Portal:Costa_Rica
Portal:Costa Rica
Portal maintenance status: (October 2018)
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Republic of Costa Rica | |
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Anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish) "National Anthem of Costa Rica" | |
ISO 3166 code | CR |
Introduction
Costa Rica (UK: /ˌkɒstə ˈriːkə/, US: /ˌkoʊstə-/ ⓘ; Spanish: [ˈkosta ˈrika]; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America. Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million0 in a land area of 51,060 km2 (19,710 sq mi). An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San José, with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.
The sovereign state is a unitary presidential constitutional republic. It has a long-standing and stable democracy and a highly educated workforce. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include sectors such as finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. Many foreign manufacturing and services companies operate in Costa Rica's Free Trade Zones (FTZ) where they benefit from investment and tax incentives.
Costa Rica was inhabited by indigenous peoples before coming under Spanish rule in the 16th century. It remained a peripheral colony of the empire until independence as part of the First Mexican Empire, followed by membership in the Federal Republic of Central America, from which it formally declared independence in 1847. Following the brief Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, it permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army. (Full article...)
The Costa Rica Quiz
When was the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles in Cartago first built?
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Costa Rica is divided into three major drainage basins encompassing 34 watersheds with numerous rivers and tributaries, one major lake used for hydroelectric generation, and two major aquifers that serve to store 90% of the municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supply needs of Costa Rica. Agriculture is the largest water user demanding around 53% of total supplies while the sector contributes 6.5% to the Costa Rica GDP. About a fifth of land under cultivation is being irrigated by surface water. Hydroelectric power generation makes up a significant portion of electricity usage in Costa Rica and much of this comes from the Arenal dam.
Total water usage is very high in comparison to other Central American countries, but when measured against available freshwater sources, Costa Rica uses only 5% of its available supply. Urbanization is increasing and as it does, demand for water is expected to rise exponentially in the coming decades. There exists ample water but the threat of widespread contamination to the aquifers is legitimate as untreated wastewater, stormwater, and industrial effluents infiltrate subterranean supplies. (Full article...)Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that while Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios was exiled from Nicaragua and living in Costa Rica in the 1980s, his sister Claudia was there as Nicaragua’s ambassador?
- ... that goalkeeper Daniela Solera had the most touches of any Costa Rican player in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup?
- ... that Marita Camacho Quirós, who was First Lady of Costa Rica (1962–1966), is the oldest former first lady in the world and a supercentenarian?
- ... that footballer Alexandra Pinell scored the Costa Rica U20 team's only goal at the FIFA tournament hosted by their country?
- ... that in August 2021 Sheika Scott became the youngest player to score in the Costa Rican Women's Premier Division, at just 14 years old?
- ... that to animate conquistadors in Jungle Cruise, frogs were recorded in a Costa Rican forest?
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...that Pancha Carrasco became Costa Rica's first woman in the military by joining the defending forces at the Battle of Rivas in 1856 with a rifle and a pocketful of bullets?
Related portals
Selected image - show another
- Image 2Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Cartago), during the 2007 pilgrimage (from Costa Rica)
- Image 5The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from Costa Rica)
- Image 7José María Castro Madriz formally declared Costa Rica as independent from the Federal Republic of Central America in 1848. (from History of Costa Rica)
- Image 8The mangrove hummingbird is endemic to Costa Rica and specializes in feeding from the tea mangrove plant with its uniquely shaped beak. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
- Image 10An Intel microprocessor facility in Costa Rica that was, at one time, responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 5% of the country's GDP. (from Costa Rica)
- Image 12The Ujarrás historical site in the Orosí Valley, Cartago province. The church was built between 1686 and 1693. (from Costa Rica)
- Image 13Development of life expectancy in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
- Image 14Costa Rica map of Köppen climate classification (from Costa Rica)
- Image 17Costa Rican Women in traditional dress (from Culture of Costa Rica)
- Image 18Provinces 1 Alajuela, 2 Cartago, 3 Guanacaste, 4 Heredia, 5 Limón, 6 Puntarenas, 7 San José (from Costa Rica)
- Image 19Stone spheres created by the Diquis culture at the National Museum of Costa Rica. The sphere is the icon of the country's cultural identity. (from Costa Rica)
- Image 20The golden toad, an amphibian once endemic to Costa Rica, is now extinct. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
- Image 21Gallo Pinto (from Culture of Costa Rica)
- Image 23Real GDP per capita development in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
- Image 24Typical settlement of the Diquis indigenous people before the arrival of Columbus. (from History of Costa Rica)
- Image 28Symbolic act of Costa Rica's army abolition by president José Figueres Ferrer on December 1, 1948, at Cuartel Bellavista (former army headquarters), site which now hosts the National Museum (from Costa Rica)
- Image 29Costa Rica's tropical landscape (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
- Image 30Hospital Calderón Guardia, named after the president who instituted universal health care across the country in 1941 (from Costa Rica)
- Image 31The Rio Celeste (sky blue river) at Tenorio Volcano National Park in Costa Rica. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
- Image 32Gregorio José Ramírez was the most notable political chief of the province of Costa Rica, leading republican forces victorious in the Battle of Ochomogo. (from History of Costa Rica)
- Image 34The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from History of Costa Rica)
- Image 37Costa Rican school children (from Costa Rica)
- Image 39The University of Costa Rica is the largest university of the country and one of the most recognizable across Central America (from Costa Rica)
- Image 41José Figueres Ferrer's symbolic act of the army's abolition on December 1st, 1948 at Cuartel Bellavista, today the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica. (from History of Costa Rica)
- Image 42Costa Rican kids. (from Culture of Costa Rica)
- Image 45Countries (in blue) which have signed Free Trade Agreements with Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
- Image 46Population pyramid for Costa Rica 2023 (from Costa Rica)
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External media
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References
- Trejos, Alonso (1991). Geografía Ilustrada Costa Rica (in Spanish). San José, Costa Rica: Trejos Editores. p. 128. ISBN 9977-54-029-2.