Costa Rica (2007) | Russia (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays*** (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod)****, and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**, Altay (Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*, Dagestan (Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*, Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya (Elista)*, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*, Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy (Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya, Moskva (Moscow)****, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutsk)*, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)****, Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz)*, Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*, Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**, Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****; note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy,' the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the place name
note: the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetiya were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.8% (male 587,395/female 560,408)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 1,388,114/female 1,357,157) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 111,758/female 129,052) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
17.41% (male 12,915,026; female 12,405,341) 15-64 years: 69.78% (male 49,183,000; female 52,320,962) 65 years and over: 12.81% (male 5,941,944; female 12,703,924) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk |
Airports | 151 (2007) | 2,743 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 36
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 11 (2007) |
total:
471 over 3,047 m: 56 2,438 to 3,047 m: 178 1,524 to 2,437 m: 76 914 to 1,523 m: 69 under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 115
914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 96 (2007) |
total:
2,272 over 3,047 m: 28 2,438 to 3,047 m: 118 1,524 to 2,437 m: 204 914 to 1,523 m: 324 under 914 m: 1,598 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total:
17,075,200 sq km land: 16,995,800 sq km water: 79,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US |
Background | Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including: disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country's democratic development. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. | The defeat of the Russian Empire in World War I led to the seizure of power by the communists and the formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1924-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the communist period. |
Birth rate | 18.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.35 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.129 billion
expenditures: $3.282 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$40 billion expenditures: $33.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: San Jose
geographic coordinates: 9 56 N, 84 05 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Moscow |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 37,653 km |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | adopted 12 December 1993 |
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:
Russian Federation conventional short form: Russia local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya local short form: Rossiya former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic |
Currency | - | Russian ruble (RUR) |
Death rate | 4.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.85 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.332 billion (2006 est.) | $163 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mark LANGDALE
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 519-2000 FAX: [506] 519-2305 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador James F. COLLINS embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, 121099 Moscow mailing address: APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000 FAX: [7] (095) 728-5203 consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg |
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, Hammond (temporary location in Louisiana), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa (temporarily closed), Washington, DC consulate(s): San Francisco |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle |
Disputes - international | in September 2005, Costa Rica took its case before the ICJ to advocate the navigation, security, and commercial rights of Costa Rican vessels using the Río San Juan over which Nicaragua retains sovereignty | dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with China remains to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan; Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December 1996, which has not been signed or ratified by Russia as of February 2001; draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Latvia has not been signed; 1997 border agreement with Lithuania not yet ratified; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation; Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $8.523 billion (1995) |
Economy - overview | Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has remained at roughly 20% for nearly 20 years, and the strong social safety net that had been put into place by the government has eroded due to increased financial constraints on government expenditures. Immigration from Nicaragua has increasingly become a concern for the government. The estimated 300,000-500,000 Nicaraguans estimated to be in Costa Rica legally and illegally are an important source of (mostly unskilled) labor, but also place heavy demands on the social welfare system. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. The government continues to grapple with its large internal and external deficits and sizable internal debt. Reducing inflation remains a difficult problem because of rising import prices, labor market rigidities, and fiscal deficits. The country also needs to reform its tax system and its pattern of public expenditure. The current administration has made it a priority to pass the necessary reforms to implement the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). CAFTA implementation would result in an improved investment climate. | A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market reforms within three to five years - Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy rebounded in 1999 and 2000, buoyed by the competitive boost from the weak ruble and a surging trade surplus fueled by rising world oil prices. This recovery, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious problems persist. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for over 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's agricultural sector remains beset by uncertainty over land ownership rights, which has discouraged needed investment and restructuring. Another threat is negative demographic trends, fueled by low birth rates and a deteriorating health situation - including an alarming rise in AIDS cases - that have contributed to a nearly 2% drop in the population since 1992. Russia's industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve sustainable economic growth. Other problems include widespread corruption, capital flight, and brain drain. |
Electricity - consumption | 7.776 billion kWh (2005) | 728.2 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 70 million kWh (2005) | 20 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 81 million kWh (2005) | 6 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 8.349 billion kWh (2005) | 798.065 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
66.31% hydro: 19.79% nuclear: 13.9% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point:
Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 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 from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; ground water contamination from toxic waste |
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-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% |
Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 511.3 (2006), 477.79 (2005), 437.91 (2004), 398.66 (2003), 359.82 (2002) | Russian rubles per US dollar - 28.3592 (January 2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051 (1998), 5,785 (1997), 5,121 (1996)
note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (since 8 May 2006); First Vice President Laura CHINCHILLA (since 8 May 2006); Second Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (since 8 May 2006); First Vice President Laura CHINCHILLA (since 8 May 2006); Second Vice President (vacant) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single four-year term; election last held 5 February 2006 (next to be held in February 2010) election results: Oscar ARIAS Sanchez elected president; percent of vote - Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (PLN) 40.9%; Otton SOLIS (PAC) 39.8%, Otto GUEVARA Guth (PML) 8%, Ricardo TOLEDO (PUSC) 3% |
chief of state:
President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000) head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); First Deputy Premier Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Deputy Premiers Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Ilya Iosifovich KLEBANOV (since 31 May 1999), Valentina Ivanovna MATVIYENKO (since 22 September 1998) cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and other agency heads; all are appointed by the president note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Aadreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $105.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures |
Exports - partners | US 27.4%, Netherlands 12.2%, China 11.7%, UK 6.2%, Mexico 5.8% (2006) | US 8.8%, Germany 8.5%, Ukraine 6.5%, Belarus 5.1%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4.8% (1999) |
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 white (top), blue, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.12 trillion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8.7%
industry: 28.9% services: 62.4% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
7% industry: 34% services: 59% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.9% (2006 est.) | 6.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 60 00 N, 100 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 | largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture |
Highways | - | total:
952,000 km paved: 752,000 km (including, in addition to about 336,000 km of conventionally paved roads, about 416,000 km of roads, the surfaces of which have been stabilized with gravel or other coarse aggregates, making them trafficable in wet weather) unpaved: 200,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 37.4% (2003) |
lowest 10%:
1.7% highest 10%: 38.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis in remote areas; domestic cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising; significant consumption of amphetamines | limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of amphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian opiates and cannabis and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe, possibly to the US, and growing domestic market; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are major concerns; heroin an increasing threat in domestic drug market |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $44.2 billion (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products |
Imports - partners | US 41.2%, Venezuela 5.4%, Mexico 5.2%, Ireland 5%, Japan 4.9%, Brazil 4.3%, China 4.1% (2006) | Germany 13.8%, Belarus 10.7%, Ukraine 8.3%, US 7.9%, Kazakhstan 4.6%, Italy 3.8% (1999) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.4% (2006 est.) | 8.8% (2000 est.) |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
20.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.5% (2006 est.) | 20.6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | APEC, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 35 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,080 sq km (2003) | 40,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president |
Labor force | 1.874 million
note: this official estimate excludes Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica (2006 est.) |
66 million (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 20%
industry: 22% services: 58% (1999 est.) |
agriculture 15%, industry 30%, services 55% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
total:
19,961 km border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.4%
permanent crops: 5.87% other: 89.73% (2005) |
arable land:
8% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 46% other: 42% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English | Russian, other |
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; judicial review of legislative acts |
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 5 February 2006 (next to be held in February 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLN 25, PAC 17, PML 6, PUSC 5, other 4 |
bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; half elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and half from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: State Duma - last held 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2003) election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - KPRF 24.29%, Unity 23.32%, OVR 13.33%, Union of Right Forces 8.52%, LDPR 5.98%, Yabloko 5.93%; seats by party - KPRF 113, Unity 72, OVR 67, Union of Rightist Forces 29, LDPR 17, Yabloko 21, other 16, independents 106, repeat election required 8, vacant 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.21 years
male: 74.61 years female: 79.94 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
67.34 years male: 62.12 years female: 72.83 years (2001 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: 98% male: 100% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,058 GRT/255 DWT
by type: passenger/cargo 1 (2007) |
total:
878 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,314,485 GRT/5,344,958 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 20, cargo 543, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 7, container 31, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 35, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 164, refrigerated cargo 24, roll on/roll off 17, short-sea passenger 7 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Reunion 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security, Government, and Police (2006) | Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Strategic Rocket Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.4% (2006) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
38,866,147 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
30,337,743 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
1,242,778 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Russia Day, 12 June (1990) |
Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun:
Russian(s) adjective: Russian |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula |
Natural resources | hydropower | wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources |
Net migration rate | 0.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 242 km (2006) | crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (June 1993 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Authentic Member from Heredia [Jose SALAS]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Gerardo Justo OROZCO Alvarez]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Vladimir DE LA CRUZ]; General Union Party or PUGEN [Carlos Alberto FERNANDEZ Vega]; Homeland First or PP [Juan Jose VARGAS Fallas]; Independent Worker Party or PIO [Jose Alberto CUBERO Carmona]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Juan Carlos CHAVEZ Mora]; 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 Restoration Party or PRN [Carlos AVENDANO]; Nationalist Democratic Alliance or ADN [Jose Miguel VILLALOBOS Umana]; Patriotic Union or UP [Humberto ARCE Salas]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis FILMAN]; Union for Change Party or UPC [Antonio ALVAREZ Desanti]; United Leftist Coalition or IU [Humberto VARGAS Carbonel] | Agrarian Party [Mikhail Ivanovich LAPSHIN]; Communist Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Fatherland-All Russia or OVR [Yuriy Mikhailovich LUZHKOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Union of Right Forces [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; Unity [Sergey Kuzhugetovich SHOYGU]; Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
note: some 150 political parties, blocs, and movements registered with the Justice Ministry as of the 19 December 1998 deadline to be eligible to participate in the 19 December 1999 Duma elections; of these, 36 political organizations actually qualified to run slates of candidates on the Duma party list ballot, 6 parties cleared the 5% threshold to win a proportional share of the 225 party seats in the Duma, 9 other organizations hold seats in the Duma: Bloc of Nikolayev and Academician Fedorov, Congress of Russian Communities, Movement in Support of the Army, Our Home Is Russia, Party of Pensioners, Power to the People, Russian All-People's Union, Russian Socialist Party, and Spiritual Heritage; primary political blocs include pro-market democrats - (Yabloko Bloc and Union of Right Forces), anti-market and/or ultranationalist (Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) |
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); Costa Rican Exporter's Chamber or CADEXCO; Costa Rican Solidarity Movement; Costa Rican Union of Private Sector Enterprises or UCCAEP [Rafael CARRILLO]; Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; National Association of Public and Private Employees or ANEP [Albino VARGAS]; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert BROWN] | NA |
Population | 4,133,884 (July 2007 est.) | 145,470,197 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 18% (2004 est.) | 40% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.412% (2007 est.) | -0.35% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Saint Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002) | AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998) |
Radios | - | 61.5 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 278 km
narrow gauge: 278 km 1.067-m gauge note: none of the railway network is in use (2007) |
total:
149,000 km note: 86,000 km are in common carrier service; 63,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use; 40,000 km of the railway in common carrier use are electrified broad gauge: 149,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1998) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.023 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.866 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 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; state-run monopoly provider is struggling with the demand for new lines, resulting in long waiting times
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; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable and the MAYA-1 submarine cable that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
general assessment:
the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density international: Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.351 million (2006) | 30 million (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.444 million (2006) | 2.5 million (October 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002) | 7,306 (1998) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions |
Total fertility rate | 2.21 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.27 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.6% (2006 est.) | 10.5% (2000 est.), plus considerable underemployment |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2007) | 95,900 km (total routes in general use)
note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet-95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids-60,400 km; man-made navigable routes-16,900 km (Jan 1994) |