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Costa Rica is a democratic republic with a strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Executive responsibilities are vested in a president, who is the country's center of power. There also are two vice presidents and a 15-member cabinet. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for 4-year terms. In April 2003, the Costa...
After four years of slow economic growth, the Costa Rican economy grew at a healthy 5.6% in 2003, with growth estimates exceeding 4% for 2004. Compared with its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica has achieved a high standard of living, with a per capita income of about U.S. $4,200, and an unemployment rate of 6.7%. The annual inflation rate hovers...
Costa Ricans take a strong interest in their pre-Columbian art, which includes large statues from the Pacific northwest, smaller examples of carved relief in stone from other districts, and some fine work done in the form of small objects of gold. Samples of all these may be seen in the national museum. Guayabo National Park, near Turrialba, features...
In 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus made the first European landfall in the area. Settlement of Costa Rica began in 1522. For nearly three centuries, Spain administered the region as part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala under a military governor. The Spanish optimistically called the country "Rich Coast."...
Location: Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama Geographic coordinates: 10 00 N, 84 00 W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: total: 51,100 sq km land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco Area #151;comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia...
Unlike many of their Central American neighbors, present-day Costa Ricans are largely of European rather than mestizo descent; Spain was the primary country of origin. However, an estimated 10% to 15% of the population is Nicaraguan, of fairly recent arrival and primarily of mestizo origin. Descendants of 19th-century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute...
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