Costa Rica (2001) | American Samoa (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
31.38% (male 605,728; female 578,128) 15-64 years: 63.37% (male 1,209,084; female 1,181,754) 65 years and over: 5.25% (male 92,314; female 106,049) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 35.7% (male 10,705/female 9,956)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 18,351/female 17,125) 65 years and over: 3% (male 664/female 1,080) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
Airports | 152 (2000 est.) | 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
29 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
123 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 95 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
51,100 sq km land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 199 sq km
land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly larger than Washington, DC |
Background | 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 achieved a relatively high standard of living. Land ownership is widespread. Tourism is a rapidly expanding industry. | Settled as early as 1000 B.C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. |
Birth rate | 20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.13 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.95 billion expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants)
expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY96/97) |
Capital | San Jose | Pago Pago |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season from November to April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 116 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | ratified 2 June 1966, effective 1 July 1967 |
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 |
conventional long form: Territory of American Samoa
conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | - |
Death rate | 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.2 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas J. DODD embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305 |
none (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 |
Economy - overview | 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. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt and with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector. | This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts most of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism is a promising developing sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.303 billion kWh (1999) | 120.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 165 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 69 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 5.805 billion kWh (1999) | 130 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.41% hydro: 83.32% nuclear: 0% other: 14.27% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Lata 966 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; water pollution (rivers); coastal marine pollution; wetlands degradation; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution | limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
- |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | native Pacific islander 92.9%, Asian 2.9%, white 1.2%, mixed 2.8%, other 0.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 318.95 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997), 207.69 (1996) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (since 8 May 1998); First Vice President Astrid FISCHEL Volio (since 8 May 1998), Second Vice President Elizabeth ODIO Benito (since 8 May 1998); note - president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (since 8 May 1998); First Vice President Astrid FISCHEL Volio (since 8 May 1998), Second Vice President Elizabeth ODIO Benito (since 8 May 1998); note - 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 1 February 1998 (next to be held 3 February 2002) election results: Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ elected president; percent of vote - Miguel Angel RODRIGUEZ (PUSC) 46.6%, Jose Miguel CORRALES (PLN) 44.6% |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 7 April 2003) cabinet: cabinet made up of 12 department directors elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 2 and 16 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Togiola TULAFONO elected governor; percent of vote - Togiola TULAFONO 55.7%, Afoa Moega LUTU 44.3% |
Exports | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | canned tuna 93% |
Exports - partners | US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999) | Samoa 39.8%, Australia 19.9%, Japan 15.1%, New Zealand 10.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the red band | blue, with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
12.5% industry: 30.7% services: 56.8% (1999) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 14 20 S, 170 00 W |
Geography - note | - | Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
37,273 km paved: 7,827 km unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.) |
total: 185 km
paved: 185 km unpaved: 0 km (2004) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.3% highest 10%: 34.7% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine; those who previously only trafficked are now becoming users | - |
Imports | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% |
Imports - partners | US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999) | Japan 31.4%, New Zealand 27.9%, Germany 17.1%, Australia 8.9% (2004) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | tuna canneries (largely supplied by foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 9.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,200 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1999) | 14,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | tuna canneries 34%, government 33%, other 33% (1990) |
Land boundaries | total:
639 km border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 31% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 15% other: 75% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon | Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census) |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | NA |
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 1 February 1998 (next to be held 3 February 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - PUSC 41%, PLN 35%, minority parties 24%; seats by party - PUSC 27, PLN 23, minority parties 7 |
bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - independents 18 note: American Samoa elects one nonvoting representative to the US House of Representatives; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.02 years male: 73.49 years female: 78.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.84 years
male: 72.27 years female: 79.62 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 94.8% male: 94.7% female: 95% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about half way between Hawaii and New Zealand |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Coast Guard, Air Section, Ministry of Public Security Force (Fuerza Publica)
note: Costa Rica has no military, only domestic police forces, including the Coast Guard and Air Section |
- |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,035,090 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
692,973 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
39,411 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
Nationality | noun:
Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: American Samoan(s)
adjective: American Samoan |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | typhoons common from December to March |
Natural resources | hydropower | pumice, pumicite |
Net migration rate | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -20.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 176 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]
note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN; numerous small parties share less than 25% of population's support |
Democratic Party [Oreta M. TOGAFAU]; Republican Party [Tautai A. F. FAALEVAO] |
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] | NA |
Population | 3,773,057 (July 2001 est.) | 57,881 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.65% (2001 est.) | -0.11% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | Pago Pago |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) |
Radios | 980,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
very good domestic 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: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use 1998 |
15,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 2,377 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 1; note - one cable TV station (2004) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
Total fertility rate | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.25 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2000 est.) | 6% (2000) |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | - |