REPUBLIC

OF COSTA
RICA
(Spanish: República de Costa
Rica)
POPULATION: 5,056,207 (2019)
AREA: 51,100 km²
CAPITAL CITY: San José
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Spanish
RELIGION: Catholic
NATIONAL LANDMARKS
 Museo
Nacional de
Costa Rica
 The
Hanging
Bridges of
Arenal
Ancient
Stone
spheres
Guayabo
de
Turrialba
Monteverde
Cloud
Forest
 Bahia
Ballena
FACTS
Costa Rican
Colón
Nicoya is one of the top five
Blue Zones in the world
Ticos and Ticas
Costa Rica contains 5% of the
worlds biodiversity
It has no army
Costa Rica generates 99% of its
electricity from renewable energy
It has five active volcanoes
CUISINE
Gallo Pinto
Casado
Arroz con leche
Tres Leches
POLITICAL LIFE
Government

 The government has four branches: the

executive, the unicameral Legislative Assembly,
the judiciary, and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
In addition, many autonomous public sector
institutions were created in the 1960s and 1970s.
Most were privatized, downsized, or abolished in
the 1980s and 1990s.
Leadership and Political Officials

 Presidential and legislative elections are held

every four years. Presidents generally appoint
cabinet ministers and many other central
government officials and employees. Legislative
deputies consolidate support through dispensing
special budget appropriations (partidas
específicas) in their districts.
Social Problems and Control

 With the economic crisis of the early 1980s,

violent street crime skyrocketed and remains high
today. Firearms from wars elsewhere in Central
America were easily acquired. Costa Rica became
a transshipment point for Colombian cocaine
bound for the United States. The emergence of
private financial institutions in the 1980s
facilitated money laundering.
Military Activity

 The military was abolished following the 1948 Civil War.

Security forces include the Civil Guard, Rural Guard,
Judicial Police, and several smaller intelligence units.
Private guards protect businesses and middle- and upper-
class communities.
In the 1970s and 1980s, northern Costa Rica served as a
base for armed Nicaraguan Sandinistas and then for anti-
Sandinistas.
BASIC ECONOMY
 Until the 1960s, Costa Rica depended on coffee and bananas
for most of its export earnings. Coffee income was well
distributed, which fueled a dynamic commercial sector. After
the 1948 Civil War, nationalized banks channeled subsidized
loans to neglected regions and new activities. In the 1960s,
beef and sugar assumed greater importance, and the country
began to industrialize, protected by Central American Common
Market tariffs. Following a debt crisis in the early 1980s, the
state reduced its role in the economy and promoted export-
oriented agriculture and industries. Since the late 1990s,
tourism has been the second largest source of dollars, after
bananas.