Costa Rica (2001) | Grenada (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick |
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: 35.1% (male 15,840; female 15,492)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 28,941; female 25,735) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 1,502; female 1,748) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 152 (2000 est.) | 3 (2002) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
123 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 95 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
51,100 sq km land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | twice the size of 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. | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. |
Birth rate | 20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.95 billion expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
Capital | San Jose | Saint George's |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 19 December 1973 |
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: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.2 billion (2000 est.) | $196 million (2000) |
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: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | none |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $8.3 million (1995) |
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. | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.303 billion kWh (1999) | 128.3 million 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) | 138 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.41% hydro: 83.32% nuclear: 0% other: 14.27% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 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 | NA |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian |
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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (1998) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace |
Exports - partners | US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999) | Germany 14%, US 13.6%, Bangladesh 9.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, Saint Lucia 6.4%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.3%, France 4.1% (2002) |
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 | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $440 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
12.5% industry: 30.7% services: 56.8% (1999) |
agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 12 07 N, 61 40 W |
Geography - note | - | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada |
Highways | total:
37,273 km paved: 7,827 km unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.) |
total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
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 | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US |
Imports | $5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel |
Imports - partners | US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999) | US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 27.3%, UK 4.4% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 7 February 1974 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2000) | 0.7% (1997 est.) |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 2.8% (2001 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | 14 (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) | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1999) | 42,300 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) |
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: 5.88%
permanent crops: 26.47% other: 67.65% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
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 Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by NA November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.02 years male: 73.49 years female: 78.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2003 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: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT ships by type: passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
none (2002 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 |
Royal Grenada Police Force, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | NA% |
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) | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) |
Nationality | noun:
Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
Natural resources | hydropower | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors |
Net migration rate | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -14.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 |
Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE]; People Labor Movement or PLM [leader NA] |
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.) | 89,258 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | 32% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 1.65% (2001 est.) | 0.08% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | Grenville, Saint George's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 980,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000) |
0 km |
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 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% |
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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2003 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: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
Telephones - main lines in use | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use 1998 |
27,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 976 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains | volcanic in origin with central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2000 est.) | 12.5% (2000) |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | none |