Costa Rica (2002) | Taiwan (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | includes central island of Taiwan plus numerous smaller islands near central island and off coast of China's Fujian Province; Taiwan is divided into 18 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities (chuan-shih, singular and plural)
counties: Chang-hua, Chia-i, Hsin-chu, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung county, Kin-men, Lien-chiang, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan, T'ai-pei county, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin municipalities: Chia-i, Chi-lung, Hsin-chu, T'ai-chung, T'ai-nan special municipalities: Kao-hsiung city, T'ai-pei city note: Taiwan generally uses Wade-Giles system for romanization; special municipality of Taipei adopted standard pinyin romanization for street and place names within city boundaries, other local authorities have selected a variety of romanization systems |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.8% (male 603,270; female 575,766)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 1,239,618; female 1,211,641) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 95,182; female 109,457) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.9% (male 2,359,467; female 2,167,438)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 8,149,231; female 7,924,774) 65 years and over: 9.4% (male 1,091,473; female 1,057,455) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | rice, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk, fish |
Airports | 152 (2001) | 40 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
total: 37
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 121
914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 93 (2002) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 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: 35,980 sq km
land: 32,260 sq km water: 3,720 sq km note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined |
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 expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. | In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan. Taiwan reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1946 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the native population within the governing structure. In 2000, Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island prospered and became one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform. |
Birth rate | 19.83 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.7 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.91 billion
expenditures: $2.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
revenues: $56.58 billion
expenditures: $69.21 billion, including capital expenditures of $14.4 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | San Jose | Taipei |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 1,566.3 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 25 December 1946, amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2000 |
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: Taiwan local long form: none local short form: T'ai-wan former: Formosa |
Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | new Taiwan dollar (TWD) |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.6 billion (2001 est.) | $53.44 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John J. DANILOVICH
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305 |
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2162-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2162-2251; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 238-7744, FAX: [886] (7) 238-5237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin |
none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities |
Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Paracel Islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; in 2003, China and Taiwan asserted claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) with increased media coverage and protest actions |
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. | Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP, down from 32% in 1952. While Taiwan is a major investor throughout Southeast Asia, China has become the largest destination for investment and has overtaken the US to become Taiwan's largest export market. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998. The global economic downturn, combined with problems in policy coordination by the administration and bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first year of negative growth ever recorded. Unemployment also reached record levels. Output recovered moderately in 2002 in the face of continued global slowdown, fragile consumer confidence, and bad bank loans. Growing economic ties with China are a dominant long-term factor. Exports to China - mainly parts and equipment for the assembly of goods for export to developed countries - drove Taiwan's economic recovery in 2002. Although the SARS epidemic, Typhoon Maemi, corporate scandals, and a drop in consumer spending caused GDP growth to contract to 3.2% in 2003, increasingly strong export performance kept Taiwan's economy on track, and the government expects Taiwan's economy to grow 4.1% in 2004. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.895 billion kWh (2000) | 140.5 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 532 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 22 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 6.887 billion kWh (2000) | 151.1 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1%
hydro: 83% nuclear: 0% other: 16% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Yu Shan 3,952 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution | air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal |
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: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2% |
Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 343.08 (January 2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997) | new Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 34.418 (2003), 34.575 (2002), 33.8 (2001), 33.09 (2000), 31.6 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the 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 3 February 2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held NA February 2006) election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42% |
chief of state: President CHEN Shui-bian (since 20 May 2000) and Vice President Annette LU (LU Hsiu-lien) (since 20 May 2000)
head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) Frank HSIEH (since 1 February 2005) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) YEH Chu-lan (since 20 May 2004) cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 20 March 2004 (next to be held in March 2008); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier election results: CHEN Shui-bian re-elected president; percent of vote - CHEN Shui-bian (DPP) 50.1%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 49.9% |
Exports | $5 billion (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | computer products and electrical equipment, metals, textiles, plastics and rubber products, chemicals (2002) |
Exports - partners | US 51.8%, EU 20%, Central America 10.6%, Puerto Rico 2.8%, Mexico 1.7% (2000) | China 25.3%, US 20.5%, Japan 9.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1 July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00) |
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 | red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $31.9 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $528.6 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 11%
industry: 37% services: 52% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 30.3% services: 67.9% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $23,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.3% (2001 est.) | 3.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 23 30 N, 121 00 E |
Geography - note | four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 | strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait |
Heliports | - | 3 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 37,273 km
paved: 7,827 km unpaved: 29,446 km (1998 est.) |
total: 35,931 km
paved: 31,583 km (including 608 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,348 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 35% (2001) (2001) |
lowest 10%: 6.7%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2002 est.) |
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 | regional transit point for heroin and methamphetamine; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin; renewal of domestic methamphetamine production is a problem |
Imports | $6.5 billion (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | machinery and electrical equipment 44.5%, minerals, precision instruments (2002) |
Imports - partners | US 53.2%, EU 10.3%, Mexico 6.2%, Venezuela 5.3%, Central America 4.9% (2000) | Japan 24.2%, US 16.1%, China 7.1%, South Korea 6.9% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | -2.1% (2001 est.) | 8.4% (2003) |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 10.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 6.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.1% (2001 est.) | -0.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IOC, WCL, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,260 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan) |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1999) (1999) | 10.08 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | agriculture 7.5%, industry 35%, services 57% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.48% other: 90.11% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 1% other: 75% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon | Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects |
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; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1 |
unicameral Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular vote, 41 elected on basis of proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on basis of proportion of island-wide votes received by participating political parties, 8 elected by popular vote among aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms) and unicameral National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by proportional representation six to nine months after Legislative Yuan calls to amend Constitution, impeach president, or change national borders)
note: the number of seats in the legislature may be reduced from 225 to 113 beginning with the election in 2007 if a proposed constitutional amendment is approved elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 11 December 2004 (next to be held in December 2007) according to proposed constitutional amendment election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP 38%, KMT 35%, PFP 15%, TSU 8%, other parties and independents 4%; seats by party - DPP 89, KMT 79, PFP 34, TSU 12, other parties 7, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.22 years
male: 73.68 years female: 78.89 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 77.06 years
male: 74.31 years female: 80.08 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.5% male: 95.5% female: 95.5% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% (2003) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,716 GRT/NA DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 130 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 3,417,768 GRT/5,617,318 DWT
by type: bulk 36, cargo 23, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 3, container 37, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 10, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: Cuba 1, Hong Kong 4 registered in other countries: 457 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Air Section, Ministry of Public Forces (Fuerza Publica) | Army, Navy (including Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command, Armed Forces Police Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | $7,611.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | 2.7% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,058,283 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 6,556,484 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 707,927 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 4,992,737 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 39,411 (2002 est.) | males: 182,677 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911) |
Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: Chinese/Taiwanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese/Taiwanese |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | earthquakes and typhoons |
Natural resources | hydropower | small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos |
Net migration rate | 0.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 176 km | condensate 25 km; gas 435 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; 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 - until the 3 February 2002 election in which the PAC captured a significant percentage, forcing a run-off in April 2002 |
Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [SU Tseng-chang, chairman]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [LIEN Chan, chairman]; People First Party or PFP [James SOONG (SOONG Chu-yu), chairman]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [SU Chin-chiang, chairman]; other minor parties including the Chinese New Party or CNP |
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] | Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups
note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building |
Population | 3,834,934 (July 2002 est.) | 22,749,838 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (1999 est.) | 1% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.61% (2002 est.) | 0.64% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999) |
Radios | 980,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 950 km
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2000 est.) |
total: 2,544 km
narrow gauge: 1,108 km 1.067-m gauge (519 km electrified) note: 1,400 km .762-m gauge (belonging to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation and to the Taiwan Forestry Bureau used to haul products and limited numbers of passengers (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5% |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 20 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: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need
domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized international: country code - 886; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa), Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use in 1998 |
13.355 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 25,089,600 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 29 (plus two repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west |
Total fertility rate | 2.42 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.57 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2000 est.) | 5% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | - |