Costa Rica

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"
Capital and largest city	San José 9°56′N 84°5′W / 9.933°N 84.083°W / 9.933; -84.083
Official languages	Spanish
Recognized regional languages	Mekatelyu Bribri Patois
Ethnic groups (2011[2])	83.6% White or Mestizo 6.7% Mulatto (mixed Black and White) 2.4% Indigenous 1.1% Black 6.2% Others[1]
Religion (2021)[4]	72.6% Christianity —47.5% Roman Catholic (official)[3] —22.5% Protestant —2.6% Other Christian 27.0% No religion 0.4% Others
Demonym(s)	Costa Rican Tico(a)
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Rodrigo Chaves
• 1st Vice-President	Stephan Brunner
• 2nd Vice-President	Mary Munive
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
Independence declared
• from Spain	15 September 1821
• from First Mexican Empire	1 July 1823
• from the Federal Republic of Central America	14 November 1838
• Recognized by Spain	10 May 1850
• Constitution	7 November 1949[2]
Area
• Total	51,100 km2 (19,700 sq mi) (126th)
• Water (%)	1.05 (as of 2015)[5]
Population
• 2020 estimate	5,094,118[6] (123rd)
• Density	220/sq mi (84.9/km2) (107th)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$95.791 billion[7]
• Per capita	$18,651[7]
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$65.179 billion[7]
• Per capita	$12,690[7]
Gini (2020)	49.7[8] high
HDI (2019)	0.810[9] very high · 62nd
Currency	Costa Rican colón (CRC)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+506
ISO 3166 code	CR
Internet TLD	.cr .co.cr

Costa Rica (officially called Republic of Costa Rica), is a country in Central America. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The official language of Costa Rica is Spanish. The official currency is the colón. It has enjoyed a long period of peace since the 1863 civil war. Because of its natural beauty and political stability, it is nicknamed the "Switzerland of Latin America". Costa Rica has had no army since December 1, 1948. Instead of spending money on the military, the government spends money on education and health.

5,094,118^[10] people live in Costa Rica. The capital city is San José. The current President is Rodrigo Chaves. He was elected in 2022.

1. ↑ Cite error: The named reference livepopulation.com was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Central Intelligence Agency (2011). "Costa Rica". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
3. ↑ "International Religious Freedom Report for 2017". www.state.gov. 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
4. ↑ Murillo, Alvaro (7 July 2021). "Encuesta CIEP-UCR evidencia a una Costa Rica estatista y menos religiosa". Semanario Universidad. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
5. ↑ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Archived from the original on 2021-03-24. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
6. ↑ "Costa Rica Population Growth Rate 1950-2021". www.macrotrends.net. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} "Costa Rica". International Monetary Fund. October 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
8. ↑ "Income inequality". data.oecd.org. OECD. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
9. ↑ "Human Development Report 2019". United Nations Development Programme. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
10. ↑ "Costa Rica Population Growth Rate 1950-2021". www.macrotrends.net. Archived from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-01-24.