Portal:Costa Rica
Introduction
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Costa Rica (/ˌkɒstə 
listen); Spanish: [ˈkosta ˈrika]; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica (Spanish: República de Costa Rica), is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around 5 million in a land area of 51,060 square kilometers (19,714 square miles). An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city, San José with around 2 million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.
The sovereign state of Costa Rica is a unitary presidential constitutional republic. It is known for its long-standing and stable democracy, and for its highly educated workforce, most of whom speak English. 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 (FTZ) where they benefit from investment and tax incentives.
Costa Rica was facing a market liquidity crisis in 2017 due to a growing debt and budget deficit. By August 2017, the Treasury was having difficulty paying its obligations. Other challenges facing the country in its attempts to improve the economy by increasing foreign investment include a poor infrastructure and a need to improve public sector efficiency.
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The most recent nationwide survey of religion in Costa Rica, conducted in 2007 by the University of Costa Rica, found that 70.5 percent of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholics (with 44.9 percent practicing, 25.6 percent nonpracticing), 13.8 percent state they are Evangelical Protestants, 11.3 percent report that they do not have a religion, and 4.3 percent declare that they belong to another religion.
Apart from the dominant Catholic religion, there are several other religious groups in the country. Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal, Baptist, and other Protestant groups have significant membership. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) claim more than 35,000 members and has a temple in San Jose that served as a regional worship center for Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Although they represent less than 1 percent of the population, Jehovah's Witnesses have a strong presence on the Caribbean coast. Seventh-day Adventists operate a university that attracts students from throughout the Caribbean Basin. The Unification Church maintains its continental headquarters for Latin America in San Jose. Non-Christian religious groups, including followers of Judaism, Islam, Taoism, Hare Krishna, Scientology, Tenrikyo, and the Bahá'í Faith, claim membership throughout the country, with the majority of worshipers residing in the Central Valley (the area of the capital). While there is no general correlation between religion and ethnicity, indigenous peoples are more likely to practice animism than other religions.
Article 75 of the Costa Rican Constitution states that the "Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Religion is the official religion of the Republic". That same article provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The US government found no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice in 2007.
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A Costa Rican breakfast with gallo pinto.
Quotes
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New York is baffling in that it's a city that prides itself on being an absolute shit-hole. It's like — there's nothing good here, people are proud of that, they're happy, "Oh, it's overpriced, and it's overpopulated, and it stinks like piss, and comics! — comics film specials here!" And they all open with a joke about, "Yeah, you spend 8 thousand dollars a month for 9 square feet!" And you go, "Well, why do you fucking live here?" Why do people stay here?.. But unfortunately, this is where comedy works — where people are the most miserable. Like, I'd rather be filming a special on a beach in Costa Rica in a tiki bar right now, but they don't need comedians, they're already smiling, they're already happy — naturally! So that's why I'm doing a special here — cause it's the last fucking place I wanna be. |  |
— Doug Stanhope |
Costa Rica topics
Costa Rica news
- 20 October 2018 –
- Four U.S. tourists are killed in Costa Rica after a rafting accident on a swollen river. (BBC)
- 10 August 2018 –
- The Supreme Court of Costa Rica rules that a ban on same-sex marriage is illegal, and states that legislators must change the law accordingly within eighteen months. (BBC)
- 15 June 2018 –
- Kellogg's issues a voluntary recall of Honey Smacks amid fears of salmonella contamination, with affected areas including the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, and some parts of French Polynesia. (BBC)
Did you know...
- ... that Maria Eugenia Bozzoli was one of the founders of anthropology in Costa Rica?
- ... that Jordyn Huitema scored her first goal for the Canadian women's national soccer team in an exhibition game against Costa Rica, and scored her second goal less than a minute later?
- ... that the launch of the Costa Rican satellite Irazú was partly funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign?
- ... that Doris Yankelewitz Berger was the first Jewish First Lady of Costa Rica?
...John Biehl, a Chilean government minister in the 1990s, led the successful campaign for Costa Rican president Óscar Arias to ...
...that the slogan Juan Valdez drinks Costa Rican coffee, popular on bumper sticker s in Costa Rica, prompted a lawsuit from Federación ...
...that one of the oldest churches in Costa Rica, Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Limpia Concepcion, built in the 1560s in ...
...that the Irazú Volcano in Costa Rica erupted violently in 1963, on the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy arrived in the country for ...
...that Tortuguero National Park is the third-most visited park in Costa Rica, despite the fact that it can only be reached by ...
...that Inca Dove is a small New World dove that ranges from the southwestern United States and Mexico through Central America to Costa Rica?.. ...
...that Pancha Carrasco became Costa Rica's first woman in the military by joining the defending forces at the Battle of Rivas rifle in ...
...that the Landmarks Foundation helps conserve sacred sites such as the stone spheres of Costa Rica and the moai of Easter Island? ...
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Selected biography
Francisco Rodríguez Barrientos (born 1956) is a Costa Rican writer and sociologist.
Francisco Rodríguez Barrientos was born in 1956. He grew in San Carlos, a rural county in the northern plains of Costa Rica. He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Ciego de Avila, Cuba, and a licentura (Sociology) from the University of Costa Rica. Rodriguez teaches sociology at the Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica. Although he has published articles and books on sociological elements of development, he is mostly known as writer of aphorisms and poems.
The corpus of aphorism's books of Rodríguez Barrientos includes, among others, the following titles: "Tardes de domingo" (Ediciones Perro Azul, 2003), "El ángel de la salmuera" (Ediciones Perro Azul, 2004), "Serpigo" (Ediciones Perro Azul, 2005), "Fauces" (Ediciones Arboleda, 2006) and "El sopor de la canícula" (Ediciones Arboleda, 2007).
