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Compare Arctic Ocean (2006) - Costa Rica (2005)

Compare Arctic Ocean (2006) z Costa Rica (2005)

 Arctic Ocean (2006)Costa Rica (2005)
 Arctic OceanCosta Rica
Administrative divisions - 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose
Age structure - 0-14 years: 28.9% (male 593,540/female 566,361)


15-64 years: 65.5% (male 1,330,481/female 1,300,664)


65 years and over: 5.6% (male 104,564/female 120,563) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products - coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber
Airports - 149 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways - total: 30


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 18


under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 119


914 to 1,523 m: 24


under 914 m: 95 (2004 est.)
Area total: 14.056 million sq km


note: includes Baffin Bay, Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Greenland Sea, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies
total: 51,100 sq km


land: 50,660 sq km


water: 440 sq km


note: includes Isla del Coco
Area - comparative slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US slightly smaller than West Virginia
Background The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the recently delimited Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. A sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes circumscribes the Arctic Ocean. 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.
Birth rate - 18.6 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget - revenues: $2.497 billion


expenditures: $3.094 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital - San Jose
Climate polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands
Coastline 45,389 km 1,290 km
Constitution - 7 November 1949
Country name - conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica


conventional short form: Costa Rica


local long form: Republica de Costa Rica


local short form: Costa Rica
Death rate - 4.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external - $5.962 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US - chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Douglas M. BARNES


embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose


mailing address: APO AA 34020


telephone: [506] 220-3939


FAX: [506] 519-2305
Diplomatic representation in the US - chief of mission: Ambassador Tomas DUENAS


chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945


FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795


consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Tampa


consulate(s): Austin
Disputes - international some maritime disputes (see littoral states) legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on the border with Nicaragua remains unresolved
Economy - overview Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. 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. Low prices for coffee and bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt. The reduction of inflation remains a difficult problem because of rises in the price of imports, labor market rigidities, and fiscal deficits. The country also needs to reform its tax system and its pattern of public expenditure. Costa Rica recently concluded negotiations to participate in the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which, if ratified by the Costa Rican Legislature, would result in economic reforms and an improved investment climate.
Electricity - consumption - 5.733 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports - 477 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports - 59 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production - 6.614 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m


highest point: sea level 0 m
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m


highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m
Environment - current issues endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack 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 agreements - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling


signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups - white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Exchange rates - Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 437.91 (2004), 398.66 (2003), 359.82 (2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000)
Executive branch - chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since 8 May 2002); Second Vice President (vacant); 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 8 May 2002); Second Vice President (vacant); 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 February 2006)


election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42%
Exports - NA
Exports - commodities - coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment
Exports - partners - US 46.9%, Netherlands 5.3%, Guatemala 4.4% (2004)
Fiscal year - calendar year
Flag description - five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA
GDP - composition by sector - agriculture: 8.5%


industry: 29.7%


services: 61.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $9,600 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate - 3.9% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 90 00 N, 0 00 E 10 00 N, 84 00 W
Geography - note major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months 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
Highways - total: 35,303 km


paved: 4,236 km


unpaved: 31,067 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10%: 1.1%


highest 10%: 36.8% (2002)
Illicit drugs - transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising
Imports - NA
Imports - commodities - raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
Imports - partners - US 46.1%, Japan 5.9%, Mexico 5.1%, Brazil 4.2% (2004)
Independence - 15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate - 3.1% (2004 est.)
Industries - microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Infant mortality rate - total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 10.85 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) - 11.5% (2004 est.)
International organization participation - BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land - 1,260 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch - Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)
Labor force - 1.81 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation - agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries - total: 639 km


border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Land use - arable land: 4.41%


permanent crops: 5.88%


other: 89.71% (2001)
Languages - Spanish (official), English
Legal system - based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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; note - seats by party as of January 2005 - PUSC 19, PLN 16, PAC 8, PML 5, PRC 1, Patriotic Union 3, Homeland First 1, Authentic Member from Heredia 1, Democratic National Alliance 1, independent 2
Life expectancy at birth - total population: 76.84 years


male: 74.26 years


female: 79.55 years (2005 est.)
Literacy - definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 96%


male: 95.9%


female: 96.1% (2003 est.)
Location body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Map references Arctic Region Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims - territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine - total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,716 GRT/ DWT


by type: passenger/cargo 2 (2005)
Military branches - no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security, Government, and Police
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $64.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 0.4% (2003)
National holiday - Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality - noun: Costa Rican(s)


adjective: Costa Rican
Natural hazards ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes
Natural resources sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales) hydropower
Net migration rate - 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines - refined products 242 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders - Authentic Member from Heredia [Jose SALAS]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Juan Carlos CHAVES Mora]; Democratic National Alliance [Emilia RODRIGUEZ]; General Union Party or PUGEN [Carlos Alberto FERNANDEZ Vega]; Homeland First [Juan Jose VARGAS]; Independent Worker Party or PIO [Jose Alberto CUBERO Carmona]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Victor GONZALEZ]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Francisco Antonio PACHECO]; National Patriotic Party or PPN [Daniel Enrique REYNOLDS Vargas]; National Rescue Party or PRN [Carlos VARGAS Solano]; Patriotic Union [Humberto ARCE]; Popular Vanguard [Trino BARRANTES Araya]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Lorena VASQUEZ Badilla]
Political pressure groups and leaders - Authentic Confederation of 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]
Population - 4,016,173 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line - 18% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate - 1.48% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors - Caldera, Puerto Limon
Radio broadcast stations - AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002)
Railways - total: 278 km


narrow gauge: 278 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
Religions - Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system - general assessment: good domestic telephone service in terms of breadth of coverage; restricted cellular 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: country code - 506; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use - 1.132 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular - 528,047 (2002)
Television broadcast stations - 20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002)
Terrain central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that, on average, is about 3 meters thick, although pressure ridges may be three times that thickness; clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge) coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes
Total fertility rate - 2.28 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Transportation - note sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways -
Unemployment rate - 6.6% (2004 est.)
Waterways - 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2004)
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