About Costa Rica

- Area: 51,100 sq km.
- Population: 4,563,000 inhabitants (2010 estimate).
- Capital: San Jose.
- Density: 89 inhab. / Km ².
- Languages: Spanish is the official language but English is also used.
- Religion: Catholic overwhelming majority (nearly 90%).
- Literacy rate: 95%, one of the highest in the continent.
- Life expectancy: 74 years for men, 80 years for women.

- Currency: CRC.

- Head of state: Laura Chinchilla (first elected woman president in Costa Rica in February 2010).

- World Heritage Sites by UNESCO: the reserves of the Talamanca Range-La Amistad National Park and La Amistad (1983); National Park Cocos Island (1997), the Guanacaste Conservation Area ( 1999).

Economy

Costa Rica is a rich and developed country developing since the late 1990s. It is considered "the Switzerland of Central America", and one of the richest countries of Latin America.
Although the industry is expanding, the economy remains predominantly agricultural. Coffee is grown on the central highlands of the country. Bananas are grown on the coast in large plantations operated by including Chiquita Brands International, American firm established in Costa Rica since the late nineteenth century. Corn, rice, tropical fruits, vegetables, citrus, tobacco and cotton are grown throughout the country, in smaller quantities. The location of Costa Rica allows easy shipping links with the United States as part of the export of these commodities.

The tuna and shark is available plenty along the coast. Gold and silver are mined in the western part of Costa Rica. The deposits of bauxite, manganese, nickel, mercury and sulfur are in turn largely untapped. Oil, discovered in the South, remains untapped. Tourism is also an important place in the economy. Both engines of the Costa Rican economy remain so agriculture and tourism.

Although the human development index (HDI) is one of the best in Latin America, poverty and unemployment still affect many Costa Ricans.