Costa Rica (2001) | Palau (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol |
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: 26.6% (male 2,746; female 2,578)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 7,456; female 6,319) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 437; female 480) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes |
Airports | 152 (2000 est.) | 3 (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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
123 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 95 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
51,100 sq km land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly more than 2.5 times 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. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. |
Birth rate | 20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.95 billion expenditures: $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $57.7 million
expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | San Jose | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | Tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 1,519 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 1 January 1981 |
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 Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.89 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.2 billion (2000 est.) | $0 (FY99/00) |
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 Francis J. RICCIARDONE, US ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
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 Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1800 K Street NW, Suite 714, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines, Indonesia |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $155.8 million ; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
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. | The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.303 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 165 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 69 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 5.805 billion kWh (1999) | - |
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: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 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 | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) |
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 Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% |
Exports | $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $18 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments |
Exports - partners | US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999) | US, Japan, Singapore (2000) |
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 | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $174 million
note: GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2001 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 - $9,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 7 30 N, 134 30 E |
Geography - note | - | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands |
Highways | total:
37,273 km paved: 7,827 km unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.) |
total: 61 km
paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
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.) | $99 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999) | US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, Korea (2000) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2000) | NA |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
Infant mortality rate | 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.07 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2000 est.) | 3.4% (2000 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, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
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) | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1999) | 9,845 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | agriculture 20%, industry NA, services NA (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: 8.7%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
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 or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (four new members elected); House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 (one new member elected) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
76.02 years male: 73.49 years female: 78.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.82 years
male: 66.67 years female: 73.15 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% male: 93% female: 90% (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 North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm extended fishing 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.) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years |
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 |
no regular military forces; Police Force |
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) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | hydropower | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 |
none |
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.) | 20,016 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.65% (2001 est.) | 1.46% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | Koror |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002) |
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 (Roman Catholics 49%, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion, which is indigenous to Palau) |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA international: country code - 680; 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 |
6,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 1,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (cable) (2005) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.46 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2000 est.) | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | - |