FACTS
|
Official name: |
Republic
of Costa Rica |
| Chief of State: |
President
Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002) |
| Head
of Government: |
President Abel PACHECO
(since 8 May 2002) |
| Independence: |
15
September 1821 (from Spain) |
| National Holiday |
Independence Day,
15 September (1821) |
| Religion |
Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%,
other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%,
none 3.2% |
| Literacy
|
95 % |
| Government Type: |
Democratic Republic |
| Area: |
51,100
sq km
|
| Population:
|
3,834,934 (July 2002 est.)
|
| Capital: |
San Jose |
| Official language: |
Spanish (official), English spoken around
Puerto Limon |
| Currency:
|
Costa
Rican colon (CRC) |
| Exchange rate: |
343.08
(January 2002) |
| Industries: |
microprocessors, food
processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials,
fertilizer, plastic products |
| Natural Resources: |
hydropower |
| GDP per capita: |
$8,500 (2001 est.)
|
| GDP real growth: |
0.3% (2001 est.) |
| Unemployment: |
5.2% (2000 est.) |
| Inflation: |
12.1% (2001 est.) |
| Foreign
debt: |
$4.6 billion (2001 est.) |
Much
of the information on our site as it relates to Costa Rica is:
 Courtesy
of Christopher P. Baker and Avalon Travel Publishing.
© 2004 Christopher P. Baker. All Rights Reserved.
Spanish Abroad, Inc. highly
recommends Christopher P. Baker's book: Moon
Handbooks Costa Rica. Click on the image to visit
his website where you can purchase this book or find out more
about the author.
|
