Costa Rica

—Costa Rican.

/kos"teuh ree"keuh, kaw"steuh, koh"-/; Sp. /kaws"tah rddee"kah/

a republic in Central America, between Panama and Nicaragua. 3,534,174; 19,238 sq. mi. (49,825 sq. km). Cap.: San José.

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Costa Rica

Introduction Costa Rica -
Background: Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. Geography Costa Rica
Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 84 00 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 51,100 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco water: 440 sq km land: 50,660 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total: 639 km border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Coastline: 1,290 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands
Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m
Natural resources: hydropower
Land use: arable land: 4.41% permanent crops: 5.48% other: 90.11% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,260 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes Environment - current issues: 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 Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note: 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 People Costa Rica -
Population: 3,834,934 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 30.8% (male 603,270; female 575,766) 15-64 years: 63.9% (male 1,239,618; female 1,211,641) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 95,182; female 109,457) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.61% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 19.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: 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: 0.87 male(s)/ female total population: 1.02 male(s)/ female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 10.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.22 years female: 78.89 years (2002 est.) male: 73.68 years
Total fertility rate: 2.42 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.54% (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 12,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 750 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican
Ethnic groups: white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.5% male: 95.5% female: 95.5% (1999 est.) Government Costa Rica -
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica conventional short form: Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica
Government 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: 7 November 1949
Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 February 2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held NA February 2006) election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42%
Legislative branch: unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) Political parties and leaders: Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON] note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN - until the 3 February 2002 election in which the PAC captured a significant percentage, forcing a run-off in April 2002 Political pressure groups and Authentic Confederation of
leaders: 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); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown] International organization BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB,
participation: IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin FAX: [1] [phone] telephone: [1] [phone] Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador John J.
US: DANILOVICH embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305
Flag description: 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 Costa Rica
Economy - overview: Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt and with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $31.9 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2001 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11% industry: 37% services: 52% (2000) Population below poverty line: 20.6% (1999 est.) Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 1.7%
percentage share: highest 10%: 34.6% (2001) Distribution of family income - Gini 45.9 (1997)
index: Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.1% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.9 million (1999) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.2% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $1.91 billion expenditures: $2.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products Industrial production growth rate: -2.1% (2001 est.) Electricity - production: 6.887 billion kWh (2000) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 1.15% hydro: 82.56% other: 16.29% (2000) nuclear: 0% Electricity - consumption: 5.895 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 532 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 22 million kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber
Exports: $5 billion (2001)
Exports - commodities: coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment
Exports - partners: US 51.8%, EU 20%, Central America 10.6%, Puerto Rico 2.8%, Mexico 1.7% (2000)
Imports: $6.5 billion (2001)
Imports - commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
Imports - partners: US 53.2%, EU 10.3%, Mexico 6.2%, Venezuela 5.3%, Central America 4.9% (2000)
Debt - external: $4.6 billion (2001 est.)
Currency: Costa Rican colon (CRC)
Currency code: CRC
Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 343.08 (January 2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Costa Rica - Telephones - main lines in use: 450,000 (1998) note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use in 1998 Telephones - mobile cellular: 143,000 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: very good domestic telephone service domestic: point-to-point and point- to-multi-point microwave, fiber- optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999) Radio broadcast stations: AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998)
Radios: 980,000 (1997) Television broadcast stations: 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 525,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .cr Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000)
Internet users: 250,000 (2001) Transportation Costa Rica -
Railways: total: 950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000 est.)
Highways: total: 37,273 km paved: 7,827 km unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 730 km (seasonally navigable)
Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km
Ports and harbors: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas
Merchant marine: total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 152 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 29 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 7 (2001) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 123 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 95 (2001) Military Costa Rica -
Military branches: no regular indigenous military forces; Air Section, Ministry of Public Forces (Fuerza Publica) Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,058,283 (2002 est.) Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 707,927 (2002 est.)
service: Military manpower - reaching males: 39,411 (2002 est.)
military age annually: Military expenditures - dollar $69 million (FY99)
figure: Military expenditures - percent of 1.6% (FY99)
GDP: Transnational Issues Costa Rica - Disputes - international: legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua
Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine

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officially Republic of Costa Rica

Country, Central America.

Area: 19,730 sq mi (51,100 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 3,960,000. Capital: San José. Most of the people are of Spanish ancestry, with Indian and black admixtures. Language: Spanish (official). Religion: Roman Catholicism (official). Currency: colón. Costa Rica's narrow Pacific coast rises abruptly into central highlands and a volcanic mountain chain that forms the backbone of the country and descends gradually to the Caribbean coastal plain. The climate ranges from temperate to tropical, and the wide variety of plants and animals include species found in both North America and South America. The developing market economy is largely based on coffee and banana exports. Other cash crops include sugar and cocoa, and beef is also important. Costa Rica is a multiparty republic with one legislative house; the head of state and government is the president. Christopher Columbus landed in what is now Costa Rica in 1502, in an area inhabited by a number of small, independent Indian tribes. These peoples were not easily dominated by European adventurers who followed, and it took almost 60 years for the Spaniards to establish a permanent settlement there. Ignored by the Spanish crown because of its lack of mineral wealth, the colony grew slowly. Coffee exports and the construction of a rail line improved its economy in the 19th century. It joined the short-lived Mexican Empire in 1821, was a member of the United Provinces of Central America (1823–38), and adopted a constitution in 1871. In 1890 Costa Ricans held what is considered to be the first free and honest election in Central America, beginning a tradition of democracy for which Costa Rica is renowned. In 1987 then-president Oscar Arias Sánchez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his Central American peace plan. During the 1990s Costa Rica struggled with its economic policies. It suffered severe damage from a hurricane in 1996.

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▪ 2009

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2008 est.): 4,389,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Óscar Arias Sánchez

      Much of the political energy in Costa Rica during 2008 was focused on passage of legislation to implement the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). After years of debate, a national referendum on Oct. 7, 2007, had produced a very slim victory (51.6–48.4%) for the pro-ratification side. Formal ratification could not be completed, however, until a package of some dozen bills modifying existing Costa Rican legislation had been approved. The main opposition party, the Citizens' Action Party (PAC), had enough votes in the legislature to seriously delay this package, and by February 2008 some eight bills remained unapproved. The ratification deadline of March 1, 2008, was extended to the end of September and then to the end of December.

      While a number of the bills were minor, two were certain to have a major long-term impact. One bill liberalized the state monopoly over telecommunications and thereby opened the door to cell-phone competition; currently only the parastatal Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad could provide such service. A second key bill opened up the insurance industry to competition, previously also dominated by a parastatal monopoly.

      The government faced a crisis in March when Fernando Berrocal, the public security minister, reported finding that a large cache of funds attributed to Colombian guerrillas had been found in the home of two Costa Rican leftists. The trail to the funds had been established from the computer disks captured by a controversial Colombian military cross-border raid into Ecuador. Berrocal stated that he had also uncovered evidence linking the Colombia guerrillas to Costa Rican politicians. Protests against these revelations forced Berrocal to step down at the end of March. He was replaced temporarily by Laura Chinchilla Miranda, who was rumoured to be a strong candidate for the presidency in 2010. In April Janina del Vecchio was named to the security post.

      Higher-than-expected levels of inflation continued to cloud the economic news, but the government demonstrated important progress in lowering the poverty rate. Although the high cost of fuel also had a negative effect, the cost was partly mitigated by concessionary prices offered by Venezuela.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2008

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2007 est.): 4,445,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Óscar Arias Sánchez

      In Costa Rica's first-ever national referendum, held on Oct. 7, 2007, citizens voted in favour of the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR) with the United States, becoming the last Central American country to ratify the agreement. When the ballots were counted, 51.6% of voters supported CAFTA. The turnout of eligible voters was 60%, well above the required 40% required to make the results binding. Pres. Óscar Arias Sánchez, who spent much of his term trying to secure passage of the agreement, said that the treaty would bring long-term economic growth to Costa Rica.

      During the days leading up to the referendum, massive demonstrations and riots broke out in the normally peaceful country. The pro-CAFTA side was marred by the discovery of a memo sent by a planning minister in Arias's administration that suggested that there would be a cutoff in funding to municipalities whose mayors did not support CAFTA.

      Mayoral elections, traditionally conducted at the same time as legislative elections, were held months after the national elections. In December 2006 Arias's ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) scored a major victory, winning 58 of the 81 posts, though turnout was low among registered voters compared with presidential elections. The opposition Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), which in the previous elections had won 48 races, emerged victorious in only 11 races.

      On June 1 Costa Rica officially established diplomatic relations with China in an effort to promote trade and economic cooperation, meanwhile breaking off 60 years of formal ties with Taiwan. Economic growth remained strong, hovering near 7%. The U.S. canceled $12.6 million of Costa Rica's debt in October in exchange for Costa Rican spending to conserve biodiversity. Also in October, Costa Rica was elected to serve as a member of the UN Security Council in 2008–09 after the Dominican Republic withdrew its candidacy.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2007

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2006 est.): 4,274,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

Presidents Abel Pacheco de la Espriella and, from May 8 Óscar Arias Sánchez

      Contradicting most preelection polls, which placed Óscar Arias of the National Liberation Party (PLN) as the clear frontrunner over third-time candidate Ottón Solís Fallas of the Citizens Action Party (PAC) in the Feb. 5, 2006, presidential election, the results were so close that the winner was not declared until a painstaking manual recount had been concluded a month later. The victor was Arias, with 40.9% of the vote, narrowly defeating Solís, with 39.8%. Otto Guevara of the Liberation Movement (ML), came in third, with 8.4% of the vote. The winning party in 2002, the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), practically disappeared from the radar screen as a result of a series of corruption scandals and the unpopularity of the incumbent, Abel Pacheco. Voter abstention reached a new high of 34.8%. Municipal elections were held in December.

      Arias, who served as president from 1986 to 1990, had played a key role in negotiating peace agreements in the bloody conflicts that were afflicting other countries in Central America at that time, and he was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize for Peace. His party won 25 of the 57 seats in the unicameral legislature, while the PAC won 17 and the ML 6. The once-powerful PUSC was reduced to a mere five seats, and minor parties divided the remaining four seats. Notably, 22 of the 57 seats, or 38%, went to women.

      While campaigning, Arias promised to pursue ratification of the stalled Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which Costa Rica alone among the countries of Central America had failed to sign. Arias also promised to push through a tax- and fiscal-reform bill that had been languishing for years and vowed to reduce corruption, slim down some of the autonomous public agencies, and break up the state telecommunications monopoly held by the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE).

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2006

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2005 est.): 4,221,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella

       Corruption scandals, trade agreements, and preelection fever dominated the attention of Costa Ricans in 2005. In late 2004 Costa Rica's immediate past three presidents were accused of accepting bribes. Former president Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier, Jr. (1990–94), was accused of having negotiated a multimillion-dollar bribe from a Finnish medical supply firm and was placed under house arrest. Former president Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría (1998–2002) was accused of having taken a huge bribe from the French telecommunications firm Alcatel for helping negotiate a deal. Rodríguez had just taken over as secretary-general of the Organization of American States and was forced to resign in order to return to Costa Rica to respond to the corruption charges. He too remained under house arrest. Former president José María Figueres Olsen (1994–98) was also tainted with bribery accusations related to Alcatel. Figueres had not returned from his residence in Geneva to respond to the charges.

 The administration of the current president, Abel Pacheco, was itself rocked by accusations of secret bank accounts in Panama, problems arising at a time when the administration seemed bogged down. Only a handful of Pacheco's original cabinet ministers remained. Hopes to reduce a persistent 20% poverty rate went unrealized, and inflation remained several points above the 10% target. Pressure grew on Pacheco to bring the issue of accession to the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) to a vote in the legislature, but he deferred, establishing instead a five-member “council of notables” to advise him. In August Costa Rica approved another free-trade agreement, however, this with CARICOM, the Caribbean free-trade community.

      Presidential and legislative elections were scheduled for February 2006. The leading contender was former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Óscar Arias. His National Liberation Party included many women on its slate of legislative candidates.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2005

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2004 est.): 4,252,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella

      For much of 2004, national attention in Costa Rica was riveted on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States. By late 2003 bilateral negotiations had reached an impasse, and there were growing hints that Costa Rica would be excluded from the agreement, but in January 2004 the differences were smoothed over. The main sticking point had been the U.S. insistence that Costa Rica's state-run monopolies in telecommunications—including cell phones and the Internet—as well as electric power and insurance, be opened to competition. By the terms of the agreement struck with the U.S., state monopoly status in these areas would be removed by 2011.

      Pres. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella had a hard year. Although economic growth was in the 4–5% range, inflation reached an annual level of 13%—its highest rate in six years—the legislature was unable to pass a deficit-reduction package, and many sectors of the population refused to accept the terms of the CAFTA agreement. The legislature had not yet acted on CAFTA, but the agreement was stalled in the U.S. Congress as well. By August 2004 much of the country was paralyzed by a national strike that involved sectors as diverse as schoolteachers and truckers; the administration was forced to make concessions. Once again in 2004 Pacheco's administration was hit by a wave of cabinet resignations. Many Costa Ricans were already focused on the February 2006 presidential election. In March 2004 former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias Sánchez announced his candidacy on a platform to transform Costa Rica into Latin America's “first developed country.” In October a wave of scandals rocked the country and resulted in the arrest of two former presidents who were accused of taking bribes.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2004

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2003 est.): 4,171,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Abel Pacheco de la Espriella

      Public attention remained riveted during 2003 on the changing fate of Pres. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella, who had been elected in April 2002 after soundly defeating his rival in Costa Rica's first-ever runoff election. Though Pacheco largely retained his preelection personal popularity, his job-performance rating slipped dramatically, falling to about half of what it had been at the beginning of his term. Contributing to the slide was the growing government budget deficit of more than 5% and Pacheco's inability to reign in government spending fully. In response, by the spring of 2003 international credit agencies were lowering their outlook for the Costa Rican economy. Optimists pointed to the promise of the proposed U.S.–Central American Free Trade Area as well as Costa Rica's recent success in expanding exports to the U.S., the destination of about 50% of its exports. On the other hand, Pacheco's administration was in disarray; several ministers had left the cabinet. Perhaps his most serious problem was the discovery of apparently illegal campaign contribution funds hidden in Panamanian banks; the discovery sparked a series of hearings in the Legislative Assembly and shook the confidence of Costa Ricans. Traditionally, elections in Costa Rica were extremely clean by any standard.

      In some ways the troubling news about President Pacheco was overshadowed by the revitalization of the prospects for veteran politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner Óscar Arias Sánchez, who in polls regularly ranked as Costa Rica's most popular political figure. Though he had held the presidency from 1986 to 1990, during which time he used his position to help negotiate peace agreements in both Nicaragua and El Salvador, Arias had been prevented from running for office again as a result of a 1969 reform of Article 132 of the Costa Rican constitution. Arias had unsuccessfully challenged that reform before the Supreme Court (Sala IV) on two prior occasions, but on April 4, 2003, the court reversed itself and ruled that restricting the right to reelection was a limitation of constitutional rights. It was widely expected that Arias would run for office again in 2006.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2003

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2002 est.): 3,960,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

Presidents Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría and, from May 8, Abel Pacheco de la Espriella

      Costa Rica's national election, held on Feb. 3, 2002, proved to be one of the country's most unusual. For decades Costa Rica had enjoyed a stable two-party system in which the parties regularly alternated in power. In this election, however, the incumbent Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) succeeded itself in office—something that had happened only occasionally in the past—and, for the first time ever, no party achieved the necessary 40% plurality. A strong third-party movement siphoned away votes from the PUSC and its rival, the National Liberation Party (PLN); although in the past third parties had won no more than 8% of the vote, they garnered nearly 28% in 2002. A runoff election took place on April 7.

      PUSC candidate Abel Pacheco de la Espriella emerged as the victor in the presidential race. The 68-year-old Pacheco, a nationally known psychiatrist and television personality, overcame opposition from the entrenched elite of his own party to claim 58% of the vote against Rolando Araya of the PLN.

      In office Pacheco was faced with a divided 57-seat legislature, in which his party won only 19 seats. Observers expected him to try to form a coalition with other parties; in the election the PLN secured 17 seats and the upstart Citizen Action Party 14 seats. Two other parties together won a total of 7 seats. The economic challenges confronting the new government were formidable, especially with respect to reducing Costa Rica's fiscal deficit and overcoming sluggish growth, made all the more difficult by the post-Sept. 11, 2001, economic slowdown in the U.S.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2002

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2001 est.): 3,936,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría

      Because national elections were set to take place in early February 2002, both of the two main political parties in Costa Rica spent much of the first half of 2001 gearing up for what proved to be hotly contested primary elections. The National Liberation Party (PLN) held its primary on June 3, with some 250,000 party members casting their ballots. Rolando Araya Monge won handily over his opponents José Miguel Corrales Bolaños and Antonio Álvarez Desanti. Corrales, who was making his third run for the presidency and who had been the party's losing candidate in the 1998 presidential election, declared that this was his last attempt. Araya, a nephew of Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez, who had served as president of Costa Rica from 1982 to 1986, emerged from the core of the traditional PLN leadership and had the support of the party standard-bearer, former president and Nobel laureate Oscar Arias Sánchez.

      On June 10 the Social Christian Unity Party nominated Abel Pacheco de la Espriella by an overwhelming margin. Pacheco hoped to continue his party's grip on the presidency, but he was well aware that there was a long tradition of alternation in power between the two leading parties. Thus, he would have to work very hard to prevail against Araya.

      Of major concern to voters was the sharp decline in the growth rate, which was estimated to end in 2001 at about 3%. A growth spurt created by the opening of a large Intel computer-chip production plant in the late 1990s had increased exports but had not had the spillover into the larger economy that had been anticipated. One major drag on the economy was the decline in world coffee prices to their lowest level in seven years. Inflation had been running at 10% annually, among the highest in Latin America, but there was some good economic news as Costa Rica signed a trade pact with Canada in April.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2001

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(2000 est.): 3,644,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Miguel Angel Rodríguez Echeverría

      There was good news and bad news for Costa Rica in 2000. The good news was economic; the bad was political. The economy, which had been recovering steadily since its negative performance in 1996, grew at an estimated pace of 4.7% in 2000. Moreover, inflation was reduced to about 9%, the lowest since 1993. Capping the good economic news was the successful lobbying effort by Pres. Miguel Angel Rodríguez during his May visit to Washington, D.C., to widen access to American markets for Costa Rican goods. The hope was that greater access to markets for textile and leather goods would create more than 5,000 new jobs and increase exports by $100 million.

      Ironically, efforts by the Rodríguez administration to sustain long-term economic growth triggered an onslaught of labour actions and popular protests. The year began with demonstrations by teachers demanding that the government not renege on a 1997 agreement guaranteeing them overtime pay for the expansion of the school year from 195 to 200 days. The greatest civil unrest came in March and April, however, with protests against the approval of the “Energy Combo” legislation, a package of three bills designed to modernize the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) in the areas of energy and telecommunications. ICE is a state monopoly that had extended electric and telephone service to nearly all areas of the country but had been criticized for inefficiency. The bill was strongly supported by the country's two main political parties but opposed by minor parties. During the largest demonstrations in Costa Rica in 30 years, charges were made that the bill was filled with potential for a division of spoils between the two main parties. Although the government eventually agreed to table the legislation and to set up a bipartisan committee to review its provisions, the Supreme Court on April 18 declared the bill unconstitutional.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 2000

Area:

51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

Population

(1999 est.): 3,594,000

Capital:

San José

Head of state and government:

President Miguel Angel Rodríguez Echeverría

      In 1999 a long-standing border conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua once again attracted attention. According to the 1858 Cañas-Jerez Treaty, the San Juan River, which separated the two countries, belonged to Nicaragua, but Costa Rica was allowed “free and perpetual” commercial access to the river. In late 1998, however, Nicaragua accused Costa Rica of violating the treaty after Costa Rican police began using the river to reach border posts. A call to revise the Cañas-Jerez Treaty was made in 1999 by a group of lawyers from both countries. After touring the San Juan River region, the lawyers urged their respective governments to come to an agreement on what constituted commercial use of the river in order to ease tensions and prevent economic development in the region from being hampered.

      Costa Rica's economy was on the upswing in 1999, owing in no small part to the country's success in attracting investment by high-tech companies. The establishment in 1998 of a plant in San José by U.S. computer-chip company Intel Corp. was the single largest foreign investment ever made in Costa Rica; by 1999 exports from the Intel plant had become the country's largest source of foreign exchange revenue. Total export earnings were expected to rocket to $7 billion, up from just $2.6 billion in 1995. Moreover, inflation was expected to drop to 10%. Other positive economic indicators included a decrease in unemployment, an increase in real wages, and the growth in Costa Rica's international reserves to $1.4 billion.

Mitchell A. Seligson

▪ 1999

      Area: 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

      Population (1998 est.): 3,533,000

      Capital: San José

      Head of state and government: Presidents José María Figueres Olsen and, from May 8, Miguel Angel Rodríguez Echeverría

      Presidential elections held on Feb. 1, 1998, were won by economist Miguel Angel Rodríguez Echeverría of the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC). Although he had consistently led in opinion polls, Rodríguez won by a smaller margin than expected, only two percentage points above the candidate for the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN). Some 30% of the eligible voters did not go to the polls. The PUSC won 27 seats in the Legislative Assembly, the PLN won 23, and smaller parties took 7. The new president took office on May 8 and pledged to focus his administration on helping women, young people, and the poor. In 1998 one in five people in Costa Rica lived in poverty. In August a budget was presented to the Assembly that aimed to cut the fiscal deficit from 3.7% of gross domestic product in 1998 to 1.7% by the end of 1999 by reducing government expenditures and internal debt. It was announced that the domestic electricity market would be opened up to competition, although there were no plans for a massive sale of state-owned utility companies.

      Early in the year the multinational banana producer Del Monte reached an agreement with the trade union SITRAP, giving it the right to organize and move freely on Del Monte's plantations. Chiquita and Dole, two other large banana producers in Costa Rica, were also targets of pressure for improved labour rights by the action groups Banana Link and the World Development Movement.

SARAH CAMERON

▪ 1998

      Area: 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi)

      Population (1997 est.): 3,468,000

      Capital: San José

      Head of state and government: President José María Figueres Olsen

      In the months preceding the general elections to be held in early 1998, the candidate of the opposition Social Christian Unity Party, Miguel Angel Rodríguez, held the lead in opinion polls over José Miguel Corrales of the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN). Corrales's nomination as PLN candidate was tainted by charges of ballot rigging. This did not help the party's image, already at a low ebb as Pres. José María Figueres was judged the least popular president of recent history, owing to corruption scandals and mishandling of the economy. In 1996, with the growth of gross domestic product under 1%, inflation almost 15%, and a fiscal deficit of 5.5% of GDP, Costa Rica's performance was among the least successful in Latin America. Targets set in a central bank economic recovery plan at the beginning of 1997 had to be revised by the third quarter; projected GDP growth was lowered from 3% to 2.5%, and the public-sector deficit, forecast at 3.5% of GDP, was exceeding 4%.

      Further discredit to the country's institutions resulted from allegations that legislators and judicial officials were among many involved in the narcotics trade between South America and the U.S. With only a lightly armed police force and no army, Costa Rica was hard-pressed to combat either the drug traffickers or money launderers. In this light, when Rodríguez sought investment from Carlos Hank González of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, who was under investigation in the U.S. for money laundering, his presidential candidacy was damaged.

BEN BOX

      This article updates Costa Rica, history of (Costa Rica).

▪ 1997

      The Central American republic of Costa Rica has coastlines on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Area: 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 3.4 million. Cap.: San José. Monetary unit: Costa Rican colón, with (Oct. 11, 1996) a free rate of ₡214.48 to U.S. $1 (₡337.86 = £1 sterling). President in 1996, José María Figueres Olsen.

      In June 1996 the ruling National Liberation Party maintained its pact with the opposition Social Christian Unity Party to approve the Economic Guarantees bill. Among other measures, the bill restricted the government deficit to 1% of gross domestic product unless two-thirds of the congressional deputies agreed to a higher limit. The legislation would not be implemented until after the 1997 elections.

      In late July Hurricane Cesar struck Costa Rica, causing widespread damage, especially in the south. More than 30 people died, many communities were isolated, and parts of the Pan-American Highway were destroyed. Pres. José María Figueres Olsen estimated the cost of repairs at $100 million.

      The tourist industry, the country's main foreign exchange earner, was badly affected by the kidnapping of a German and a Swiss visitor in the first 2 1/2 months of 1996. Although both were released unharmed, many overseas operators canceled tours.

      (BEN BOX)

      This article updates Costa Rica, history of (Costa Rica).

▪ 1996

      The Central American republic of Costa Rica has coastlines on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Area: 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 3,344,000. Cap.: San José. Monetary unit: Costa Rican colón, with (Oct. 6, 1995) a free rate of ₡187.50 to U.S. $1 (₡296.42 = £1 sterling). President in 1995, José María Figueres Olsen.

      The year 1995 began with Costa Rica's government struggling to cope with a deteriorating economy, high inflation, and a budget deficit of 8% of gross domestic product. In February Pres. José María Figueres announced a plan to reduce the deficit with spending cuts and increased taxes, which was widely unpopular. Instead of increasing taxes to raise revenue, the opposition Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) proposed an accelerated privatization program.

      The nation's economic team failed to convince the International Monetary Fund that the government was taking the necessary steps to meet its economic targets. As a result, the World Bank refused to grant Costa Rica $100 million earmarked to finance the implementation of the country's structural adjustment program. Divisions within the Cabinet and the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) led to a Cabinet reshuffle in March in which the president of the central bank was replaced.

      On April 28 President Figueres and the leader of the PUSC, Rafael Angel Calderón, signed an accord that was followed the next day by approval of part of the fiscal reform package at a special session of the Legislative Assembly. As a result of the accord, the PLN agreed to vote in favour of a law to liberalize the banking system, support privatization, and end state monopolies in insurance, hydrocarbons, and telecommunications. Labour unions continued to organize strikes in protest against the economic measures, however, especially the tax increase and the planned layoff of 8,000 public-sector workers. Teachers went on strike in July and did not return until the government agreed in August to review its economic plan with labour union leaders.

      (SARAH CAMERON)

      This updates the article Costa Rica, history of (Costa Rica).

▪ 1995

      The Central American republic of Costa Rica has coastlines on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Area: 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 3,268,000. Cap.: San José. Monetary unit: Costa Rican colón, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a free rate of 159.70 colones to U.S. $1 (254.00 colones = £ 1 sterling). Presidents in 1994, Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier and, from May 8, José María Figueres Olsen.

      José María Figueres Olsen of the National Liberation Party was elected president of Costa Rica on Feb. 6, 1994, with 49.6% of the vote against 47.5% for his rival, Miguel Angel Rodríguez of the ruling Social Christian Unity Party. The closely fought campaign contained little difference in the candidates' ideologies or platforms but was notable for the bitterness between the two camps. Figueres, 39, is the son of José ("Pepé") Figueres Ferrer, who founded the modern Costa Rican state and served three terms as president. The new president faced the challenge of maintaining the welfare state while continuing economic growth.

      On August 1 the new administration presented its economic program, which differed only slightly from that of its predecessor. It aimed to keep inflation low, falling from 17% to a little over 14% by the end of 1994. The fiscal deficit was to be cut from 4.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.8% with the aid of a tax reform. Exports were to be promoted, and import growth was to be limited to 6%; as a result, the trade deficit was projected to fall to 4.9% of GDP in 1994 and to 3.2% in 1995. It was hoped that the economic goals contained in the plan would be adequate to release $250 million in structural adjustment loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.

      After three years of negotiations, Mexico and Costa Rica reached a bilateral free-trade agreement, due to come into effect on Jan. 1, 1995. More than 8,300 products were to be traded tariff-free immediately, with others to be introduced over 10 years. (SARAH CAMERON)

      This updates the article Costa Rica, history of (Costa Rica).

▪ 1994

      The Central American republic of Costa Rica has coastlines on the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Area: 51,100 sq km (19,730 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 3,199,000. Cap.: San José. Monetary unit: Costa Rican colón, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a free rate of 144.73 colones to U.S. $1 (219.26 colones = £ 1 sterling). President in 1993, Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier.

      Political parties in Costa Rica spent 1993 preparing for the February 1994 presidential and congressional elections. The ruling Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) chose as its presidential candidate Miguel Angel Rodríguez. The opposition National Liberation Party (PLN) selected José María Figueres, the son of the former president. The PUSC maintained its leadership in the municipal council elections on May 1 and in the internal congressional elections, but in national politics its popularity fell. Despite healthy growth of 7.8% in gross domestic product in 1992, a lower public-sector deficit, rising exports, and falling unemployment, incomes slumped, leading to labour unrest and strikes.

      On March 8, five armed Nicaraguans seized the Nicaraguan embassy in San José and took 25 hostages, including the ambassador. They demanded a $6 million ransom and the dismissal of the Nicaraguan armed forces commander, Humberto Ortega, and the minister of the presidency, Antonio Lacayo. All hostages were eventually released, and the kidnappers' leader, José Manuel Urbina Lara, a former contra, was granted asylum in the Dominican Republic.

      On April 26, five Costa Rican gunmen seized 19 Supreme Court justices and 5 assistants, demanding a $20 million ransom and safe passage to Brazil. Pres. Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier declared that the government would not pay ransom. On April 29 the hostages were released and the gunmen were arrested. The trial of former president Luís Alberto Monge and 18 other former PLN leaders charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of a disaster relief fund in 1983-85 opened on May 17.

      Stone Container Corp. of Chicago, which had a 10,125-ha (25,000-ac) plantation of gmelina, a fast-growing nonnative tree, was reported to be preparing to build the largest chip mill in Central America on the Osa Peninsula. Conservationists expressed fears that secondary forests and wetlands would be threatened, as would the Dulce Gulf, a breeding ground for whales, dolphins, and many species of fish.

      (SARAH CAMERON)

      This updates the article Costa Rica, history of (Costa Rica).

* * *

Introduction

Costa Rica, flag of   country of Central America. Its capital is San José.

      Of all the Central American countries, Costa Rica is generally regarded as having the most stable and most democratic government. Its constitution of 1949 provides for a unicameral legislature, a fair judicial system, and an independent electoral body. Moreover, the constitution abolished the country's army, gave women the right to vote, and provided other social, economic, and educational guarantees for all of its citizens. Throughout the 1970s and '80s Costa Rica managed to stay relatively peaceful compared with its war-torn neighbours. It has one of the highest literacy rates (more than nine-tenths) in the Western Hemisphere and a solid educational system from the primary grades through the university level. Several renowned universities and an active network of bookstores and publishing houses tend to make San José the nucleus of intellectual life in Central America. Because of the country's peaceful reputation and its commitment to human rights, several nongovernmental organizations and pro-democracy foundations have their headquarters in San José. Costa Rica is also known for its strong commitment to the environment and for protecting its numerous national parks. These factors, along with an established ecotourism industry, have attracted foreign investment, which shifted the country's once agriculture-based economy to one dominated by services and technology by the late 20th century.

      Ticos, as the people of Costa Rica are called, use the phrase pura vida (“pure life”) in their everyday speech, as a greeting or to show appreciation for something. Ticos are generally proud of their political freedoms and their relatively stable economy.

      Costa Rica's well-populated heartland, formed in and around the upland basin known as the Valle Central or Meseta Central, is devoted to the cultivation of coffee, one of the country's most important exports. In the region's outlying reaches, bananas—the principal export—are grown. Pineapples have become a significant export, surpassing coffee as the number two export by the late 20th century.

Land

 Extending from northwest to southeast, Costa Rica is bounded by Nicaragua to the north, by the Caribbean Sea along the 185-mile (300-km) northeastern coastline, by Panama to the southeast, and by the Pacific Ocean along the 630-mile (1,015-km) southwestern coastline. At the country's narrowest point, the distance between the Pacific and the Caribbean is only about 75 miles (120 km).

Relief

      Two mountain chains together run almost the entire length of Costa Rica. These are, in the north, the Cordillera Volcánica, noted for its volcanic activity, as the name implies, and, in the south, the Cordillera de Talamanca (Talamanca, Cordillera de). The Cordillera Volcánica may be divided into three ranges, from northwest to southeast: the Cordillera de Guanacaste (Guanacaste, Cordillera de), the Cordillera de Tilarán, and the Cordillera Central. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, the Cordillera de Talamanca is a massive granite batholith, quite different geologically from the volcanically active northern ranges. Costa Rica's highest point, Mount Chirripó (12,530 feet [3,819 metres]), is in the Talamanca system. Two of the highest peaks in the Cordillera Volcánica, Irazú (Irazú Volcano) (11,260 feet [3,432 metres]) and Poás (8,871 feet [2,704 metres]), have paved roads reaching to the rims of their active craters. These volcanoes, overlooking the Valle Central, pose a serious natural hazard, as do earthquakes for most of the country. Arenal Volcano (5,358 feet [1,633 metres]), about 56 miles (90 km) northwest of San José, is the country's most active volcano, continuously spewing lava and breccia. Its last major eruption, in 1968, destroyed two villages.

      The Valle Central is separated into two parts by the continental divide. The eastern part is drained by the Reventazón River to the Caribbean, and the western sector forms part of the basin of the Grande de Tárcoles River, which flows into the Pacific. Another large structural valley, the Valle del General, lies at the base of the Cordillera de Talamanca in the southern part of the country. To the north and east of the mountainous central spine lie the Caribbean lowlands, constituting about one-fifth of the country and reaching less than 400 feet (120 metres) in elevation. The Pacific lowlands, which contain several small valleys and plains, include only about one-tenth of Costa Rica's territory.

Climate

      Thermal convection and onshore breezes bring abundant rains to the Pacific coast in the wet season, generally May to October in the north and April to December in the south. Northeasterly trade winds on the Caribbean provide ample year-round precipitation for the country's east coast, with the heaviest amounts occurring in the Barra del Colorado region. The higher mountain ranges have warm temperate climates, and the Pacific slopes have alternating wet and dry seasons.

      Situated in the Valle Central at an elevation of 3,800 feet (1,160 metres), San José enjoys moderate temperatures and ample rainfall. Average monthly rainfall there ranges from well under 1 inch (25 mm) in February to more than 12 inches (300 mm) in September, with a yearly average of more than 70 inches (1,800 mm). Temperatures vary with elevation. San José has a mean temperature of 69 °F (21 °C), while means of 59 °F (15 °C) and 80 °F (27 °C) have been reported at stations located at 7,665 feet (2,340 metres) and 682 feet (210 metres), respectively.

Plant and animal life

 Dense broad-leaved evergreen forest, which includes mahogany and tropical cedar trees, covers about one-third of Costa Rica's landscape. On the Talamanca range grow numerous evergreen oaks and, above the timberline, mountain scrub and grasses. The northwest, with the longest dry season, contains open deciduous forest. Palm trees are common on the Caribbean coastline, and mangroves grow on the shallow protected shores of the Nicoya (Nicoya, Gulf of) and Dulce (Dulce, Gulf of) gulfs along the Pacific. Mosses, orchids, and other tropical plants are abundant. Many of the world's tropical biologists have carried out studies at the various research stations of the Organization for Tropical Studies, which has its headquarters in San Pedro, a suburb of San José, as well as at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza; CATIE) in Turrialba.

 Costa Rica's numerous and varied life zones make the country attractive to biologists. Mammalian life is both abundant and varied and has major ties to South and North American populations. The South American species include monkeys, anteaters, and sloths; the North American species include deer, wildcats, weasels, otters, coyotes, and foxes. There is a wide variety of tropical birds in the lowlands, and reptiles, such as snakes and iguanas, and frogs are common.

People

Ethnic groups

      Nearly four-fifths of Costa Rica's population is of European descent; as a result, Costa Rica has the largest percentage of people of Spanish descent in Central America. The Valle Central, with more than half the country's population, is the most predominantly Spanish region in both its manner of living and its ancestry. The next largest group consists of mestizos (people of mixed European and Indian ancestry), who constitute close to one-fifth of the country's inhabitants.

      The roughly one-tenth of the country's inhabitants who live in Guanacaste provincia (province) are a blend of the descendants of colonial Spanish, Indian, and African peoples; the Spanish they speak is more like that of Nicaragua than that of the Valle Central.

      People of African ancestry, who comprise an even smaller percentage of the total population, live mostly in the Caribbean lowland of Limón province. The descendants of workers brought from the West Indies (mainly from Jamaica) in the 19th century to build the Atlantic Railroad and work on banana plantations, they were the targets of racism, and for many years residence laws restricted them to the Caribbean coast. Moreover, in the late 1930s, when Panama disease hit the banana crop on the Atlantic coast and operations shifted to the Pacific coast, forcing many of Limón's inhabitants to seek work elsewhere, some Costa Ricans lobbied for laws barring the employment of blacks. Costa Rica's president signed a law in 1935 prohibiting banana plantation owners on the Pacific coast to employ “coloured” people, claiming that their relocation would upset the racial balance of the country. It was not until 1949 that the government abolished what was in effect Costa Rica's version of apartheid and allowed black residents of Limón to travel, enter the Valle Central region, and become citizens. Discrimination is still present in Costa Rica (though less obvious than before); many among the country's Spanish-descended majority consider blacks inferior owing to economic, cultural, and perceived “racial” differences. Because of these circumstances, the black community remains isolated from the national culture and faces many economic and social barriers.

      There is a small Chinese population, many of whom are also the descendants of imported labourers. Although it has assimilated into mainstream culture, the Chinese community has its own social clubs. Many Costa Ricans of Chinese descent own businesses in the retail and hospitality industries.

      Less than 1 percent of Costa Rica's population today is Indian (Central American and northern Andean Indian). Although estimates indicate that about 400,000 Indians lived in what is now Costa Rica before the Spanish conquest, that number was drastically reduced by the conquest itself, disease, and slave-raiding expeditions. The Bribrí and Cabécar reside in the Cordillera de Talamanca, and the Boruca (Brunca) and Térraba live in the hills around the Valle del General. A small number of Guatuso reside on the northern plains in Alajuela province. Most of Costa Rica's Indians are rapidly becoming assimilated, but those on the Caribbean side in the southern Talamanca region maintain their separate ways, including their animistic religions. Although Costa Rica's Indian groups are legally assigned to protected reserves, the land is infertile and most survive through subsistence agriculture. They are among the country's poorest people.

Languages

      Spanish in Costa Rica is spoken with a distinctive national accent and employs peculiar usages. Costa Ricans replace the diminutive ending -tito with -tico (hence their nickname), a practice known elsewhere but uncommon in Central America. Descendants of Africans in Limón province speak both Spanish and Limonese Creole, which resembles Jamaican English. The principal Indian languages spoken in Costa Rica are part of the Chibchan (Chibchan languages) language family and include Bribrí, Cabécar, Maléku Jaíka, Boruca, and Térraba.

Religion

      Slightly less than nine-tenths of Costa Ricans are Roman Catholics. Roman Catholicism is the official religion, and it is supported with a small part of the national budget; however, the constitution of 1949 provides for freedom of religion. Most of the remaining population is Protestant, the majority of whom live in Limón province. A transplanted community of Quakers (Quaker) from the U.S. state of Alabama moved to Costa Rica in the 1950s and founded the town of Monteverde. They were essential in the creation of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve. A small Jewish community resides mostly in or near San José. An extremely small group of Mennonites lives in the Sarapiqui area, at the base of the Cordillera Volcánica.

Settlement patterns

      Since the beginnings of European colonization, the Valle Central has been the heartland of Costa Rica. In the 19th century, settlement slowly expanded from the core areas around Cartago and San José into the western parts of the valley. This expansion was based on coffee production from small family farms. Such farms still prevail but had become less numerous by the second half of the 19th century, when Costa Rica started to export coffee beans. Only large farms had the capacity and labour to prepare and package the coffee for shipment. Small properties were bought and integrated into larger landholdings. Nevertheless, more than half of Costa Rica's coffee farms are 10 acres (4 hectares) or less in size, a factor that contributes to the democratic heritage for which the country is famed.

      During the 20th century, Costa Rica's settlement frontiers expanded outward rapidly from the Valle Central to incorporate peripheral areas, until virtually all the suitable lands in the country were settled and the spread of population effectively ended.

      In the Caribbean lowlands the banana industry thrived from the 1880s until the 1920s, when Panama disease forced closure of the plantations. New disease-resistant varieties of bananas allowed reestablishment of the Caribbean plantations in the late 1950s, thus reviving the economy. The southern Pacific coastal region was opened for banana production about 1938 by the development of plantations around Parrita and Golfito. After World War II, competition from other banana-producing countries increased, causing national production to decline, and the last company-owned plantations in the Pacific region were closed or replanted with oil palms (oil palm) by 1985. Elsewhere in the south, habitation of the Valle del General increased rapidly following construction of the Inter-American Highway (Pan-American Highway) during World War II and into the 1950s.

      The San Carlos Plain, part of the northern lowlands, was settled mainly after 1945, when roads were built that connected it with the Valle Central. In the 1970s and '80s more new roads brought additional expansion of agriculture and cattle grazing to this fertile area.

      The northwestern province of Guanacaste—where many people work on large cattle ranches, or haciendas, while also maintaining small agricultural plots of their own—was once a part of Nicaragua and still retains a variety of Nicaraguan cultural influences. In many ways, this is the least traditionally Costa Rican part of the country.

  San José is the only true metropolitan area in Costa Rica. The congested downtown contains major stores, government buildings, and the offices of many businesses. The few high-rise buildings are located in this city centre. Outside the downtown, San José has expanded outward to incorporate surrounding towns. The San José metropolitan area, which contains overall about one-fourth of Costa Rica's population, is a functionally integrated urban region that reaches from Alajuela and Heredia on the west to Cartago on the east.

Demographic trends

      In the mid-20th century, Costa Rica's population growth rate was among the highest in the world. As general prosperity and urbanization increased, however, the population growth rate decreased despite a drop in both the general and the infant mortality rates. This decrease in the population growth rate was largely attributable to the fact that by the late 20th century, middle-class Costa Rican families were having fewer children than previous generations. Life expectancy in Costa Rica is substantially longer than in most other Central American countries and is more comparable to life expectancies in developed countries.

      European immigration and customs have helped to mold Costa Rican history and influence its character. German, Italian, and British immigrants in the 19th century left an imprint on Costa Rican education, science, and culture. In the 1970s immigrants mainly came from Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. However, in the 1980s immigrants and refugees arrived from nearby countries. Economic problems and political and armed conflict in Nicaragua and other Central American countries drove thousands of refugees (mainly mestizos) into Costa Rica, altering the ethnic composition of the country. Since the 1990s there has been a constant flow into Costa Rica of Nicaraguans, more than 400,000 of whom were estimated to be living in the country in the early 2000s. Many of these immigrants face barriers in housing, education, and health care and live in rundown neighbourhoods. During Nicaragua's dictatorship and civil war in the 1980s, the Costa Rican government set up refugee camps to aid its neighbours. Furthermore, after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Costa Rica granted asylum to many Nicaraguan refugees. In the early 2000s, however, the government enforced harsher measures to control illegal immigration, including tighter border controls and fines for businesses that employed undocumented workers. It is estimated that one-tenth of the Nicaraguans in Costa Rica are illegal aliens. Nationwide polls show that many Costa Ricans possess negative stereotypes of Nicaraguans. Costa Rica has also become a mecca for retirees from the United States, tens of thousands of whom now live there.

Economy

      Costa Rica is neither rich, as its name (“Rich Coast”) implies, nor as poor as many of its neighbours. The country's wealth is better distributed among all social classes than elsewhere in Central America. During the 1980s the Costa Rican standard of living declined somewhat as a result of economic stagnation and inflation, but by the 1990s and into the 21st century the country was again vying with Panama and Belize for Central America's highest per capita gross national product (GNP).

      The government controls key utilities, including electricity, water, fixed-line telephone, and port and rail facilities, and the entire population is eligible for free medical care, but private enterprise is still strong and influential in policy making. Continuous efforts to diversify the economy have succeeded in reducing the traditional dependence on agricultural exports, particularly coffee, bananas, and beef. Despite stringent efforts to reduce spending, the Costa Rican government operates at a deficit, a condition that has fed the country's already large international debt. The economy rebounded after the economic stagnation of the 1980s; by the beginning of the 21st century, the rate of annual GNP growth was above the Central American average and was double the world average, while the country's chronic inflation had been brought largely under control. Per capita national debt, however, is among the largest in Central America.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

 Notwithstanding the country's traditional dependence on agriculture, less than one-sixth of economically active Costa Ricans work in the agricultural sector, which contributes about one-tenth of GNP. Sugar and coffee, from the highlands; bananas, produced mainly in the Caribbean lowlands; and pineapples, grown in farms located throughout the country, are some of the most important crops, accounting for nearly half the total value of all exports. Nontraditional agricultural products such as cut flowers, gourmet coffee, herbs, and macadamia nuts have increased in importance, and manufactured food products, fertilizer, handicrafts, garments, and publishing also have made inroads in the traditional economy. Palm oil for domestic consumption is an important product from the southern Pacific lowlands. Costa Rica has the capacity to feed itself but dedicates a large share of its land to the production of export crops.

      Extensive deforestation went unchecked in the last few decades of the 20th century, when much of Costa Rica's timber reserves were cleared to make way for pasture or cropland. But by the end of the century the government had taken measures to limit use of trees for wood and fuel, had joined the private sector in further managing forest harvesting, and was compensating owners of woodlands for the environmental benefits of maintaining their forests. The best remaining stands of tropical hardwoods are in protected parks and forest reserves.

      Costa Rica's fishing industry, concentrated mostly on the Pacific coast and focusing primarily on tuna and shrimp, supplies both the domestic market and exports. Tilapia fish farming, which grew significantly in the 1990s, has made Costa Rica the principal supplier of tilapia to the United States.

Resources and power

      Costa Rica's agricultural land and climate are its most important natural resources. The country has few mineral resources. The most important are the yet-unexploited bauxite deposits in the General and Coto Brus valleys and copper in the Cordillera de Talamanca. There is manganese on and near the Nicoya Peninsula, gold on the Osa Peninsula and parts of the Pacific slopes, and magnetite on scattered beaches, particularly on the southern Caribbean coastline. Geologic conditions are promising for petroleum in the southern Caribbean coast, but exploration has proved disappointing. For many years a number of hydroelectric (hydroelectric power) plants have supplied domestic needs and provided a surplus for export. In fact, by the early 21st century about four-fifths of the country's electricity was produced from these plants, which do not emit greenhouse gases. The Angostura hydroelectric plant in central Costa Rica, which began operations in 2000, is the country's largest.

Manufacturing

      Manufacturing contributes about one-fifth of Costa Rica's GNP and employs approximately one-sixth of the economically active population. Most industry is concentrated in the Valle Central, but a few plants operate in Puntarenas and Limón. Food and beverage processing, soap, paper, pharmaceuticals, and furniture making are domestically important. The main items manufactured for export are machinery, food products, textiles, and chemical and electronic products.

      By the late 1990s Costa Rica had started to shift from an agriculture- and textile-based economy to a high-tech industrial one, though the textile industry rebounded in the late 20th century, largely owing to the development of plants making clothing from imported cloth for export to the United States. The U.S.-based Intel Corporation opened a large microprocessor semiconductor assembly and testing facility in Costa Rica in 1997, providing thousands of jobs. Since then, other large foreign technology and pharmaceutical companies have followed, attracted by the country's location, political stability, high number of college graduates, and tax incentives.

Finance

      Costa Rica has both state-owned and private banks, and a national federation of savings and loan cooperatives supervises an extensive network of local agencies. Its national currency is the colón. There is a small national stock exchange. Insurance is a state monopoly controlled by the National Insurance Institute. Costa Rica is generally favourable toward foreign investment, and foreign-owned companies control a large segment of both agricultural and industrial production. Permitted in Costa Rican free trade zones, foreign direct investment (FDI) now generates about one-third of the country's exports, compared with only one-tenth in the 1990s.

Trade

      Since the late 1980s Costa Rica's exports have diversified beyond the traditional staples of coffee and bananas. With the arrival of Intel and other technology companies, computer microchips became the country's top export in the early 21st century. Coffee, bananas, and pineapples are still shipped in great quantities to the United States and western and central Europe. Other exports of importance include textiles, fish and shrimp, sugar, and cut flowers. Beef, formerly the third largest export, has declined in importance.

      More than two-fifths of exports go to the United States; other countries receiving Costa Rican exports include China, The Netherlands, Germany, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Costa Rica maintains a strong trade relationship with China, with which it officially established diplomatic relations in 2007 (after breaking ties with Taiwan).

      Costa Rica imports staples such as corn (maize) and beans (which it could produce but does not) from its neighbours, along with products such as wheat (from the United States), for which the Costa Rican climate is not suitable. Nonfood imports include insecticides and other chemicals, machinery, and crude oil and petroleum products. More than two-fifths of imports come from the United States; most of the rest originate in Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela. In 2007 Costa Rica approved the implementation of the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR) with the United States by a slim margin in a public referendum.

Services

 The service industry accounts for more than three-fifths of GNP. A substantially larger number of Costa Ricans are employed in the service industries than in manufacturing. Commerce, finance and real estate, tourism, public administration, transport, construction, and utilities are other important branches of economic activity. By the mid-1990s, tourism had soared beyond the banana industry to rank first as a source of foreign exchange and income. Costa Rica's rainforests, national parks, beaches, volcanoes, and biodiversity attract tourists, as does its reputation as a stable country. Resorts, condominiums, and other developments continue to be built along the coasts and around major tourist attractions.

Labour and taxation

      Though the break between the wealthy and manual workers is less distinct in Costa Rica than in other Central American countries, there remains a large number of agricultural and industrial labourers who earn very low wages. The poorest areas are the province of Limón, the Cordillera de Talamanca, the northern lowlands, and isolated parts of the Pacific coast. The San José metropolitan area stands out as the area of greatest affluence. About one-third of the documented workforce is made up of women. Nicaraguan immigrants make up about one-tenth of manual labourers (mainly in the agriculture and construction sectors) in Costa Rica. Their presence has helped keep production costs low for agricultural exports.

      Costa Rica has municipal, sales, transfer, and income taxes. Corporations are also taxed.

Transportation and telecommunications

      The hub of Costa Rican transportation is in the Valle Central. A highway extends west from San José to beyond San Ramón. Additional highways, completed in the 1980s and '90s, have greatly reduced distance and travel time between San José and the Caribbean lowlands. Elsewhere in the Valle Central are narrow, often tortuous, paved routes, with few interconnections, that reach the many valley and mountain communities in the immediate area. The Northern Pacific Railroad, which connected San José to the Caribbean coast, suffered severe damage from floods and was abandoned in 1991. The electric rail line from San José to Puntarenas discontinued long-distance service at about the same time but continues to operate locally. The Inter-American Highway connects Costa Rica with Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.

      Limón and Puntarenas have port facilities constructed at nearby Moín and Caldera, respectively. These facilities are equipped to handle containerized cargo and, in the case of Moín, petroleum shipments. The southern Pacific port of Golfito, once an important banana-shipping centre, handles little trade since the decline of banana production there. Limón is the busiest of the three ports.

      Juan Santamaría Airport, about 15 miles (24 km) west of San José, is Costa Rica's main international airport. There is also an international airport in Liberia, a gateway to many Pacific coast beach resorts. Lineas Aereas Costarricenses (LACSA), the Costa Rican national airline, maintains regular service to Central American and Caribbean locations as well as to the United States. Elsewhere in the country are smaller airports, some with paved and some with gravel strips, that are used by small planes and offer local service.

      Telecommunication services have been provided through the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad; ICE), a state-owned monopoly since 1949. In 2008 Congress approved a bill to end the ICE's monopoly and to open the cellular phone and Internet service markets to competition, reforms that were required for compliance with the terms of CAFTA–DR. Attempts to privatize the industry had been deterred by widespread strikes and protests beginning in 1999. Costa Rica has some of the highest rates of Internet and cellular phone usage in Central America. Because of the excess demand for cellular phones, paging services have become popular, and there are several in the country. The broadcasting sector also has been privatized.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

 Costa Rica is governed by its constitution of November 1949, the 10th in its history. A president, two vice presidents, and a unicameral Legislative Assembly are elected at the same time for a term of four years, the assembly by proportional representation. Presidents may not run for immediate reelection, though they are eligible to serve again after sitting out two successive presidential terms.

      Since the adoption of the constitution of 1949, Costa Rica has given an unusual degree of power to autonomous agencies, including state-financed universities and regional development institutes such as the National Insurance Institute, the Social Security Institute, and the Costa Rica Tourist Institute. These agencies provide additional opportunity for participation in government, but because of powers independent of the central administration they have made central planning more challenging.

Local government

      The country's seven provinces are administered by governors appointed by the president. The provinces represent judicial and electoral jurisdictions; most government agencies with their own administrative branches may not account for provincial boundaries. Each province is divided into cantones (cantons), and each canton is divided into distritos (districts). Councilmen for the cantons are elected locally, but budgets for all political units are approved by the national government, which controls nearly all the funds available to local governments.

Justice

      In the Costa Rican system of justice, cases may be decided by a single judge or by a panel of judges; the jury system is not used, but the courts are generally noted for their fairness. Capital punishment is banned, and sentences to the penitentiary must be for a stated number of years. The highest court is the Supreme Court of Justice. Magistrates of the Supreme Court are chosen by the assembly for eight-year terms and automatically continue for a second eight-year term unless removed by a two-thirds vote. An independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which has extraordinary powers during elections, oversees the election process.

Political process

      All citizens over age 18 are obliged to register to vote and to participate in elections. Voter turnout has traditionally been high, averaging about four-fifths of eligible voters from the 1960s through 1994, before falling thereafter. Costa Rica has a stable democratic government. The fairness of national elections has been indicated by the fact that almost every four-year period since the mid-20th century has seen a change in the party winning the presidency. Two parties have traditionally dominated: the National Liberation Party (Partido de Liberación Nacional; PLN), which since 1949 has controlled the National Assembly more often than not, and the Social Christian Unity Party (Partido Unidad Social Cristiana; PUSC). The former, founded by the moderate socialist José Figueres Ferrer (Ferrer, José) in 1948, was largely responsible for establishing the health, education, and welfare reforms for which Costa Rica is noted. The PUSC, a four-party coalition formed in 1977, is more conservative and business-oriented than the PLN. In 2000 the Citizen Action Party (Partido Acción Ciudadana; PAC) was founded as an alternative.

Security

      Costa Rica has no army and promotes demilitarization elsewhere as a part of its foreign policy. It maintains a nonconscripted civil guard that has police duties. There also are district police.

Health and welfare

      Costa Rica has greatly reduced the incidence of diseases associated with tropical climates. Malaria has been virtually eliminated except in the border areas with Nicaragua; waterborne diseases are rare; and mortality rates are low. The incidence of cancer and heart disease has risen, however. Costa Rica's Social Security Institute, founded in the 1940s, is often considered a model for other Latin American countries.

      A number of agencies promoting human rights have established headquarters in San José, including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights. The Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, created in 1988 by Oscar Arias Sánchez (Arias Sánchez, Oscar) following his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize, lobbies for gender equity and equal opportunity and peace and security and includes a higher education and research division.

Education

      The constitution provides for free and compulsory education. The central government oversees school attendance, curricula, and other educational matters. About one-fourth of the country's budget is allocated to education, and more than nine-tenths of the population is literate. School attendance is relatively high, with more than nine-tenths of children age 6 to 11 enrolled in primary schools and more than three-fifths of students age 12 to 16 enrolled in secondary schools.

      The University of Costa Rica (1941) has a well-planned, functional main campus in San Pedro, a suburb of San José, as well as a number of branches in outlying cities; the National University has a smaller campus in Heredia; and the “open” university, Universidad Estatal a Distancia (1977), offers courses by television from offices in San José. The Autonomous University of Central America (1976) is also located in San José, as are several private institutions of higher education. Through the initiative of Pres. Rodrigo Carazo Odio (Carazo Odio, Rodrigo) (1978–82), Costa Rica became the home of the University for Peace in 1980. The Technological Institute of Costa Rica (Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica [ITCR]; founded in 1971 in Cartago) provides engineering and other technical training. Scores of foreign universities maintain exchange programs with Costa Rica's universities.

Cultural life

Cultural milieu

      Most Costa Rican diversions are cosmopolitan rather than nationalistic in nature. Ticos attend films with great frequency, enjoying international cinema. They listen to an extraordinary variety of music, especially from the many radio stations in the country. Cable television enables them to keep up with global events. Residents of the Valle Central attend the National Theatre, where the music played and the drama performed may come from any part of the world. Extended family and other personal connections through school, business, political, or religious associations are very important to ticos.

      As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, Costa Rica observes many holy days and feasts. Among the most important are Semana Santa, or Holy Week, when most of the country's towns suspend business for several days of ceremonies and parades, and the Day of the Virgin of Los Angeles (August 2), which honours Costa Rica's patron saint and is marked by fireworks and feasting. On a secular level, Juan Santamaría Day (April 11) celebrates the Costa Rican patriot who organized a volunteer army to turn back the invading American adventurer William Walker (Walker, William) in 1856. The Guanacaste region, in Costa Rica's northwest, is known for raising cattle, and in late July several of its towns hold fairs that feature bullfighting, dancing, equestrian competitions, and cavalcades. Celebrations in San José draw crowds to its unique collection of plazas—notably the Democracy, Culture, Free Elections, and Social Guarantees plazas.

The arts

      Costa Ricans take a strong interest in their pre-Columbian art, which includes large stone statues from the Pacific northwest of the country, exquisitely carved stone spheres (probably cemetery markers) from the Pacific southwest region, and fine figurines of gold and jade. The fine arts have seldom flourished in Costa Rica, but they have received some impetus from government support, particularly with the creation in 1970 of the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports. Painting, sculpture, and music all showed considerable development in the latter part of the 20th century. Particular pride was taken in the growth of the National Symphony Orchestra since 1971, with the ensemble playing large halls and also taking music to the countryside. Costa Ricans have been marginally active in the field of literature. Roberto Brenes Mesén and Ricardo Fernández Guardia were widely known in the early 20th century as independent thinkers in the fields of education and history, respectively. Fabián Dobles and Carlos Luis Fallas have attracted international attention as writers of novels with social protest themes. Carmen Naranjo is one of several noted female writers. Among the folk arts, Costa Rica is most famous for its highly decorated oxcarts and wood carvings.

Cultural institutions

 Most of the country's cultural institutions are centred in and around the capital. The country's architectural crown jewel, the Renaissance-style National Theatre (1897), on the south side of the Plaza of Culture, features statues, marble staircases, magnificent murals depicting Costa Rican life, and a ceiling fresco. The National Museum in downtown San José houses the country's largest collection of pre-Columbian art. A fine collection of gold objects can be found in the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, located beneath the Plaza of Culture. The Fidel Tristan Jade Museum contains the largest collection of jade in the Americas. Outside of San José, Guayabo National Park, near Turrialba, features the country's only preserved pre-Columbian archaeological site. Because of the small population in the colonial period and the absence of significant wealth at that time, genuine colonial architecture is rather scarce, the most famed example being a 17th-century mission in the town of Orosí. Cartago's older buildings, destroyed by earthquakes, have in some cases been restored; new ones like them have also been built.

Sports and recreation

      As elsewhere in Central America, football (football (soccer)) (soccer) is the Costa Rican national pastime, and there are dozens of local and provincial teams. The sport was introduced to the country by English settlers in the early 20th century, and succeeding generations have refined an aggressive style of play that has repeatedly earned Costa Rica's national team the Central American Soccer Union (Unión Centroamericana de Futbol; UNCAF) Nations Cup as the champions of Central America. Although its Olympic committee was not founded until 1953, Costa Rica participated in the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin, and Costa Rican athletes have attended every Summer Games since 1956, finding their greatest success in football. But it was swimmer Claudia Poll Ahrens who won the country's first gold medal, in the 200-metre freestyle event at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

      Costa Rica has developed the largest national park system, relative to its size, of any Latin American country. These parks include a sweeping range of tropical ecosystems, such as tropical rainforest (Corcovado National Park; Manuel Antonio National Park), cloud forest (Monteverde), dry forest, and elfin forest. Other parks include active volcanoes, turtle nesting sites (Tortuguero National Park, Playa Grande, and Ostional National Wildlife Refuge), and coral reefs (Cahuita National Park). International tourists are attracted by these parks, some of which are noted worldwide for their vegetation and wildlife. The country's national beaches are a major attraction for Costa Ricans as well, who flock to them on weekends and major holidays. Popular beaches include Manuel Antonio, Conchal, Flamingo, Tamarindo, and Grande.

      Although it features picturesque uncrowded beaches on both its Caribbean and Pacific coasts, Costa Rica was somewhat late in developing an ocean sports industry. That changed when Costa Rica's Pacific beaches were prominently featured in the 1994 American film The Endless Summer 2. Surfers from around the world began to descend on such magnificent surfing spots as El Potrero, Roca Bruja, Pico Pequeño, Callejones, Mal País, and Puerto Viejo. The last, lying alongside a tall coral reef, offers especially challenging surfing. Others flock to the same beaches for their outstanding diving sites and clear, warm waters. Sportfishing on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is popular with tourists.

Media and publishing

      Numerous publishing houses operate in the country, issuing both fiction and nonfiction on a wide range of topics. The government-operated Editorial Costa Rica and publishing outlets of major universities are the most prolific of the publishing houses. Both the number and variety of publications available in Costa Rican bookstores surpass those of any other Central American country and some South American countries as well. La Nación (“The Nation”), an independent but conservative daily, is the most widely read of Costa Rica's newspapers. It is balanced by La Républica (“The Republic”) and La Prensa Libre (“The Free Press”), independents that lean more toward reform ideas. The Tico Times, an English-language newspaper, has established a reputation for its investigative reporting. There are several television stations, one of which is government-owned.

Franklin D. Parker Gary S. Elbow Charles L. Stansifer

History

      In 1502 Christopher Columbus (Columbus, Christopher)'s fourth Atlantic voyage brought him to the shores of Costa Rica, where he remained for 18 days refitting his ships. Relations with the native people became friendly enough that they brought him a number of items of gold, possibly prompting Columbus to name the land “Rich Coast,” although there is some dispute over the origin of the name. Other more promising regions forced Spain to neglect the area, however, and the first significant settlement in what is now Costa Rica did not take place until much later. In 1564 the Spanish crown established the village of Cartago in the Valle Central, or Meseta Central, as the first permanent settlement.

      Theoretically under the political jurisdiction of the captain general of Guatemala and the spiritual guidance of the bishop of León in Nicaragua, Costa Rica was largely ignored by both administrations. The absence of precious metals meant the collection of few taxes from the ticos, as Costa Ricans are called; consequently Spain provided little help in developing the infrastructure of the province. Compared with other colonies, Costa Rica lacked the large labour force so essential in the Spanish scheme of conquest. The Indian population drastically declined during and immediately following conquest; any survivors resisted capture by disappearing into the forests rather than succumbing to the encomienda, Spain's usual system of forced labour. Lacking products for a great overseas market, the Costa Ricans eked out a subsistence economy based on cacao (the source of cocoa beans) and tobacco. Hence, most people were small landowners with a close personal interest in local affairs. Historians often give credit to these developments for the growth of the democratic ideals that have become associated with Costa Rica. It should be noted, however, that some persons who became rich established a small finca- (estate-) based oligarchy, which provided political leadership well into the 20th century.

Independence

      When Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1821, Costa Rica, with other parts of Central America, joined the short-lived Mexican Empire. In 1823 Costa Rica helped create the United Provinces of Central America but, disenchanted with the strife in the other four states of the federation, severed its ties in 1838. A pattern of isolationism similar to that of the colonial period was reinforced. Indeed, Costa Ricans invariably showed little interest in the many attempts to revive the federation throughout the 19th and most of the 20th century, until their country joined the Central American Common Market in 1962.

      Costa Rican leaders soon realized the potential for coffee (coffee production) cultivation and strove to promote coffee planting. From the 1840s a constant stream of oxcarts carried coffee from the Valle Central to Pacific ports and ships bound for Europe. This trade triggered British investment. Unlike sugar and indigo planters, coffee farmers with even small acreage could derive an adequate if simple existence, and Costa Ricans achieved a competitive advantage over coffee farmers in other Latin American countries.

      Costa Rica's policy of isolationism did not completely save it from foreign troubles. In 1825 the province of Guanacaste seceded from Nicaragua and joined Costa Rica, creating an issue that was contended until the boundary treaty of 1896. Political refugees from other Central American countries attempted, and occasionally succeeded, in involving Costa Rica in regional conflicts. Another danger developed when William Walker (Walker, William) and his band of filibusters took over Nicaragua in 1856, threatening all of Central America. Costa Rican troops participated in the Central American coalition force that drove Walker out of the region.

      Material progress came to Costa Rica during the era of Gen. Tomás Guardia, who dominated the country from 1870 until 1882. His government curtailed liberty and added to the debt, but it also brought increases in coffee and sugar exports as well as widespread construction of schools. A new constitution, adopted in 1871, remained in effect, except for a brief interlude (1917–19), until 1949. The emphasis on agricultural exports strained transportation, and, with mainly British funds, Costa Rica sought to link the Valle Central with the seaports by railway. The chief promoter was an American, Minor C. Keith, who made a fortune with the opening of his rail line between Cartago and Limón. With vast land grants, Keith then entered the banana business. By the late 19th century, bananas were beginning to rival coffee as the chief source of Costa Rican foreign exchange, especially after Keith's investments were merged with others to form the United Fruit Company in 1899.

      The last decades of the 19th century were also marked by a gradual decline in Roman Catholic Church activity in secular affairs. The Jesuits were expelled for a few years, cemeteries were secularized, and public education was expanded. In 1886 free public education became compulsory; public schools, a museum, and a national library were founded. Though the government continued to support the church, the constitution of 1871 provided for religious toleration. Strengthening the tradition of democracy for which Costa Rica was to become famed throughout Latin America was the victory in 1889 of Pres. José Joaquín Rodríguez in what is considered the first entirely free and honest election in all of Central America.

Costa Rica in the 20th century

      In the early 20th century Costa Rica and four other Central American republics established the Central American Court of Justice, the first international court with wide juridical powers. The headquarters were established in Cartago, but, when the building was destroyed in the 1910 earthquake, the headquarters were moved to San José. One of the court's landmark cases involved the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty (Bryan–Chamorro Treaty) of 1916, which gave the United States permission to use the San Juan River (the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica) as part of an interoceanic canal route. Costa Rica protested that Nicaragua was violating preexisting treaty rights and that opening a route would threaten Costa Rican security. The claim was brought before the court, which ruled in Costa's Rica's favour; however, Nicaragua refused to accept the ruling and withdrew from the court. Because of Nicaragua's withdrawal and an overall ineffective judicial procedure, the court dissolved in 1918 after 10 years in existence. However, the building in San José, which had been constructed with help from a donation by U.S. philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (Carnegie, Andrew), became the home of Costa Rica's Ministry of Foreign Relations.

      Costa Rica's boundary with Panama (originally with Colombia, before Panamanian independence) was also in dispute. Arbitration awards by France and the United States in 1900 and 1914, respectively, had been generally favourable to Costa Rica but were rejected by Panama. In 1921 Costa Rica attempted forcible occupation of this area (on the Pacific coast) but was diverted by the intervention of the United States. Panama then evacuated the region, but relations between the two small states were not reestablished until 1928. In 1941 the governments finally reached an accord over the boundary.

Transition to democracy

      Meanwhile, Costa Rica suffered an interruption in its march toward democratic, civilian-controlled government. When the country held an election under direct suffrage for the first time, in 1913, no candidate won a majority, and the Legislative Assembly chose Alfredo González Flores as president. Disgruntled over tax reforms proposed by González, Gen. Federico Tinoco Granados in 1917 led one of the country's few coups. Tinoco's despotic behaviour soon cost him his popularity. His administration was also impeded by the refusal of the U.S. government to recognize his regime, and revolts and the threat of U.S. intervention caused him to resign in 1919.

      This experiment in dictatorship was not repeated, and Costa Rica continued its tradition of democratic elections and orderly government. A literacy test for voters was adopted in 1920 and the secret ballot in 1925. Costa Rica's most serious political crisis since 1917 came in 1948. Former president Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia (1940–44) formed an unusual political coalition consisting of members of the communist Popular Vanguard Party and the Catholic Church to bring about significant improvement in workers' conditions and social security. Some thought the coalition went too far when it tried to prevent the seating of the president-elect, Otilio Ulate, a Social Democrat. José Figueres Ferrer (Figueres Ferrer, José), an outspoken landowner who favoured a greater role for state enterprise, organized local and foreign militia and trained them at his farm. His army, which evolved into the National Liberation Party (Partido Liberación Nacional; PLN), launched a successful rebellion against the government and sparked a brief civil war in which about 2,000 civilians were killed. The war ended after a compromise was reached under which Figueres promised to restore order, to preserve some of Calderón's reforms, and to then turn over the presidency to Ulate. Figueres led the country for 18 months. A new constitution, promulgated in 1949 by Figueres's regime, prohibited the establishment or maintenance of an army, established women's suffrage, strengthened the electoral tribunal, abolished institutionalized racism, nationalized the banking system, and gave great powers to state corporations, known as autonomous agencies. Then, as promised, the junta turned the government over to Ulate. Figueres was elected twice in his own right, in 1953 and again in 1970, establishing his PLN as the dominant group in the Legislative Assembly.

Costa Rica from 1974 to 2000

      In 1974 Daniel Oduber succeeded Figueres as president. Although both belonged to the PLN, Oduber and his predecessor soon fell out over Figueres's ties to the U.S. financier Robert Vesco (Vesco, Robert Lee), who had found refuge in Costa Rica from an indictment on conspiracy charges in New York City. Vesco left Costa Rica in 1978, but the splintering of the PLN made possible the presidential victory of Rodrigo Carazo Odio (Carazo Odio, Rodrigo) of the Social Christian Unity Party (Partido Unidad Social Cristiana; PUSC) in that year. Carazo faced serious diplomatic and economic problems. When the Sandinista insurgency broke out against the Somoza (Somoza family) regime in Nicaragua, strong anti-Somoza feeling in Costa Rica resulted in Costa Rican government support of the Sandinista cause. After the Sandinistas were successful and began to drift closer to the Soviet bloc and to support drastic change in Central America, public opinion in Costa Rica shifted against the new Nicaraguan regime. Diplomatic relations deteriorated. Thousands of Nicaraguans and other Central American refugees escaping civil war or civil rights abuses fled to Costa Rica and strained the country's capacity to absorb them. Many refugees were deported for using Costa Rica as a military base.

      Even more enduring were the country's economic troubles. Although Costa Rica remained politically stable, Central America's conflicts discouraged tourism. Economic growth slowed to very near zero when the price of oil became so high that almost all of the country's coffee crop income was needed to pay for foreign oil. Inflation rates fluctuated sharply, and unemployment rose. Hospital, dock, banana, and railroad workers received small pay raises after staging disruptive strikes. Many years of easy credit, excessive government spending, and unfavourable trade balances brought the country to the brink of economic ruin. Carazo and the bankers failed to reach an agreement and left the problem for the new president, Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez of the PLN, who took office in 1982. In return for extending Costa Rica's debts, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank insisted that Monge impose severe austerity measures, including devaluation of the colón, budget and tax cuts, and suspension of some subsidies.

      In addition to his economic woes, Monge had to face pressure from the United States to cooperate with the anti-Sandinista counterrevolution based in Honduras, while public opinion pressed for neutrality. Monge opted to declare his country's official neutrality but secretly cooperated with the United States.

      In 1986 Monge was succeeded by another member of the PLN, Oscar Arias Sánchez (Arias Sánchez, Oscar), who faced many of the same economic problems. Costa Rica continued to be beset by nearly $5 billion in foreign debt, too-rapid urbanization, inadequate housing, unemployment, and adjustments necessitated by privatization of state monopolies. More than one-third of the country's income was derived from international loans. Civil wars elsewhere in Central America continued bringing thousands of fugitives into Costa Rican exile, and illicit drug traffic imposed new forms of corruption on the land.

      Aside from some easing of the debt structure, Arias could accomplish little with these matters, but he created for himself a powerful role in international affairs. A wealthy coffee grower and political scientist educated in England, Arias spent most of his term leading a regional peace movement designed to end the bitter Contra war in Nicaragua and guerrilla conflicts in El Salvador and Guatemala. Because he refused to aid the Contras, he expected and received little support from the United States, but he achieved considerable success in rallying forces in Central America in favour of ending conflict. He did more than any other person to reduce tensions and create machinery to end the bloody Central American struggles. In 1987 President Arias received the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts.

Thomas L. Karnes Charles L. Stansifer

      Arias, constitutionally ineligible to run in 1990, was succeeded by Rafael Angel Calderón Fournier of the PUSC. Calderón Fournier, son of the reform president of the 1940–44 period, Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia, had lost two previous presidential campaigns. Calderón Fournier had campaigned to expand social welfare programs and to reduce income inequalities, but, faced with a large budget deficit, he instead enacted austerity measures, costing him and his party popularity. As president, he inaugurated the Plaza of Social Guarantees in honour of his father's establishment of social security. But the 1990s dictated different measures, and Calderón Fournier presided over neoliberal policies, including eliminating protectionist legislation and favouring privatization of banks and other state agencies. These steps and lower petroleum prices helped to improve the country's economic condition. Peace in Central America helped tourism, but world markets for Costa Rica's traditional agricultural products slowed the flow of foreign exchange.

      In 1994 PLN candidate José María Figueres Olsen (the son of three-time president José Figueres Ferrer) won the presidency, defeating the PUSC's Miguel Angel Rodríguez Echeverría, though the PLN failed to win an outright majority in the Legislative Assembly. Figueres's policy prescriptions for Costa Rica's ailing economy—spending cuts and tax increases—alienated large segments of the public. His government was also hurt by the World Bank's refusal to grant Costa Rica money to finance its structural adjustment program. The fiscal crisis led to an accord between the PLN and PUSC that enabled the enactment of reforms. In 1996 Costa Rica's economic difficulties were compounded by Hurricane Cesar, which caused widespread damage, particularly in the southern part of the country.

      While Figueres's presidential campaign indicated that he shared some of his father's faith and the PLN's traditional support of statist policies, he spent much of his time courting private enterprise. Although gross national product (GNP) in the 1996–98 period was still low, Figueres could claim credit for reducing inflation by nearly half. By reforming the public pension system and improving tax collection, the Figueres government significantly reduced the deficit as a percentage of the GNP. The Costa Rican government, long considered an example of a bloated bureacracy, was coming down to size, whether controlled by the PUSC or the PLN.

      In 1998 the PUSC's Miguel Angel Rodríguez, promising to reduce poverty and improve the lives of women and young people, was elected president. With tourism booming and Costa Rica able to attract foreign investment, particularly from high-technology firms, the economy rebounded.

Costa Rica in the 21st century

      The 2002 presidential and legislative elections shattered the stable two-party system that the country had enjoyed for several decades. Although the PUSC retained the presidency, its nominee, Abel Pacheco de la Espriella, was forced into an unprecedented runoff, as no candidate garnered at least 40 percent of the vote in the first round. In elections to the Legislative Assembly, the Citizen Action Party (Partido Acción Ciudadana; PAC) won 14 seats, denying an overall majority to either the PUSC or the PLN.

      The following year Costa Rica's Supreme Court annulled the 1969 legislative reform of the constitution that limited a president to a single four-year term, thus reverting to the 1949 constitution, which enabled a former president to seek the presidency again after having been out of office for eight years. The annulment allowed former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Arias to announce his candidacy for president in 2004. During this time, Pacheco's administration experienced a growing budget deficit and was scarred by the discovery of funds from his campaign in Panamanian banks. Also, three past presidents of his party, the PUSC, were charged with accepting bribes and placed under house arrest. Moreover, former president Rodríguez was forced to resign as secretary-general of the Organization of American States to return to Costa Rica to respond to these corruption charges.

      Arias won the presidency in the 2006 elections, beating Ottón Solís Fallas of PAC by a slim margin. He proposed ending state-run monopolies in electric power, social security, and telecommunications and favoured ratifying the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR) with the United States, despite protests from trade unions and other organizations. Costa Rican citizens voted in favour of the agreement by a narrow margin in the country's first national referendum, held in 2007. In the process Costa Rica became the last Central American country to ratify the agreement. Also in 2007, President Arias officially established diplomatic relations with China in an effort to promote trade and economic cooperation, breaking off 60 years of formal ties with Taiwan.

Charles L. Stansifer

Additional Reading

Geography

Harold D. Nelson (ed.), Costa Rica: A Country Study (1984); and Christopher P. Baker, Costa Rica Handbook, 3rd ed. (1999), provide general information on Costa Rican geography, society, economy, and history. Carolyn Hall, Costa Rica: A Geographical Interpretation in Historical Perspective (1985), offers comprehensive information on Costa Rican population distribution and land use. Sterling Evans, The Green Republic: A Conservation History of Costa Rica (1999), gives emphasis to Costa Rica's environmental successes since the 1970s. Mavis Biesanz Hiltunen, Richard Biesanz, and Karen Zubris Biesanz, The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica (1999), examines Costa Rican society, history, and institutions.

History

Iván Molina and Steven Palmer, The History of Costa Rica (1998; originally published in Spanish, 1997), offers a brief outline of the country's history. Lowell Gudmundson, Costa Rica Before Coffee: Society and Economy on the Eve of the Export Boom (1986), is an excellent reevaluation of the early development of Costa Rica and includes considerable discussion of the myths of Costa Rican history and its historiography. Margarita Rojas Gonzáles and Flora Ovares, 100 años de literatura costarricense (1995), places Costa Rican poetry, narrative, theatre, and essays in historical context. Watt Stewart, Keith and Costa Rica (1964), discusses the fascinating career of the railroad builder, financier, and fruit company executive Minor C. Keith.Anthony Winson, Coffee and Democracy in Modern Costa Rica (1989), analyzes the relationship between small-farmer coffee production and the development of democracy. Charles D. Ameringer, Democracy in Costa Rica (1982), is an excellent source on the formation and persistence of democracy in Costa Rica. John Patrick Bell, Crisis in Costa Rica (1971), is the definitive English-language investigation of the 1948 revolution. John A. Booth, Costa Rica: Quest for Democracy (1998), is an up-to-date interpretation of Costa Rica's political system, with more attention to the period since 1948. Charles D. Ameringer, Don Pepe (1978), is a political study of the major Costa Rican figure of the 20th century, José Figueres. Ilse Abshagen Leitinger (ed. and trans.), The Costa Rican Women's Movement: A Reader (1997), provides details on women's access to political power in the 1990s.

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