Portal:Costa Rica

Republic of Costa Rica
*República de Costa Rica* (Spanish)
Republic of Costa Rica República de Costa Rica (Spanish)
	Flag Coat of arms
	Anthem: "Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" (Spanish); "National Anthem of Costa Rica"
ISO 3166 code	CR

The Costa Rica Portal

Introduction

Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million0 in a land area of nearly 51,180 km² (19,760 sq mi). An estimated 352,381 people live in the capital and largest city, San José, with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.

The sovereign state is a presidential republic. It has a long-standing and stable constitutional democracy and a highly educated workforce. The country spends roughly 6.9% of its budget (2016) on education, compared to a global average of 4.4%. Its economy, once heavily dependent on agriculture, has diversified to include sectors such as finance, corporate services for foreign companies, pharmaceuticals, and ecotourism. Many foreign manufacturing and services companies operate in Costa Rica's Free Trade Zones where they benefit from investment and tax incentives.

Costa Rica was inhabited by indigenous peoples before coming under Spanish rule in the 16th century. It remained a peripheral colony of the empire until independence as part of the First Mexican Empire, followed by membership in the Federal Republic of Central America, from which it formally declared independence in 1847. Following the brief Costa Rican Civil War in 1948, it permanently abolished its army in 1949, becoming one of only a few sovereign nations without a standing army. (Full article...)

The Costa Rica Quiz

True or false: voting is mandatory in Costa Rica.

Answer

True, but in practice this is not enforced.^[2]

(or just refresh the page)

Selected article -

Indigenous territories in Costa Rica

Indigenous people of Costa Rica, or Native Costa Ricans, are the people who lived in what is now Costa Rica prior to European and African contact and the descendants of those peoples. About 114,000 indigenous people live in the country, comprising 2.4% of the total population. Indigenous Costa Ricans strive to keep their cultural traditions and languages alive.

In 1977, the government passed the Indigenous Law, which created reserves. There are a total of 24 indigenous territories located throughout Costa Rica. After only gaining the right to vote in 1994, they are still fighting for their rights, particularly regarding the government taking over their land and ignoring the articles which protect them. While indigenous people have struggled for legal recognition of their rights, Costa Rica did sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know (auto-generated)

... that in August 2021 Sheika Scott became the youngest player to score in the Costa Rican Women's Premier Division, at just 14 years old?
... that Costa Rica's most famous bull killed two men and loved mangos?
... that goalkeeper Daniela Solera had the most touches of any Costa Rican player in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup?
... that footballer Alexandra Pinell scored the Costa Rica U20 team's only goal at the FIFA tournament hosted by their country?

More Did you know -

...that Pancha Carrasco became Costa Rica's first woman in the military by joining the defending forces at the Battle of Rivas in 1856 with a rifle and a pocketful of bullets?

Related portals

Selected image -

Image 1Real GDP per capita development in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 2An industrial park in Heredia (from Costa Rica)
Image 3Provinces 1 Alajuela, 2 Cartago, 3 Guanacaste, 4 Heredia, 5 Limón, 6 Puntarenas, 7 San José (from Costa Rica)
Image 4Stone spheres created by the Diquis culture at the National Museum of Costa Rica. The sphere is the icon of the country's cultural identity. (from Costa Rica)
Image 5Costa Rica's tropical landscape (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 6The Heliconius doris butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 7The mangrove hummingbird is endemic to Costa Rica and specializes in feeding from the tea mangrove plant with its uniquely shaped beak. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 8Countries (in blue) which have signed Free Trade Agreements with Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 9Gallo Pinto (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 10The University of Costa Rica is the largest university in the country and one of the most recognizable across Central America. (from Costa Rica)
Image 11Costa Rican kids. (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 121849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from Costa Rica)
Image 13Yigüirro, Costa Rica's national bird (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 14Epiphytes near Santa Elena (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 15The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 16Waterfall in the Tenorio Volcano National Park (from Costa Rica)
Image 17Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) (from Costa Rica)
Image 18Las Carretas (oxcarts) are a national symbol. (from Costa Rica)
Image 19The extent of Costa Rica's western EEZ in the Pacific (from Costa Rica)
Image 20The Rio Celeste (sky blue river) at Tenorio Volcano National Park in Costa Rica. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 21Eyelash viper (Bothriechis schlegelii) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 22Costa Rica map of Köppen climate classification (from Costa Rica)
Image 23An Intel microprocessor facility in Costa Rica that was, at one time, responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 5% of the country's GDP (from Costa Rica)
Image 24José María Castro Madriz formally declared Costa Rica as independent from the Federal Republic of Central America in 1848. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 25Arenal Volcano National Park is one of the country's tourist attractions. (from Costa Rica)
Image 26Costa Rican Women in traditional dress (from Culture of Costa Rica)
Image 27The zebra longwing butterfly (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 28Costa Rican school children (from Costa Rica)
Image 29Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Cartago), during the 2007 pilgrimage (from Costa Rica)
Image 30Mantled howler monkey, male (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 31Typical settlement of the Diquis indigenous people before the arrival of Columbus. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 32Barack Obama and Laura Chinchilla with Costa Rican children in San José (from Costa Rica)
Image 33Costa Rican breakfast with gallo pinto (from Costa Rica)
Image 34Hospital CIMA in Escazú (from Costa Rica)
Image 35Chatham beach on Cocos Island. (from Water resources management in Costa Rica)
Image 36The Ujarrás historical site in the Orosí Valley, Cartago province. The church was built between 1686 and 1693. (from Costa Rica)
Image 37A coffee plantation in the Orosí Valley (from Costa Rica)
Image 38Population pyramid of Costa Rica for 2024 (from Costa Rica)
Image 39A red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 40Hospital Calderón Guardia, named after the president who instituted universal health care across the country in 1941 (from Costa Rica)
Image 41The scarlet macaw is native to Costa Rica. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 42Gregorio José Ramírez was the most notable political chief of the province of Costa Rica, leading republican forces victorious in the Battle of Ochomogo. (from History of Costa Rica)
Image 43Development of life expectancy in Costa Rica (from Costa Rica)
Image 44The golden toad, an amphibian once endemic to Costa Rica, is now extinct. (from Wildlife of Costa Rica)
Image 45Costa Rica supporters at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil (from Costa Rica)

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WikiProject Costa Rica

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Icon information: mountain, rivers

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Costa Rica is home to four UNESCO world heritage sites.

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References

^ "Biodiversity in Costa Rica". Archived from the original on 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
^ "Compulsory Voting". Internateal IDEA. Retrieved 9 Dec 2023.
^ State-sponsored Homophobia A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ Trejos, Alonso (1991). Geografía Ilustrada Costa Rica (in Spanish). San José, Costa Rica: Trejos Editores. p. 128. ISBN 9977-54-029-2.

[1] "Biodiversity in Costa Rica". Archived from the original on 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2007-04-18.

[2] "Compulsory Voting". Internateal IDEA. Retrieved 9 Dec 2023.

[3] State-sponsored Homophobia A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults Archived 17 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Trejos, Alonso (1991). Geografía Ilustrada Costa Rica (in Spanish). San José, Costa Rica: Trejos Editores. p. 128. ISBN 9977-54-029-2.

[2]