Info about Costa Rica
Costa Rica
The English translation of Costa Rica is ‘Rich Coast’. It is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua and Panama. Its coast lines are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country is well known for its decision to entirely abolish its military in 1949, and is one of the 22 oldest democracies in the world- the only Latin American country on the list. The nation has also been ranked as the greenest country in the world.
As well as the mainland, Costa Rica is also comprised of a number of small islands. The largest island is Calero Island, which is 58.5 square miles in size. The highest point in the country is the Irazu Volcano, and the largest lake is Lake Arenal. The main language spoken in Costa Rica is Spanish, though some native languages are spoken in some tribal reservations, and a form of Creole-English is spoken on the Caribbean coast. Roman Catholicism is the dominant and official state religion of the country, with 44.9% of the population declaring themselves as practicing Roman Catholics.
Before the European discovery of the Americas, Costa Rica was part of the intermediate area between the Mesoamerican culture of North America, and the Andeans of the south. As a result, much of its indigenous culture takes influences from both of the aforementioned cultures. Christopher Columbus became the first European to reach Costa Rica, in 1502. Later on, Costa Rica was the furthest Spanish colony from their main base of operations in Guatemala City. This distance was beneficial to Costa Rica in that it was able to develop without too much intervention from the Spanish crown; however it also led to a large amount of poverty in the area. In 1719, it was described as ‘the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all Americas’ by a Spanish governor. In 1821, Costa Rica joined a number of other Spanish colonies in a joint declaration of independence. After a series of attempts to create a federation of Central American nations, all of which proved short lived, Costa Rica was a fully independent nation.
Since the 20th Century, Costa Ricans have enjoyed a far greater level of peace and stability in government than many other Latin American nations. The country suffered two political uprisings, one from 1917-19, and another, in 1948, which left 2000 people dead. After these events, however, Costa Rica has experience 59 years of uninterrupted democracy. Since the last uprising in 1948, there have been 13 presidential elections, all of which have been smooth and peaceful transitions of power. Despite the peace in the region, however, Costa Rica is still classed as a developing nation. GDP per capita is said by the United Nations to be $11,240 PPP, and the country has the fourth highest inflation rate in Latin America, at approximately 14%. The poverty rate is estimated to be between 16% and 24%. The national currency of Costa Rica is the colón, which trades at around 510 to the US Dollar, and 610 to the Euro. As well as being one of the most peaceful countries in Latin America, Costa Rica also possesses one of the highest literary rates, at 97%. This is a result of universal public education being guaranteed in the constitution.
Costa Rica is known for its wide variety of wildlife. Despite possessing only 0.25% of the world’s landmass, the country contains 5% of the planet’s biodiversity. This makes the country exceptionally valuable to people who wish to study these life forms, and subsequently around 25% of the country is part of protected land or national parks.