Costa Rica
Country in Central America / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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 million[10][11] 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.[12]
Republic of Costa Rica | |
|---|---|
| Anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish) "National Anthem of Costa Rica" | |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | San José 9°56′N 84°5′W |
| Official languages | Spanish |
| Recognized regional languages | |
| Ethnic groups (2011[1]) | |
| Religion (2021)[3] |
|
| Demonym(s) |
|
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
| Rodrigo Chaves | |
| Stephan Brunner | |
| Mary Munive | |
| Legislature | Legislative Assembly |
| Independence declared | |
• from Spain | 15 September 1821 |
• from First Mexican Empire | 1 July 1823 |
• from the Federal Republic of Central America | 14 November 1838 |
• Recognized by Spain | 10 May 1850 |
• Constitution | 7 November 1949[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 51,100 km2 (19,700 sq mi) (126th) |
• Water (%) | 1.05 (as of 2015)[5] |
| Population | |
• 2022 census | 5,044,197[6] |
• Density | 220/sq mi (84.9/km2) (107th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2022 estimate |
• Total |  $129.95 billion[7] (90th) |
• Per capita | $24,837[7] (66th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $68.489 billion[7] (85th) |
• Per capita | $13,090[7] (64th) |
| Gini (2020) |  49.7[8]high |
| HDI (2021) |  0.809[9]very high · 58th |
| Currency | Costa Rican colón (CRC) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (CST) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +506 |
| ISO 3166 code | CR |
| Internet TLD | .cr .co.cr |
The sovereign state is a unitary presidential constitutional republic. It has a long-standing and stable democracy and a highly educated workforce.[13] The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%.[13] 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.[14]
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.[15][16][17]
The country has consistently performed favorably in the Human Development Index (HDI), placing 58th in the world as of 2022[update], and fifth in Latin America.[18] It has also been cited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as having attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, with a better record on human development and inequality than the median of the region.[19] It also performs well in comparisons of democratic governance, press freedom, subjective happiness and sustainable wellbeing. It has the 8th freest press according to the Press Freedom Index, it is the 35th most democratic country according to the Freedom in the World index and is the 23rd happiest country in the 2023 World Happiness Report.[20][21]