The location of Costa Rica An enlargeable relief map of the Republic of Costa Rica The following

outline Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edge ...

is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Costa Rica:

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

–

sovereign country A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined terri ...

located in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, bordered by

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

to the north,

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

to the east-southeast, the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to the west and south, and the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

to the east. Costa Rica was the first country in the world to constitutionally abolish its army. Among

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

n countries, Costa Rica ranks 4th on the 2007

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...

, and 48th worldwide. Costa Rica is ranked 5th in the world on the 2008 Environmental Performance Index, up from the 15th place in 2006. In 2007 the government stated that it wants Costa Rica to be the first country to become

carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the "p ...

by 2021.

General reference

image:Costa Rica-CIA WFB Map.png, An enlargeable basic map of

* International Phonetic Alphabet, Pronunciation: * Common English country name:

* Official English country name: The

Republic of Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

* Common

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

(s): Tiquicia * Official endonym(s): * Adjectival(s):

Costa Rican Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

Demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

(s): *

Etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

Name of Costa Rica A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

* International rankings of Costa Rica * ISO country codes: CR, CRI, 188 * ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:CR *

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all t ...

.cr .cr is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of Costa Rica. Second-level domains * .ac.cr - Academic: Universities * .co.cr - Commercial * .ed.cr - Education: Colleges, High Schools, etc. * .fi.cr - Financial institutions such as banks, etc ...

Geography of Costa Rica

image:Costa Rica Topography.png, An enlargeable topographic map of

Geography of Costa Rica * Costa Rica is: a Nation state, country * Location: ** Northern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere *** Americas **** North America ***** Middle America (Americas), Middle America ******

Time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...

: UTC-06 ** Extreme points of Costa Rica *** High: Cerro Chirripó *** Low: North Pacific Ocean and

0 m **Land boundaries: 639 km :: 330 km :: 309 km :* Coastline: 1,290 km * Population of Costa Rica: 4,301,712 ( 2011 census) - 123rd most populous country * *

Area of Costa Rica Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a Region (mathematics), region on the plane (geometry), plane or on a curved surface (mathematics), surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar ...

: 51,100 km² * Atlas of Costa Rica

Environment of Costa Rica

image:Costa Rica Blue Marble.png, An enlargeable satellite image of

* Climate of Costa Rica * Deforestation in Costa Rica * List of ecoregions in Costa Rica, Ecoregions in Costa Rica * Renewable Energy in Costa Rica, Renewable energy in Costa Rica * Geology of Costa Rica *

Protected areas of Costa Rica Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

** Biosphere reserves in Costa Rica **

National parks of Costa Rica There are currently 30 National Parks of Costa Rica, which are managed under the umbrella of SINAC (Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion), a department of Costa Rica's Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE). All told, Costa Rica's prote ...

Wildlife of Costa Rica The Wildlife of Costa Rica comprises all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants that reside in this Central American country. Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between the No ...

** Fauna of Costa Rica *** Birds of Costa Rica *** Mammals of Costa Rica **** Monkeys of Costa Rica

Natural geographic features of Costa Rica

* Fjords of Costa Rica * Glaciers of Costa Rica * Islands of Costa Rica *

Lakes of Costa Rica A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Mountains of Costa Rica A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

** Volcanoes in Costa Rica *

Rivers of Costa Rica A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Waterfalls of Costa Rica A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

Valleys of Costa Rica A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

* World Heritage Sites in Costa Rica

Regions of Costa Rica

Ecoregions of Costa Rica

List of ecoregions in Costa Rica The following is a list of ecoregions in Costa Rica. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ...

* Neotropical

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

Central American Atlantic moist forests The Central American Atlantic moist forests ecoregion (WWF ID: NT0111) covers the lowland coastal forests of Honduras, southeast Guatemala, and the eastern forests of Nicaragua. Half of the ecoregion is closed-canopy tropical broadleaf evergreen f ...

Cocos Island moist forests Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Puntarenas Province, Pr ...

** Costa Rican seasonal moist forests **

Isthmian–Atlantic moist forests The Isthmian–Atlantic moist forests (NT0129) are a Central American tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion located on the lowland slopes (under 500 meters) on the caribbean sea side of Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Gulf and Pacific Ocean ...

Isthmian–Pacific moist forests The Isthmian–Pacific moist forests ecoregion (WWF ID: NT0130) covers the lowland tropical evergreen forests on the Pacific side of the central mountains of southern Costa Rica and western Panama. As the meeting zone between North and South Ameri ...

Talamancan montane forests The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America. Setting The Talamancan montane forests cover a discontinuous area of in Cordilleran mountain ...

* Neotropical

Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

Central American dry forests The Central American dry forests ecoregion, of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests biome, is located in Central America. Geography The ecoregion covers a total area of approximately 68,100 km2. It extends along the Pacific c ...

* Neotropical Montane grasslands and shrublands ** Talamanca Paramo * Neotropical Mangrove ** Bocas del Toro–San Bastimentos Island–San Blas mangroves ** Moist Pacific Coast mangroves ** Mosquitia–Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast mangroves ** Rio Negro–Rio San Sun mangroves ** Southern Dry Pacific Coast mangroves

Administrative divisions of Costa Rica

Administrative divisions of Costa Rica According to the Political Constitution of Costa Rica of 1949, in article 168, the territorial division of Costa Rica is organized by law into three types of subnational entity: For the purposes of the Public Administration, the national territo ...

Provinces of Costa Rica According to Article 168 of the Constitution of Costa Rica, the political divisions are officially classified into 3 tiers of sub-national entities. Overview The Constitution of Costa Rica states, ''"For Public Administration purposes, the nation ...

** Cantons of Costa Rica ***

Districts of Costa Rica According to the Administrative divisions of Costa Rica, Territorial Administrative Division the Cantons of Costa Rica, cantons of Costa Rica are subdivided into 488 districts (''distritos''), each of which has a unique five digit postal code. ...

= Provinces of Costa Rica

= Cantons of Costa Rica

= Districts of Costa Rica

= Municipalities of Costa Rica

= *

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of Costa Rica:

San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...

* Cantons of Costa Rica

Demography of Costa Rica

Demographics of Costa Rica This is a demography of the population of Costa Rica including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. According to the United Nations, ...

Government and politics of Costa Rica

Politics of Costa Rica The politics of Costa Rica take place in a framework of a presidential, representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and their cabinet, and the President of Costa Rica is both the h ...

Form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

representative democratic Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

of Costa Rica:

Elections in Costa Rica Costa Rica elects on national level a head of state, the president, and a legislature. The President of Costa Rica is, together with two vice-presidents, elected for a four-year term by the people. The Legislative Assembly ''(Asamblea Legislativa) ...

* Political parties in Costa Rica

Branches of government

Government of Costa Rica The politics of Costa Rica take place in a framework of a presidential, representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and their cabinet, and the President of Costa Rica is both the he ...

Executive branch of the government of Costa Rica

Head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

President of Costa Rica The president of the Republic of Costa Rica is the head of state and head of government of Costa Rica. The president is currently elected in direct elections for a period of four years, which is not immediately renewable. Two Vice President of C ...

Head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

Prime Minister of Costa Rica The Ministry of the Presidency is a ministry of the Republic of Costa Rica created on 24 December 1961 through Law 2980. Its work prescribed by law consists in providing support to the President of the Republic, serving as a liaison between the Pr ...

Cabinet of Costa Rica The politics of Costa Rica take place in a framework of a presidential system, presidential, Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and their cabinet, ...

Legislative branch of the government of Costa Rica

Parliament of Costa Rica The Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa) forms the unicameral legislative branch of the Costa Rican government. The national congress building is located in the capital city, San José, specifically in Carmen district of the San ...

(

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

)

Judicial branch of the government of Costa Rica

Court system of Costa Rica *

Supreme Court of Costa Rica The Supreme Court of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Corte Suprema de Justicia de Costa Rica'') is the court of greater hierarchy of Law and Justice in Costa Rica. Established on 25 January 1825, the current President of the Supreme Court of Justice is ...

Foreign relations of Costa Rica

Foreign relations of Costa Rica Costa Rica is an active member of the international community and, in 1983, claimed it was for neutrality. Due to certain powerful constituencies favoring its methods, it has a weight in world affairs far beyond its size. The country lobbied ag ...

* Diplomatic missions in Costa Rica * Diplomatic missions of Costa Rica

International organization membership

The Republic of Costa Rica is a member of: *

Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean The OPANAL (which stands for el Organismo para la Proscripción de las Armas Nucleares en la América Latina y el Caribe) is an international organization which promotes a non-aggression pact and nuclear disarmament in much of the Americas. In Eng ...

(OPANAL) *

Central American Bank for Economic Integration The Central American Bank for Economic Integration - CABEI ( BCIE in Spanish) was founded in 1960. It is an international multilateral development financial institution. Its resources are invested in projects that foster development to reduce pov ...

(BCIE) *

Central American Common Market The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

(CACM) *

Central American Integration System The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

(SICA) *

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) *

Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 fou ...

(G77) *

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

(IADB) *

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...

(IPU) *

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

(IAEA) *

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, that is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers l ...

(IBRD) * International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) *

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...

(ICAO) *

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...

(ICCt) *

International Criminal Police Organization The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

(Interpol) *

International Development Association The International Development Association (IDA) (french: link=no, Association internationale de développement) is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world's poorest developing countries. Th ...

(IDA) *

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...

(IFRCS) * International Finance Corporation (IFC) *

International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD; french: link=no, Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA)) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address ...

(IFAD) *

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO) *

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

(IMO) *

International Mobile Satellite Organization The International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites. Some of these services concern: ...

(IMSO) *

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF) *

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) *

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM was ...

(IOM) *

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...

(ISO) *

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

(ICRM) *

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

(ITU) *

International Telecommunications Satellite Organization The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) is an intergovernmental organization charged with overseeing the public service obligations of Intelsat, which was privatized in 2001. It incorporates the principle set forth i ...

(ITSO) * International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) *

Latin American Economic System The Latin American and the Caribbean Economic System, officially known as Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe (SELA), is an organization founded in 1975 to promote economic cooperation and social development between Latin American and th ...

(LAES) * Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) (observer) * Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) *

Nonaligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath ...

(NAM) (observer) *

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...

(OPCW) *

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

(OAS) *

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise ...

(PCA) *

Rio Group The Rio Group (G-Rio) was a permanent association of political consultation of Latin America and Caribbean countries, created in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on December 18, 1986 with the purpose of creating a better political relationship among the cou ...

(RG) *'' Unión Latina'' *

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN) *

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

(UNCTAD) *

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(UNESCO) *

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

(UNHCR) *

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

(UNIDO) *

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...

(UPU) * World Confederation of Labour (WCL) * World Customs Organization (WCO) *

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

(WFTU) *

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) *

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, 15 specialized agencies of the United Nation ...

(WIPO) *

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internati ...

(WMO) *

World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internati ...

(UNWTO) *

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

(WTO)

Law and order in Costa Rica

Law of Costa Rica * Constitution of Costa Rica * Crime in Costa Rica * Human rights in Costa Rica **

LGBT rights in Costa Rica Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Costa Rica have evolved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual relations have been legal since 1971. In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights made mandatory ...

Freedom of religion in Costa Rica Christianity is the predominant religion in Costa Rica, with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. Roman Catholicism is also the state religion, but the government generally upholds people's religious freedom in practice. A study ma ...

* Law enforcement in Costa Rica

Military of Costa Rica

Military of Costa Rica The Public Force of Costa Rica ( es, Fuerza Pública de Costa Rica) is the Costa Rican national law enforcement force, which performs policing and border patrol functions. History On 1 December 1948, President José Figueres Ferrer of Costa Ri ...

* Command ** Commander-in-chief *** Ministry of Defence of Costa Rica * Forces ** Army of Costa Rica **

Navy of Costa Rica A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

** Air Force of Costa Rica ** Special forces of Costa Rica *

Military history of Costa Rica A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

* Military ranks of Costa Rica

Local government in Costa Rica

Local government in Costa Rica Costa Rica’s municipal system is organized under the Municipal Code, the specific law that regulates the local governments. Municipalities are the Administrative divisions of Costa Rica, second-level administration in Costa Rica after the central ...

History of Costa Rica

History of Costa Rica The first indigenous peoples of Costa Rica were hunters and gatherers, and when the Spanish conquerors arrived, Costa Rica was divided in two distinct cultural areas due to its geographical location in the Intermediate Area, between Mesoamerica ...

* Timeline of the history of Costa Rica * Current events of Costa Rica *

Culture of Costa Rica

Culture of Costa Rica * Architecture of Costa Rica *

Costa Rican people Costa Ricans ( es, Costarricenses), also called Ticos, are the citizens of Costa Rica, a multiethnic, Spanish-speaking nation in Central America. Costa Ricans are predominantly Castizos, other ethnic groups people of Indigenous, European, Africa ...

* Cuisine of Costa Rica *

Festivals in Costa Rica This is a list of festivals celebrated in Costa Rica: This list includes festivals of diverse types, among them regional festivals, trade fairs, commerce festivals, fairs, food festivals, arts festivals, religious festivals, folk festivals, and re ...

* Languages of Costa Rica * Media in Costa Rica * Museums in Costa Rica *

National symbols of Costa Rica National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Coat of arms of Costa Rica The official coat of arms of the Republic of Costa Rica was designed in 1848, with modifications in 1906, 1964, and 1998. The latest change was the addition of smoke to distinguish the three volcanoes.

** Flag of Costa Rica **

National anthem of Costa Rica The "" (), also known by its incipit, "" (), is the national anthem of Costa Rica. Its music was composed by , who dedicated the score to French adventurer , and adopted in 1852. The music was created to receive delegates from the United Kingdom ...

Prostitution in Costa Rica Prostitution in Costa Rica is legal. Costa Rica's legal system is based on Roman law rather than common law, and so for prostitution to be illegal it would have to be explicitly stated as such in a penal code, and it is not. Nevertheless, many of t ...

Public holidays in Costa Rica The following are the national public holidays of Costa Rica. Of the eleven days, nine are paid holidays and two are not. Public holidays Dates for moveable holidays *2020 ** July 27 - Annexation of the Party of Nicoya to Costa Rica ** Augus ...

* Records of Costa Rica *

Religion in Costa Rica Christianity is the predominant religion in Costa Rica, with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. Roman Catholicism is also the state religion, but the government generally upholds people's religious freedom in practice. A study ...

** Buddhism in Costa Rica ** Christianity in Costa Rica ** Hinduism in Costa Rica **

Islam in Costa Rica Islam is one of the smallest minority faiths in Costa Rica, whose state religion is Catholic Christianity. Without an official number by any state entity, it is considered that the number of Muslims in Costa Rica could be between 1000 and 1500 ...

Judaism in Costa Rica The history of the Jews in Costa Rica dates back to the Spanish conquest with the arrival of many Sephardic converts known as ''Marranos'' who escaped from the Spanish Inquisition and settled mainly in the city of Cartago, Costa Rica, Cartago and i ...

** Sikhism in Costa Rica * World Heritage Sites in Costa Rica

Art in Costa Rica

* Art in Costa Rica * Cinema of Costa Rica * Literature of Costa Rica *

Music of Costa Rica The country of Costa Rica has many kinds of music. Though its music has achieved little international credit, Costa Rican popular music genres include an indigenous calypso scene, which is distinct from the more widely known Trinidadian calyp ...

* Television in Costa Rica * Theatre in Costa Rica

Sports in Costa Rica

Sports in Costa Rica *

Football in Costa Rica Football is the most popular sport in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has long been considered an exporter of footballers within Central America, with 19 players in European professional football leagues during 2006. The newspaper, ''La Nación'', has pr ...

* Costa Rica at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Costa Rica

Economy of Costa Rica The economy of Costa Rica has been very stable for some years now, with continuing growth in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and moderate inflation, though with a high unemployment rate: 11.49% in 2019. Costa Rica's economy emerged from rece ...

* Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 84th (eighty-fourth) *

Agriculture in Costa Rica Costa Rican agriculture plays a profound part in the country's gross domestic product (GDP). It makes up about 6.5% of Costa Rica's GDP, and 14% of the labor force. Depending upon location and altitude, many regions differ in agricultural crops an ...

* Banking in Costa Rica **

National Bank of Costa Rica Banco Nacional de Costa Rica or BNCR is the largest commercial bank in Costa Rica and the second largest in Central America by assets. It has a 49% stake in Banco de Costa Rica International Limited (BICSA), incorporated with the Republic of Panam ...

* Communications in Costa Rica ** Internet in Costa Rica * Companies of Costa Rica * Currency of Costa Rica: Colón **

ISO 4217 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...

: CRC *

Health care in Costa Rica Costa Rica provides universal health care to its citizens and permanent residents. Both the private and public health care systems in Costa Rica are continually being upgraded. Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) frequently place C ...

* Costa Rica Stock Exchange *

Tourism in Costa Rica Tourism in Costa Rica has been one of the fastest growing economic sectors of the country and by 1995 became the largest foreign exchange earner. Since 1999, tourism has earned more foreign exchange than bananas, pineapples and coffee exports com ...

* Transport in Costa Rica ** Airports in Costa Rica **

Rail transport in Costa Rica upright=1.20 , Universidad de Costa Rica station, San Pedro, Montes de Oca. Rail transport in Costa Rica is primarily under the stewardship of Incofer (Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles), an autonomous institution of the state. Incofe ...

** Roads in Costa Rica * Water supply and sanitation in Costa Rica

References

External links

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