Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a Central American country between Nicaragua and Panama, with coasts on both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Its land area is about 51,180 km² (19,760 sq mi). San José is the capital and Spanish the main language, while the Bribri and Boruca peoples keep their own communities in the Talamanca mountains.

People have lived here since between 7000 and 10,000 BC. Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean shore on his last voyage in 1502, and Spain kept the territory as a remote colony. Independence came in 1821, followed by membership of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1823 until a formal break in 1847. Coffee grown on the Central Plateau went by oxcart to the port of Puntarenas, and a railroad to Limón on the Caribbean, finished in 1890, opened a banana trade with the United States. Under José Figueres Ferrer the constitution of 1949 gave all citizens the vote and abolished the army for good.

Costa Rica is a presidential republic, and school has been free and compulsory since 1886. Farming once dominated, but medical instruments, integrated circuits and orthopedic devices now sit beside bananas and tropical fruit among exports, and finance, business services and pharmaceuticals have grown. By 2004 tourism brought in more foreign exchange than bananas and coffee together. Hydropower supplies most electricity, with geothermal, wind and solar energy adding to it. Costa Rica is the only OECD member in Central America and the Caribbean.

A network of national parks and reserves made the country an early center of ecotourism. Corcovado National Park, home to big cats and tapirs, is studied by ecologists for its wildlife. Cerro Chirripó reaches 3,819 m (12,530 ft), Lake Arenal is the largest lake, and the Irazú Volcano is the highest of 14 known volcanoes. Costa Ricans call themselves Ticos, and the phrase pura vida, pure life, sums up their relaxed outlook.