1989 Edition

Climate

tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November)

Coastline

1,290 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than West Virginia

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Continental shelf

200 nm

Environment

subject to occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season; active volcanoes; deforestation; soil erosion

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

639 km total; Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km

Land boundary

29. 1 km with US Naval Base at Guantanamo; note — Guantanamo is leased and as such remains part of

Land use

6% arable land; 7% permanent crops; 45% meadows and pastures; 34% forest and woodland; 8% other; includes 1% irrigated

Natural resources

hydropower potential

Terrain

coastal plains separated by rugged mountains

Territorial sea

1 2 nm

Total area

51,100 km2; land area: 50,660 km2; includes Isla del Coco

1 10,860 km2; land area: 110,860km2

Total area

Srt regional map 111

Birth rate

28 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

4 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

96% white (including mestizo), 2% black, 1% Indian, 1% Chinese

Infant mortality rate

16 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

868,300; industry and commerce 35.1%, government and services 33%, agriculture 27%, other 4.9% (1985 est.)

Language

Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto I.imon

Life expectancy at birth

74 years male, 79 years female (1990)

Literacy

93%

Nationality

noun — Costa Rican(s); adjective— Costa Rican

Net migration rate

2 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

15.1% of labor force

Population

3,032,795 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Religion

95% Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate

3.3 children born/ woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

7 provinces (provincias, singular — provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limdn, Puntarenas, San Jose

Capital

San Jose

Communists

7,500 members and sympathizers

Constitution

9 November 1949

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Danilo JIMENEZ; Chancery at Suite 211, 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 234-2945 through 2947; there are Costa Rican Consulates General at Albuquerque, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Tampa, and Consulates in Austin, Buffalo, Honolulu, and Raleigh; US — Ambassador (vacant); Embassy at Pavas Road, San Jose (mailing address is APO Miami 34020); telephone [506] 3311-55

Elections

President — last held 4 February 1990 (next to be held February 1994); results— Rafael Calderon Fournier 51%, Carlos Manuel Castillo 47%; Legislative Assembly — last held 4 February 1990 (next to be held February 1994); results — percent of vote by party NA; seats— (57 total) PUSC 29, PLN 25, PVP/ PPC 1, regional parties 2

Executive branch

president, two vice presidents. Cabinet

Flag

five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the red band

Independence

15 September 1821 (from Spain)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government— President Rafael Angel CALDERON Fournier (since 8 May 1990); First Vice President German SERRANO Pinto (since 8 May 1990); Second Vice President Arnoldo LOPEZ Echandi (since 8 May 1990) Political parties and leaders: National Liberation Party (PLN), Carlos Manuel Castillo; Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), Rafael Angel Calderon Fournier; Marxist Popular Vanguard Party (PVP), Humberto Vargas Carbonell; New Republic Movement (MNR), Sergio Erick Ardon; Progressive Party (PP), Javier Solis; People's Party of Costa Rica (PPC), Lenin Chacon Vargas; Radical Democratic Party (PRD), Juan Jose Echeverria Brealey

Legal system

based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa)

Long-form name

Republic of Costa Rica

Member of

CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDE— Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC — International Wheat Council, OAS, ODECA, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPEB, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 5 September (1821)

Other political or pressure groups

Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers (CCTD; Liberation Party affiliate), Confederated Union of Workers (CUT; Communist Party affiliate), Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers (CATD; Communist Party affiliate), Chamber of Coffee Growers, National Association for Economic Development (ANFE), Free Costa Rica Movement (MCRL; rightwing militants), National Association of Educators (ANDE)

Suffrage

universal and compulsory at age

Type

democratic republic

Agriculture

accounts for 20-25% of GDP and 70% of exports; cash commodities — coffee, beef, bananas, sugar; other food crops include corn, rice, beans, potatotes; normally self-sufficient in food except for grain; depletion of forest resources resulting in lower timber output

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-lm (FY70-88), $1.3 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $706 million; Communist countries (1971-88), $27 million

Budget

revenues $719 million; expenditures $808 million, including capital expenditures of $103 million (1988)

Currency

Costa Rican colon (plural — colones); 1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimes

Electricity

909,000 kW capacity; 2,928 million kWh produced, 990 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Costa Rican colones (C) per US$1— 84.689 (January 1990), 81.504 (1989), 75.805 (1988), 62.776 (1987), 55.986 (1986), 50.453 (1985)

Exports

$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities— coffee, bananas, textiles, sugar; partners— US 75%, FRG, Guatemala, Netherlands, UK, Japan

External debt

$4.5 billion (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$4.7 billion, per capita $1,630; real growth rate 3. 8% (1988)

Illicit drugs

illicit production of cannabis on small scattered plots; transshipment country for cocaine from South America

Imports

$1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities— petroleum, machinery, consumer durables, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs; partners — US 35%, Japan, Guatemala, FRG

Industrial production

growth rate 2.1% (1988)

Industries

food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

10% (1989)

Overview

In 1988 the economy grew at a 3.8% rate, a drop from the 5.1% of the previous year. Gains in agricultural production (on the strength of good coffee and banana crops) and in construction, were partially offset by declines in the rates of growth for the industry and commerce sectors. In 1988 consumer prices rose by nearly 21% followed by a 10% rise in 1989. Unemployment is officially reported at about 6%, but much underemployment remains. External debt, on a per capita basis, is among the world's highest.

Unemployment rate

5.5% (March 1989) Cuba

Airports

193 total, 177 usable; 25 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 11 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Branches

Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard; note — Constitution prohibits armed forces Military manpower males 15-49, 785,429; 530,986 fit for military service; 31,899 reach military age (18) annually

Civil air

9 major transport aircraft

Defense expenditures

0.6% of GDP (1987) Straus of Florida HAVANA 300km North Atlantic Ocean Is/a de la Juventud Caribbean Sea Sec regional map 111 de Cuba Naval Base

Highways

15,400 km total; 7,030 km paved, 7,010 km gravel, 1,360 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways

about 730 km, seasonally navigable

Merchant marine

2 cargo ships (1,000 CRT or over) totaling 4,279 GRT/6,602 DWT

Pipelines

refined products, 176 km

Ports

Puerto Limon, Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puntarenas

Railroads

950 km total, all 1 .067-meter gauge; 260 km electrified

Telecommunications

very good domestic telephone service; 292,000 telephones; connection into Central American Microwave System; stations— 71 AM, no FM, 18 TV, 13 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station Defense Forces