Compare Kuwait (2006) - Costa Rica (2006)

Compare Kuwait (2006) z Costa Rica (2006)

	Kuwait (2006)	Costa Rica (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir	7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose
Age structure	0-14 years: 26.9% (male 331,768/female 319,895) 15-64 years: 70.3% (male 1,085,721/female 613,746) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 42,460/female 24,803) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 28.3% (male 590,261/female 563,196) 15-64 years: 66% (male 1,359,750/female 1,329,346) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 108,041/female 124,667) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	practically no crops; fish	coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber
Airports	7 (2006)	157 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)	total: 32 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 9 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006)	total: 125 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 101 (2006)
Area	total: 17,820 sq km land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 51,100 sq km land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than New Jersey	slightly smaller than West Virginia
Background	Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91.	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.
Birth rate	21.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	18.32 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $47.21 billion expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $2.722 billion expenditures: $3.195 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	name: Kuwait geographic coordinates: 29 20 N, 47 59 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: San Jose geographic coordinates: 9 56 N, 84 05 W time difference: UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters	tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands
Coastline	499 km	1,290 km
Constitution	approved and promulgated 11 November 1962	7 November 1949
Country name	conventional long form: State of Kuwait conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt	conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica
Death rate	2.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.36 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$16.12 billion (2005 est.)	$5.049 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 259-1001 FAX: [965] 538-0282	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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517	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
Disputes - international	Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf	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
Economic aid - recipient	$NA (2001)	-
Economy - overview	Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country.	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 internal and external deficits and sizable internal debt. The reduction of inflation remains a difficult problem because of rises in the price of imports, labor market rigidities, and fiscal deficits. The country also needs to reform its tax system and its pattern of public expenditure. Costa Rica is the only signatory to the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) that has not ratified it. CAFTA implementation would result in economic reforms and an improved investment climate.
Electricity - consumption	35.52 billion kWh (2003)	7.12 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	115 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	50 million kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	38.19 billion kWh (2003)	7.726 billion kWh (2003)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed location 306 m	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m
Environment - current issues	limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification	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
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping	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
Ethnic groups	Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7%	white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Exchange rates	Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001)	Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 477.79 (2005), 437.91 (2004), 398.66 (2003), 359.82 (2002), 328.87 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah head of government: Prime Minister NASIR al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 7 February 2006) First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Ismail al-SHATTI (since 10 July 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir elections: none; the amir is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir	chief of state: President Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (since 8 May 2006); First Vice President Laura CHINCHILLA (since 8 May 2006); Second Vice President Kevin CASAS Zamora (since 8 May 2006); 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 Kevin CASAS Zamora (since 8 May 2006) 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 February 2010) election results: Oscar ARIAS Sanchez elected president; percent of vote - Oscar ARIAS Sanchez (PLN) 40.9%; Otto SOLIS (PAC) 39.8%, Otto GUEVARA Guth (PML) 8%, Ricardo TOLEDO (PUSC) 3%; note - official results pending the resolution of election challenges
Exports	1.97 million bbl/day (2003)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	oil and refined products, fertilizers	coffee, bananas, sugar, pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment
Exports - partners	Japan 19.6%, South Korea 15.3%, US 11.8%, Taiwan 11%, Singapore 9.5%, Netherlands 4.7% (2005)	US 42.6%, Hong Kong 6.9%, Netherlands 6.4%, Guatemala 4.2% (2005)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	calendar year
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I	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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 0.4% industry: 47.9% services: 51.6% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 8.8% industry: 29.9% services: 61.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	8.3% (2005 est.)	5.9% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 N, 45 45 E	10 00 N, 84 00 W
Geography - note	strategic location at head of Persian Gulf	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
Heliports	5 (2006)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 36.8% (2002)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing	raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
Imports - partners	US 14%, Germany 10.7%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%, UK 5.6%, France 4.8%, China 4.5% (2005)	US 41.3%, Japan 5.6%, Venezuela 4.8%, Mexico 4.8%, Ireland 4.3%, Brazil 4.2%, China 4.2% (2005)
Independence	19 June 1961 (from UK)	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	13.1% (2005 est.)	5.7% (2005 est.)
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials	microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Infant mortality rate	total: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 9.7 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4.1% (2005 est.)	13.8% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, 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	130 sq km (2003)	1,080 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	High Court of Appeal	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)
Labor force	1.67 million note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2005 est.)	1.82 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%	agriculture: 20% industry: 22% services: 58% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 462 km border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km	total: 639 km border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Land use	arable land: 0.84% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005)	arable land: 4.4% permanent crops: 5.87% other: 89.73% (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official), English widely spoken	Spanish (official), English
Legal system	civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly	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 February 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLN 25, PAC 18, PML 6, PUSC 4, other 4
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 77.2 years male: 76.13 years female: 78.31 years (2006 est.)	total population: 77.02 years male: 74.43 years female: 79.74 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia	Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Map references	Middle East	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,424,983 GRT/3,996,755 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21 registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 2, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 5, UAE 8) (2006)	total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,308 GRT/743 DWT by type: passenger/cargo 2 (2006)
Military branches	Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2006)	no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security, Government, and Police (2006)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$3.01 billion (2005 est.)	$83.46 million (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	4.2% (2005 est.)	0.4% (2005 est.)
National holiday	National Day, 25 February (1950)	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	noun: Kuwaiti(s) adjective: Kuwaiti	noun: Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican
Natural hazards	sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August	occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes
Natural resources	petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas	hydropower
Net migration rate	15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006)	refined products 242 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	none; formation of political parties is illegal	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 [Lorena VASQUEZ Badilla]; Union for Change Party or UPC [Antonio ALVAREZ Desanti]; United Leftist Coalition or IU [Humberto VARGAS Carbonel]
Political pressure groups and leaders	a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, and secular liberals	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	2,418,393 note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2006 est.)	4,075,261 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	18% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	3.52% note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2006 est.)	1.45% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002)
Railways	-	total: 278 km narrow gauge: 278 km 1.067-m gauge (2005)
Religions	Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15%	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: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	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 (2006 est.)
Suffrage	adult males who are not in the military forces, and adult females (as of 16 May 2005); all voters must have been citizens for 20 years	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: the quality of service is excellent domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	510,300 (2005)	1,388,500 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.38 million (2005)	1.101 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997)	20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002)
Terrain	flat to slightly undulating desert plain	coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes
Total fertility rate	2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.24 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	2.2% (2004 est.)	6.6% (2005 est.)
Waterways	-	730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2005)

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