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Compare Costa Rica (2001) - Sri Lanka (2007)

Compare Costa Rica (2001) z Sri Lanka (2007)

 Costa Rica (2001)Sri Lanka (2007)
 Costa RicaSri Lanka
Administrative divisions 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western


note: in October 2006, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces; many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict; a parliamentary decision on the issue is pending
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: 24.3% (male 2,596,295/female 2,495,949)


15-64 years: 67.9% (male 6,947,310/female 7,259,271)


65 years and over: 7.8% (male 765,507/female 861,983) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish
Airports 152 (2000 est.) 18 (2007)
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: 14


over 3,047 m: 1


1,524 to 2,437 m: 6


914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total:
123

914 to 1,523 m:
28

under 914 m:
95 (2000 est.)
total: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 3 (2007)
Area total:
51,100 sq km

land:
50,660 sq km

water:
440 sq km

note:
includes Isla del Coco
total: 65,610 sq km


land: 64,740 sq km


water: 870 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than West Virginia slightly larger than West Virginia
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 Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C. probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in the ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) formalized a cease-fire in February 2002 with Norway brokering peace negotiations. Violence between the LTTE and government forces intensified in 2006, but neither side has formally withdrawn from the cease-fire.
Birth rate 20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) 17 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues:
$1.95 billion

expenditures:
$2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
revenues: $4.883 billion


expenditures: $6.827 billion (2006 est.)
Capital San Jose name: Colombo


geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E


time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital)
Climate tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October)
Coastline 1,290 km 1,340 km
Constitution 7 November 1949 adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978
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: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka


conventional short form: Sri Lanka


local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu


local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai


former: Serendib, Ceylon
Currency Costa Rican colon (CRC) -
Death rate 4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) 6.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $4.2 billion (2000 est.) $12.16 billion (2006 est.)
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 Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.


embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3


mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo


telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500


FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345
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 Bernard GOONETILLEKE



chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028)


FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181


consulate(s) general: Los Angeles


consulate(s): New York
Disputes - international legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua none
Economic aid - recipient - $1.189 billion (2005)
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. In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for more market-oriented policies, export-oriented trade, and encouragement of foreign investment. Recent changes in government, however, have brought some policy reversals. Currently, the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party has a more statist economic approach, which seeks to reduce poverty by steering investment to disadvantaged areas, developing small and medium enterprises, promoting agriculture, and expanding the already enormous civil service. The government has halted most privatizations. Although suffering a brutal civil war that began in 1983, Sri Lanka saw GDP growth average 4.5% in the last 10 years with the exception of a recession in 2001. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. Growth, partly spurred by reconstruction, reached 5% in 2005 and more than 6% in 2006. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, port construction, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2005, plantation crops made up only about 15% of exports (compared with more than 90% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for more than 60%. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home more than $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for an independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy.
Electricity - consumption 5.303 billion kWh (1999) 7.072 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 165 million kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 69 million kWh (1999) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 5.805 billion kWh (1999) 8.411 billion kWh (2005)
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: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 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; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo
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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
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) Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 103.99 (2006), 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002)
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 Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the largely ceremonial title of prime minister


head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister


elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011)


election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSA elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSA 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3%
Exports $6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish
Exports - partners US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999) US 27.6%, UK 11.3%, India 9.3%, Belgium 4.7% (2006)
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 yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels
GDP purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:
12.5%

industry:
30.7%

services:
56.8% (1999)
agriculture: 16.5%


industry: 27.1%


services: 56.5% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 3% (2000 est.) 7.4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 10 00 N, 84 00 W 7 00 N, 81 00 E
Geography - note - strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes
Highways total:
37,273 km

paved:
7,827 km

unpaved:
29,446 km (1998 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:
1.3%

highest 10%:
34.7% (1996)
lowest 10%: 1.1%


highest 10%: 39.7% (FY03/04)
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 bbl/day
Imports - commodities raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment
Imports - partners US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999) India 19.6%, China 10.5%, Singapore 8.7%, Iran 5.7%, Malaysia 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.2%, Japan 4.1% (2006)
Independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain) 4 February 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate 4.3% (2000) 6.2% (2006 est.)
Industries microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining
Infant mortality rate 11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) total: 19.45 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 21.2 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 17.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 11% (2000 est.) 13.7% (2006 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 AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) -
Irrigated land 1,200 sq km (1993 est.) 7,430 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
Labor force 1.9 million (1999) 7.602 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) agriculture: 34.3%


industry: 25.3%


services: 40.4% (30 June 2006 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: 13.96%


permanent crops: 15.24%


other: 70.8% (2005)
Languages Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%


note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
Legal system based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Islamic, Sinhalese, and customary law; 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 Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)


elections: last held on 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010)


election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.8%, TNA 6.8%, JHU 6%, SLMC 2%, UPF 0.5%, EPDP 0.3%, other 1%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, JHU dissidents 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1, UNP dissident 1
Life expectancy at birth total population:
76.02 years

male:
73.49 years

female:
78.68 years (2001 est.)
total population: 74.8 years


male: 72.81 years


female: 76.88 years (2007 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: 90.7%


male: 92.3%


female: 89.1% (2001 census)
Location Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India
Map references Central America and the Caribbean Asia
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone:
200 NM

territorial sea:
12 NM
territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT

ships by type:
passenger 1 (2000 est.)
total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 162,280 GRT/227,478 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 18, container 2, petroleum tanker 2


foreign-owned: 6 (Germany 6)


registered in other countries: 3 (Panama 3) (2007)
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
Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $69 million (FY99) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.6% (FY99) 2.6% (2006)
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, 4 February (1948)
Nationality noun:
Costa Rican(s)

adjective:
Costa Rican
noun: Sri Lankan(s)


adjective: Sri Lankan
Natural hazards occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes occasional cyclones and tornadoes
Natural resources hydropower limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower
Net migration rate 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) -1.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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
All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [A. VINAYAKAMOORTHY]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [T.N.S. NANAYAKKARA]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP [Tissa VITHARANA]; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Ellawala METHANANDA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Mahinda RAJAPAKSA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [Selvam ADAIKALANATHAN]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils
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] Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups; Tamil Eela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, TMVP or "Karuna group" [Vinayagamurthi MURALITHARAN] (paramilitary breakaway from LTTE and fighting against LTTE)
Population 3,773,057 (July 2001 est.) 20,926,315


note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 20.6% (1999 est.) 22% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate 1.65% (2001 est.) 0.982% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas -
Radio broadcast stations AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) 34 (station types NA) (2006)
Radios 980,000 (1997) -
Railways total:
950 km

narrow gauge:
950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000)
total: 1,449 km


broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2006)
Religions Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data)
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: 1.04 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.957 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.888 male(s)/female


total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 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: telephone services have improved significantly and are available in most parts of the country


domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and 2 fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership is increasing; telephone density remains low


international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia, Djibouti, India and Maldives; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Telephones - main lines in use 450,000 (1998)

note:
584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use 1998
2.087 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular 143,000 (2000) 5.959 million (2007)
Television broadcast stations 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) 14 (2006)
Terrain coastal plains separated by rugged mountains mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior
Total fertility rate 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 5.2% (2000 est.) 7.6% (2006 est.)
Waterways 730 km (seasonally navigable) 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2006)
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