Costa Rica (2001) | Ecuador (2004) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe |
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: 33.9% (male 2,285,775; female 2,199,356)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 4,020,873; female 4,062,672) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 302,129; female 341,937) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | bananas, coffee, cocoa, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca), plantains, sugarcane; cattle, sheep, pigs, beef, pork, dairy products; balsa wood; fish, shrimp |
Airports | 152 (2000 est.) | 205 (2003 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: 62
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 18 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
123 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 95 (2000 est.) |
total: 143
914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 113 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
51,100 sq km land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 283,560 sq km
land: 276,840 sq km water: 6,720 sq km note: includes Galapagos Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Nevada |
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. | The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Although Ecuador marked 25 years of civilian governance in 2004, the period has been marred by political instability. Nine presidents have governed Ecuador since 1996. |
Birth rate | 20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.18 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.95 billion expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $6.908 billion
expenditures: planned $6.594 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.6 billion (2003) |
Capital | San Jose | Quito |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 2,237 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 10 August 1998 |
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: Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form: Ecuador local long form: Republica del Ecuador local short form: Ecuador |
Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.26 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.2 billion (2000 est.) | $15.69 billion (2003) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Kristie Anne KENNEY
embassy: Avenida 12 de Octubre y Avenida Patria, Quito mailing address: APO AA 34039 telephone: [593] (2) 256-2890 FAX: [593] (2) 250-2052 consulate(s) general: Guayaquil |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2535 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7200 FAX: [1] (202) 667-3482 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | the continuing civil disorder in Colombia has created a serious refugee crisis in neighboring states, especially Ecuador |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $120 million (2001) |
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. | Ecuador has substantial petroleum resources, which have accounted for 40% of the country's export earnings and one-fourth of public sector revenues in recent years. Consequently, fluctuations in world market prices can have a substantial domestic impact. In the late 1990s, Ecuador suffered its worst economic crisis, with natural disasters and sharp declines in world petroleum prices driving Ecuador's economy into free fall in 1999. Real GDP contracted by more than 6%, with poverty worsening significantly. The banking system also collapsed, and Ecuador defaulted on its external debt later that year. The currency depreciated by some 70% in 1999, and, on the brink of hyperinflation, the MAHAUD government announced it would dollarize the economy. A coup, however, ousted MAHAUD from office in January 2000, and after a short-lived junta failed to garner military support, Vice President Gustavo NOBOA took over the presidency. In March 2000, Congress approved a series of structural reforms that also provided the framework for the adoption of the US dollar as legal tender. Dollarization stabilized the economy, and growth returned to its pre-crisis levels in the years that followed. Under the administration of Lucio GUTIERREZ, who took office in January 2003, Ecuador benefited from higher world petroleum prices, but the government has made little progress on fiscal reforms and reforms of state-owned enterprises necessary to reduce Ecuador's vulnerability to petroleum price swings and financial crises. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.303 billion kWh (1999) | 69.96 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 165 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 69 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 5.805 billion kWh (1999) | 75.23 billion kWh (2001) |
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: Chimborazo 6,267 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution; pollution from oil production wastes in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon Basin and Galapagos Islands |
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 |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, black 3% |
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) | Ecuador formally adopted the US dollar as legal tender in March 2000 |
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 Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lucio GUTIERREZ (since 15 January 2003); Vice President Alfredo PALACIO (since 15 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a four-year term (no immediate reelection); election last held 20 October 2002; runoff election held 24 November 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: results of the 24 November 2002 runoff election - Lucio GUTIERREZ elected president; percent of vote - Lucio GUTIERREZ 54.3%; Alvaro NOBOA 45.7% |
Exports | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp |
Exports - partners | US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999) | US 42.4%, Colombia 5.7%, Germany 5.6% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar 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 disk on the hoist side of the red band | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia, which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $45.65 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
12.5% industry: 30.7% services: 56.8% (1999) |
agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 29.7% services: 61.6% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 2 00 S, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | - | Cotopaxi in Andes is highest active volcano in world |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
37,273 km paved: 7,827 km unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.) |
total: 43,197 km
paved: 8,164 km unpaved: 35,033 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.3% highest 10%: 34.7% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 33.8% (1995) |
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 | significant transit country for cocaine originating in Colombia and Peru; importer of precursor chemicals used in production of illicit narcotics; attractive location for cash-placement by drug traffickers laundering money because of dollarization and weak anti-money-laundering regime, especially vulnerable along the border with Colombia; increased activity on the northern frontier by trafficking groups and Colombian insurgents |
Imports | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | consumer goods, industrial raw materials, capital goods |
Imports - partners | US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999) | US 23.9%, Colombia 12.8%, Venezuela 7.1%, Brazil 6.1%, Chile 4.8%, Japan 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 24 May 1822 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2000) | 5.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | petroleum, food processing, textiles, wood products, chemicals |
Infant mortality rate | 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.49 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 7.9% (2003 est.) |
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 | CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,200 sq km (1993 est.) | 8,650 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema; note - per the Constitution, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court; In December 2004, however, Congress successfully replaced the entire court via a simple-majority resolution |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1999) | 4.36 million (urban) (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
639 km border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
total: 2,010 km
border countries: Colombia 590 km, Peru 1,420 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 31% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 5.85%
permanent crops: 4.93% other: 89.22% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon | Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; has not 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 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 |
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (100 seats; members are popularly elected by province to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSC 25, PRE 15, ID 16, PRIAN 10, PSP 9, Pachakutik Movement 6, MPD 5, DP 4, PS-FA 3, independents 7; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.02 years male: 73.49 years female: 78.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.01 years
male: 73.15 years female: 79 years (2004 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: 92.5% male: 94% female: 91% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 100 nm from 2,500 meter isobath |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 241,403 GRT/391,898 DWT
by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 21, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Greece 1, Paraguay 1, Peru 1 registered in other countries: 3 (2004 est.) |
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 |
Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | $650 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | 2.4% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,035,090 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,440,371 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
692,973 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,315,808 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
39,411 (2001 est.) |
males: 132,476 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day (independence of Quito), 10 August (1809) |
Nationality | noun:
Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: Ecuadorian(s)
adjective: Ecuadorian |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | hydropower | petroleum, fish, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 176 km | extra heavy crude 578 km; gas 71 km; oil 1,386 km; refined products 1,185 km (2004) |
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 |
Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes BUCARAM]; Democratic Left or ID [Guillermo LANDAZURI]; National Action Institutional Renewal Party or PRIAN [Alvaro NOBOA]; Pachakutik Movement [Gilberto TALAHUA]; Patriotic Society Party or PSP [Lucio GUTIERREZ Borbua]; Popular Democracy or DP [Dr. Juan Manuel FUERTES]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Gustavo TERAN Acosta]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian ALARCON, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Leon FEBRES CORDERO]; Socialist Party - Broad Front or PS-FA [Victor GRANDA] |
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] | Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Luis MACAS, president]; Coordinator of Social Movements or CMS [F. Napoleon SANTOS]; Federation of Indigenous Evangelists of Ecuador or FEINE [Marco MURILLO, president]; National Federation of Indigenous Afro-Ecuatorianos and Peasants or FENOCIN [Pedro DE LA CRUZ, president]; Popular Front or FP [Luis VILLACIS] |
Population | 3,773,057 (July 2001 est.) | 13,212,742 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | 65% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.65% (2001 est.) | 1.03% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, La Libertad, Manta, Puerto Bolivar, San Lorenzo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 392, FM 35, shortwave 29 (2001) |
Radios | 980,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000) |
total: 966 km
narrow gauge: 966 km 1.067-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | Roman Catholic 95% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters |
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: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: facilities generally inadequate and unreliable international: country code - 593; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use 1998 |
1.549 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 2,394,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 7 (plus 14 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains | coastal plain (costa), inter-Andean central highlands (sierra), and flat to rolling eastern jungle (oriente) |
Total fertility rate | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.78 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2000 est.) | 9.8%; note - underemployment of 47% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003) |