Costa Rica 2023 (from Costa Rica)
Image 24Hospital CIMA in Escazú (from Costa Rica)
Image 25Hospital Calderón Guardia, named after the president who instituted universal health care across the country in 1941 (from Costa Rica)
Image 26The Heliconius doris butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 27Stone spheres created by the Diquis culture at the National Museum of Costa Rica. The sphere is the icon of the country's cultural identity. (from Costa Rica)
Image 28Costa Rican kids. (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 29An industrial park in Heredia (from Costa Rica)
Image 30Epiphytes near Santa Elena (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 31Yigüirro, Costa Rica's national bird (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 32Gregorio José Ramírez was the most notable political chief of the province of Costa Rica, leading republican forces victorious in the Battle of Ochomogo. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 33Waterfall in the Tenorio Volcano National Park (from Costa Rica)
Image 34The extent of Costa Rica's western EEZ in the Pacific (from Costa Rica)
Image 35The scarlet macaw is native to Costa Rica. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 36Eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 37The zebra longwing butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 38Costa Rica map of Köppen climate classification (from Costa Rica)
Image 39Mantled howler monkey, male (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 40A red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 41Typical settlement of the Diquis indigenous people before the arrival of Columbus. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 42Chatham beach on Cocos Island. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 43The Rio Celeste (sky blue river) at Tenorio Volcano National Park in Costa Rica. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 44Arenal Volcano National Park is one of the country's tourist attractions. (from Costa Rica)
Image 45The University of Costa Rica is the largest university of the country and one of the most recognizable across Central America. (from Costa Rica)