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Compare Costa Rica (2004) - Germany (2006)
Compare Costa Rica (2004) z Germany (2006)
| Costa Rica (2004) | Germany (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 13 states (Laender, singular - Land) and 3 free states* (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern*, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen*, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen* |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.5% (male 597,332; female 570,008)
15-64 years: 65% (male 1,300,206; female 1,271,010) 65 years and over: 5.5% (male 101,270; female 116,681) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.1% (male 5,973,437/female 5,665,971)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 27,889,936/female 26,874,858) 65 years and over: 19.4% (male 6,602,478/female 9,415,619) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages; cattle, pigs, poultry |
| Airports | 149 (2003 est.) | 554 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.) |
total: 332
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 54 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 72 under 914 m: 135 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 119
914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 95 (2004 est.) |
total: 222
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 185 (2006) |
| Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 357,021 sq km
land: 349,223 sq km water: 7,798 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Montana |
| 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. | As Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation, Germany remains a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro. |
| Birth rate | 18.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.313 billion
expenditures: $2.851 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $1.249 trillion
expenditures: $1.362 trillion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
| Capital | San Jose | name: Berlin
geographic coordinates: 52 31 N, 13 24 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | temperate and marine; cool, cloudy, wet winters and summers; occasional warm mountain (foehn) wind |
| Coastline | 1,290 km | 2,389 km |
| Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 23 May 1949, known as Basic Law; became constitution of the united German people 3 October 1990 |
| 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: Federal Republic of Germany
conventional short form: Germany local long form: Bundesrepublik Deutschland local short form: Deutschland former: German Empire, German Republic, German Reich |
| Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | - |
| Death rate | 4.32 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.62 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $5.366 billion (2003 est.) | $3.626 trillion (30 June 2005) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Douglas M. BARNES
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 519-2305 |
chief of mission: Ambassador William R. TIMKEN, Jr.
embassy: Neustaedtische Kirchstrasse 4-5, 10117 Berlin; note - a new embassy will be built near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin; ground was broken in October 2004 and completion is scheduled for 2008 mailing address: PSC 120, Box 1000, APO AE 09265 telephone: [49] (030) 2385 174 FAX: [49] (030) 8305-1215 consulate(s) general: Duesseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Tomas DUENAS
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Durham (North Carolina), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin |
chief of mission: Ambassador Klaus SCHARIOTH
chancery: 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-4000 FAX: [1] (202) 298-4249 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
| Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on the border with Nicaragua remains unsolved | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $5.6 billion (1998) |
| 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. Low prices for coffee and bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt. The reduction of inflation remains a difficult problem because of rises in the price of imports, labor market rigidities, and fiscal deficits. Costa Rica recently concluded negotiations to participate in the US - Central American Free Trade Agreement, which, if ratified by the Costa Rican Legislature, would result in economic reforms and an improved investment climate. | Germany's affluent and technologically powerful economy - the fifth largest in the world - has become one of the slowest growing economies in the euro zone. A quick turnaround is not in the offing in the foreseeable future. Growth in 2001-03 fell short of 1%, rising to 1.7% in 2004 before falling back to 0.9% in 2005. The modernization and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a costly long-term process, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $70 billion. Germany's aging population, combined with high unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a level exceeding contributions from workers. Structural rigidities in the labor market - including strict regulations on laying off workers and the setting of wages on a national basis - have made unemployment a chronic problem. Corporate restructuring and growing capital markets are setting the foundations that could allow Germany to meet the long-term challenges of European economic integration and globalization, particularly if labor market rigidities are further addressed. In the short run, however, the fall in government revenues and the rise in expenditures have raised the deficit above the EU's 3% debt limit. |
| Electricity - consumption | 6.109 billion kWh (2001) | 510.4 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 379 million kWh (2001) | 54.1 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 128 million kWh (2001) | 45.4 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 6.839 billion kWh (2001) | 558.1 billion kWh (2003) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point: Neuendorf bei Wilster -3.54 m
highest point: Zugspitze 2,963 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 | emissions from coal-burning utilities and industries contribute to air pollution; acid rain, resulting from sulfur dioxide emissions, is damaging forests; pollution in the Baltic Sea from raw sewage and industrial effluents from rivers in eastern Germany; hazardous waste disposal; government established a mechanism for ending the use of nuclear power over the next 15 years; government working to meet EU commitment to identify nature preservation areas in line with the EU's Flora, Fauna, and Habitat directive |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) |
| Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 398.663 (2003), 359.817 (2002), 328.871 (2001), 308.187 (2000), 285.685 (1999) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since 8 May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since 8 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 Horst KOEHLER (since 1 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Angela MERKEL (since 22 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister (Federal Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor elections: president elected for a five-year term (eligible for a second term) by a Federal Convention, including all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments; election last held 23 May 2004 (next to be held 23 May 2009); chancellor elected by an absolute majority of the Federal Assembly for a four-year term; election last held 22 November 2005 (next to be held November 2009) election results: Horst KOEHLER elected president; received 604 votes of the Federal Convention against 589 for Gesine SCHWAN; Angela MERKEL elected chancellor; vote by Federal Assembly 397 to 202 with 12 abstentions |
| Exports | NA (2001) | 12,990 bbl/day (2003) |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, metals and manufactures, foodstuffs, textiles |
| Exports - partners | US 14.2%, Guatemala 3%, Nicaragua 2.7% (2003) | France 10.2%, US 8.8%, UK 7.9%, Italy 6.9%, Netherlands 6.1%, Belgium 5.6%, Austria 5.4%, Spain 5.1% (2005) |
| 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 elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $35.34 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.5%
industry: 29.4% services: 62.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 29.6% services: 69.5% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,100 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2003 est.) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 51 00 N, 9 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 on North European Plain and along the entrance to the Baltic Sea |
| Heliports | - | 32 (2006) |
| Highways | total: 35,892 km
paved: 7,896 km unpaved: 27,996 km (2000) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 36.8% (2002) |
lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 25.1% (1997) |
| 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 | source of precursor chemicals for South American cocaine processors; transshipment point for and consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and European-produced synthetic drugs; major financial center |
| Imports | NA (2001) | 2.135 million bbl/day (2003) |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | machinery, vehicles, chemicals, foodstuffs, textiles, metals |
| Imports - partners | US 23.2%, Mexico 4.7%, Venezuela 3.2% (2003) | France 8.7%, Netherlands 8.5%, US 6.6%, China 6.4%, UK 6.3%, Italy 5.7%, Belgium 5%, Austria 4% (2005) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 18 January 1871 (German Empire unification); divided into four zones of occupation (UK, US, USSR, and later, France) in 1945 following World War II; Federal Republic of Germany (FRG or West Germany) proclaimed 23 May 1949 and included the former UK, US, and French zones; German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) proclaimed 7 October 1949 and included the former USSR zone; unification of West Germany and East Germany took place 3 October 1990; all four powers formally relinquished rights 15 March 1991 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2003 est.) | 2.9% (2005 est.) |
| Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced producers of iron, steel, coal, cement, chemicals, machinery, vehicles, machine tools, electronics, food and beverages, shipbuilding, textiles |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 10.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 4.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.4% (2003 est.) | 2% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UPU, WADB (nonregional), WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
| Irrigated land | 1,260 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,850 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat) |
| Labor force | 1.758 million (2003) | 43.32 million (2005 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 33.4% services: 63.8% (1999) |
| Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
total: 3,621 km
border countries: Austria 784 km, Belgium 167 km, Czech Republic 646 km, Denmark 68 km, France 451 km, Luxembourg 138 km, Netherlands 577 km, Poland 456 km, Switzerland 334 km |
| Land use | arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.88% other: 89.71% (2001) |
arable land: 33.13%
permanent crops: 0.6% other: 66.27% (2005) |
| Languages | Spanish (official), English | German |
| Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system with indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in the Federal Constitutional Court; 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 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; note - seats by party as of January 2005 - PUSC 19, PLN 16, PAC 8, PML 5, PRC 1, Patriotic Union 3, Homeland First 1, Authentic Member from Heredia 1, Democratic National Alliance 1, independent 2 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Federal Assembly or Bundestag (613 seats; elected by popular vote under a system combining direct and proportional representation; a party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation; members serve four-year terms) and the Federal Council or Bundesrat (69 votes; state governments are directly represented by votes; each has three to six votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block)
elections: Federal Assembly - last held 18 September 2005 (next to be held September 2009); note - there are no elections for the Bundesrat; composition is determined by the composition of the state-level governments; the composition of the Bundesrat has the potential to change any time one of the 16 states holds an election election results: Federal Assembly - percent of vote by party - CDU/CSU 35.2%, SPD 34.3%, FDP 9.8%, Left 8.7%, Greens 8.1%; seats by party - CDU/CSU 225, SPD 222, FDP 61, Left 54, Greens 51 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.63 years
male: 74.07 years female: 79.33 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 78.8 years
male: 75.81 years female: 81.96 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,716 GRT/ DWT
by type: passenger 1 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 394 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,017,754 GRT/13,091,194 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 60, chemical tanker 13, container 273, liquefied gas 3, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 4 (Finland 2, Italy 1, Switzerland 1) registered in other countries: 2,491 (Antigua and Barbuda 858, Australia 3, Bahamas 22, Belize 3, Bermuda 21, Brazil 7, Bulgaria 1, Burma 5, Canada 3, Cayman Islands 13, Cyprus 214, Denmark 13, Dominica 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Georgia 1, Gibraltar 108, Guyana 1, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 56, Jamaica 3, Liberia 587, Luxembourg 10, Malaysia 2, Malta 64, Marshall Islands 194, Morocco 2, Netherlands 56, Netherlands Antilles 60, NZ 1, Panama 35, Portugal 17, Russia 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8, Samoa 1, Singapore 9, Spain 12, Sri Lanka 5, Sweden 3, Turkey 1, UK 76, US 2) (2006) |
| Military branches | no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security | Federal Armed Forces (Bundeswehr): Army (Heer), Navy (Deutsche Marine, includes naval air arm), Air Force (Luftwaffe), Joint Service Support Command (Streitkraeftebasis), Central Medical Service (Zentraler Sanitaetsdienst) (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $64 million (2003) | $35.063 billion (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.4% (2003) | 1.5% (2003) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,101,887 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 736,007 (2004 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 41,709 (2004 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Unity Day, 3 October (1990) |
| Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: German(s)
adjective: German |
| Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | flooding |
| Natural resources | hydropower | coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land |
| Net migration rate | 0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 242 km (2004) | condensate 37 km; gas 25,035 km; oil 3,546 km; refined products 3,827 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | Authentic Member from Heredia [Jose SALAS]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Juan Carlos CHAVES Mora]; Democratic National Alliance [Emilia RODRIGUEZ]; General Union Party or PUGEN [Carlos Alberto FERNANDEZ Vega]; Homeland First [Juan Jose VARGAS]; Independent Worker Party or PIO [Jose Alberto CUBERO Carmona]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Victor GONZALEZ]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Francisco Antonio PACHECO]; National Patriotic Party or PPN [Daniel Enrique REYNOLDS Vargas]; National Rescue Party or PRN [Carlos VARGAS Solano]; Patriotic Union [Humberto ARCE]; Popular Vanguard [Trino BARRANTES Araya]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Lorena VASQUEZ Badilla] | Alliance '90/Greens [Claudia ROTH and Reinhard BUETIKOFER]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Angela MERKEL]; Christian Social Union or CSU [Edmund STOIBER, chairman]; Free Democratic Party or FDP [Guido WESTERWELLE, chairman]; Left Party (Linkspartei. was Party of Democratic Socialism) or PDS [Lothar BISKY]; Social Democratic Party or SPD [Kurt BECK] |
| 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] | business associations, employers' organizations; expellee, refugee, trade unions, and veterans groups |
| Population | 3,956,507 (July 2004 est.) | 82,422,299 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 20.6% (2002 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.52% (2004 est.) | -0.02% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002) | AM 51, FM 787, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 950 km
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2003) |
total: 47,201 km
standard gauge: 46,948 km 1.435-m gauge (19,674 km electrified) narrow gauge: 229 km 1.000-m gauge (16 km electrified); 24 km 0.750-m gauge (2005) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% |
| 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 (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: good domestic telephone service in terms of breadth of coverage; restricted cellular 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: country code - 506; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999) |
general assessment: Germany has one of the world's most technologically advanced telecommunications systems; as a result of intensive capital expenditures since reunification, the formerly backward system of the eastern part of the country, dating back to World War II, has been modernized and integrated with that of the western part
domestic: Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries international: country code - 49; Germany's international service is excellent worldwide, consisting of extensive land and undersea cable facilities as well as earth stations in the Inmarsat, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems (2001) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.132 million (2002) | 55.046 million (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 528,047 (2002) | 79.2 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002) | 373 (plus 8,042 repeaters) (1995) |
| Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | lowlands in north, uplands in center, Bavarian Alps in south |
| Total fertility rate | 2.33 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.39 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2003 est.) | 11.7% (2005 est.) |
| Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2004) | 7,467 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2005) |
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