Relative
Location:
Costa
Rica is located north of Panama in the isthmus that connects Central America to
South America. An isthmus is a piece of land that is surrounded by water on 2
sides, that is the link to 2 pieces of land on both sides—these pieces of
land being Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south (World Regional
Geography, p.86). Costa Rica has the Pacific Ocean on its west coast and the
Caribbean on its east. The city of San Jose is located 9 degrees north of the
equator and 84 degrees west of the prime meridian (Google Maps). The almost
20,000sq mi of land in Costa Rica are divided into 7 provinces, with the
capital city of San Jose being located in, you guess
it, the province of San Jose.
Landscape
and Physical Environment:
Costa
Rica is one of the ecotourism capitals of the world because of its diverse
landscape and friendly culture. If you were to travel to Costa Rica you would
be delighted to know that you can see amazing surf, volcanos, pristine clear
blue water (Caribbean), valleys, wetlands, and jungle all in the same place. In
the northwestern area of Costa Rica, you will find Tamarindo, a famous surfing
location. Along the east-coast you will find beautiful Caribbean waters. In
central Costa Rica you will find the tropical jungle and the highlands where
you can see sight like the Cloud Forest, or Irazu
Volcano.
Weather
and Climate:
Costa
Rica’s climate can be divided into 5 distinct regions: Tropical Savana,
Tropical Monsoon, Tropical Rainforest, Subtropical Highland, and Oceanic. Just
30 minutes south of San Jose is the Monteverde jungle. If you are looking to
travel to some of the wetter regions of Costa Rica, San Rafael and Buenos Aires
would be the best places to see.
Demographics:
Costa
Rica has a population of around 5.1 million people. San Jose is Costa
Rica’s largest city, with around 1 million people. There is an average of
around 6 deaths per 1,000 individuals, which is average for Central American
countries. The net migration rate is +2, the infant mortality rate is 8.4
percent, and the population above 65 is 9%. Costa Rica has a much higher net migration
rate than any of the other Central American countries. This can be contributed
to the best tourism industry in Central America, and a lifestyle that draws
many American expats. The infant mortality rate is also much lower than any
other country in Central America, which means that their access to healthcare
and life necessities must be at the top as well (PRB, 2019, p.10).
Language
and Religion:
The
national religion of Costa Rica is Roman Catholic. “According to recent data, 76.3% of Costa
Ricans identify as Catholic. An additional 13.7% are Evangelical Christians,
1.3% are Jehovah's Witness, and 0.7% are Protestant Christian” (Velzer, 2015, para 2). Like all of
the Central American countries, Costa Rica’s primary language is Spanish.
Although 75% of Costa Rican residents identify as Catholic, much of this
population are not serious practitioners. Costa Rica is considered to have one
of the more open and welcoming Catholic churches in Central America.
Culture
and Ethnic groups:
Close
to 80% of Costa Rica’s population is of Spanish descent, making Costa
Rica the Central American country with the largest percent of people who have
European decent. The other two ethnic groups that compromise Costa Rica, are
the mestizos, who are of mixed indigenous and European ancestry, and the of the
Guanacoste province, who are mixed European,
indigenous, and African. Mestizos make up only 1/10 of the population, and
people who have an African ancestry, and even smaller percent. The African
population coming from the migrants who worked on banana plantations and the
Atlantic Railroad, the most important construction project, and most important
export product for most of Costa Rica’s history. It wasn’t
until 1949 that Costa Rica allowed these black residents of the Limon region,
to enter San Jose and become citizens. There is still discrimination against
people with African ancestry today (Britannica, 2019, para 1).
Costa
Rican Spanish is spoke with a unique accent, that emphasizes -tico instead of -tito. This accent
is unique to Central America. Instead of “chiquito”,
a Costa Rican would say, “chiquitico.” Ahora typically means, “now” in Spanish. Ahoritica means, “maybe it will happen, but probably
not.” This is a good example of how Costa Rican’s use language
(diminutives) to give their language extra emphasis and feeling! This use of
language contributes to the cultural ethos of Costa Rica, “pura vida,” meaning
“pure life” (Henfling, 2018, para 2)
Major
economic activities:
Costa
Rica’s climate and location lend itself to being
a chief agricultural exporter. Costa Rica’s main importer is the United
States. Costa Rica’s main economic industries are medical equipment, food
processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, and
plastic products. The percentage breakdown of labor force in Costa Rica is
agriculture 14%, industry 22%, and services at 64%. Costa Rica relies heavily
on its ecotourism industry that makes up most of its service sector. Costa Rica
is also highly dependent on foreign direct investment (World Factbook, 2019).
Imports
and exports:
The
primary agricultural exports of Costa Rica are bananas, coffee, sugar, and
beef. Costa Rica also has a large medical equipment export sector. The main
export, if you can call it that, is ecotourism. Costa Rica advertises its
beauty to the world, and many people from all over the world spend money to
travel there (World Factbook, 2019).
GNP
and GNP per capita:
Costa
Rica’s GNP Per Capita, based on the PRB- World Population Data, 2019, is 16,670,
which is just above the median GDP for Central America. Of the 8 Central
American countries, Costa Rica sits in 3rd place for GDP Per Capita,
falling behind Panama ranked number 1 and Mexico ranked number 2 (PRB, 2019,
p.10)
Costa Rica (2019).
The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html,
on April 17th 2020.
Finlayson, Caitlin (n.d.) World Regional Geography. Creative
Commons.
Retrieved from http://caitiefinlayson.com/WRGTextbook.pdf
Google.
(n.d.). University of Nebraska Omaha.
Retrieved from https://www.google.com/maps/place/San+Jos%C3%A9+Province,+San+Jos%C3%A9,+Costa+Rica/
Henfling, Ivo (2018). Why are Costa Ricans called Ticos and
Ticas? Costa Rica Living, How
to prevent culture shock. Retrieved from https://www.godutchrealty.com/costa-rica-real-estate-blog,
on April 17th 2020.
Stansifer, Charles L., Karnes, Thomas Li. (2019).
Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/place/Costa-Rica/People,
April 17th, 2020.
Van Velzer, Ryan (2015). Religion
in Costa Rica. Published by Culture.
Retrieved from https://www.costarica.com/culture/religion-in-costa-rica
Wikipedia
Contributors (n.d.) Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11:00, April 19th
2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Rica
World Population Data Sheet (2019). With a Focus on the
Census Throughout History. Published by PRB.
Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/Tcal7/Downloads/2019-World-Pop%20Data-Sheet.pdf, on April 17th 2020.
Submitted by Tim Callahan on April 19th 2020.