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Compare Costa Rica (2004) - Southern Ocean (2004)
Compare Costa Rica (2004) z Southern Ocean (2004)
| Costa Rica (2004) | Southern Ocean (2004) | |
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| Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | - |
| 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.) |
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| Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | - |
| Airports | 149 (2003 est.) | - |
| 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.) |
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| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 119
914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 95 (2004 est.) |
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| Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 20.327 million sq km
note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly more than twice the size of the US |
| 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. | A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). |
| Birth rate | 18.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
| Budget | revenues: $2.313 billion
expenditures: $2.851 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
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| Capital | San Jose | - |
| Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter |
| Coastline | 1,290 km | 17,968 km |
| Constitution | 7 November 1949 | - |
| 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 |
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| Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | - |
| Death rate | 4.32 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
| Debt - external | $5.366 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on the border with Nicaragua remains unsolved | Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west |
| 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. | Fisheries in 2000-01 (1 July to 30 June) landed 112,934 metric tons, of which 87% was krill and 11% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and antarctic toothfish. In the 2000-01 antarctic summer 12,248 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 the previous year. |
| Electricity - consumption | 6.109 billion kWh (2001) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 379 million kWh (2001) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 128 million kWh (2001) | - |
| Electricity - production | 6.839 billion kWh (2001) | - |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench
highest point: sea level 0 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 | increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries |
| 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 |
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north |
| Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | - |
| Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 398.663 (2003), 359.817 (2002), 328.871 (2001), 308.187 (2000), 285.685 (1999) | - |
| 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% |
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| Exports | NA (2001) | - |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | - |
| Exports - partners | US 14.2%, Guatemala 3%, Nicaragua 2.7% (2003) | - |
| Fiscal 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 | - |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $35.34 billion (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.5%
industry: 29.4% services: 62.1% (2003 est.) |
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| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,100 (2003 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2003 est.) | - |
| Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 65 00 S, 0 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude |
| 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 | the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds |
| Highways | total: 35,892 km
paved: 7,896 km unpaved: 27,996 km (2000) |
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| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 36.8% (2002) |
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| 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 | - |
| Imports | NA (2001) | - |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | - |
| Imports - partners | US 23.2%, Mexico 4.7%, Venezuela 3.2% (2003) | - |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2003 est.) | - |
| Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | - |
| 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.) |
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| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.4% (2003 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 | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,260 sq km (1998 est.) | - |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | - |
| Labor force | 1.758 million (2003) | - |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | - |
| Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
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| Land use | arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.88% other: 89.71% (2001) |
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| Languages | Spanish (official), English | - |
| Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has 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 |
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| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.63 years
male: 74.07 years female: 79.33 years (2004 est.) |
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| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
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| Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Antarctic Region |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
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| 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.) |
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| Military branches | no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security | - |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $64 million (2003) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.4% (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) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
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| Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue |
| Natural resources | hydropower | probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes |
| Net migration rate | 0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
| Pipelines | refined products 242 km (2004) | - |
| 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] | - |
| 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] | - |
| Population | 3,956,507 (July 2004 est.) | - |
| Population below poverty line | 20.6% (2002 est.) | - |
| Population growth rate | 1.52% (2004 est.) | - |
| Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica
note: few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers (see Article 7) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002) | - |
| Railways | total: 950 km
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2003) |
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| Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | - |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | - |
| 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) |
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| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.132 million (2002) | - |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 528,047 (2002) | - |
| Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002) | - |
| Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers |
| Total fertility rate | 2.33 children born/woman (2004 est.) | - |
| Transportation - note | - | Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal |
| Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2003 est.) | - |
| Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2004) | - |
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