1990 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1990 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November)
Coastline
1,290 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than West Virginia
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 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
12 nm
Total area
51,100 km2; land area: 50,660 km2; includes Isla del Coco
People and Society
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 Limon
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)
Government
Administrative divisions
7 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, 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] 33-11-55
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
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, IDB--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, 15 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)
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
Suffrage
universal and compulsory at age 18
Type
democratic republic
Economy
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-Im (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 centimos
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)
Communications
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 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
9 major transport aircraft
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 GRT 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
Military and Security
Branches
Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard; note--Constitution prohibits armed forces
Defense expenditures
0.6% of GDP (1987)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 785,429; 530,986 fit for military service; 31,899 reach military age (18) annually