DEMOGRAPHICS

•  Location : Located in the Central American isthmus, immediately north of Panama, with ports in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and 153 highway miles between them.

•  Area : 51,000 square kilometers (19,652 sq. miles)

•  Capital : San José

•  Population (2003): More than 4.0 million

•  Density: 78.4 inhabitants per square kilometer (203.5 inhabitants per sq.mile)

•  Annual growth rate (2001 est.): 2.3%.

•  Major metropolitan center: San Jose (1 M )

•  By gender: men: 49,86% women: 50,14%

•  Economically active population : 42.3%

•  Unemployment rate 2002 : 6.4%

•  Underemployment rate 2002 : 7.6 %

•  Ethnic groups : European and some " mestizo " 94%, African origin 3%, Chinese 1%, indigenous 1%, other 1%.

•  Religion: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical Protestant (approx.) 13.7%, none 3.2%, others 6.8%.

•  Languages : Spanish, with Jamaican dialect of English spoken around Puerto Limon.

•  Education: Years compulsory 9.

•  Attendance: 99% grades 1-6, 71% grades 7-9.

•  Literacy rate: 95.5%.

•  Infant mortality rate --10.8/1,000.

•  Life expectancy : men 75.6 yrs., women 79.9 yrs.

•  Work force (2000, 1.39 million) : Services--58%; agriculture--20%; industry--22%.

•  Educational Institutions : 6147 primary and secondary schools and 50 universities

•  Education expenditures: 5% of GDP (2002).

•  Youth literacy: 98.3%

•  Population served with piped water : 99%

•  Public health services coverage: 90.4% of population

•  Health expenditures : 27.8% of government budget

•  Access to telephone service: 92% of population

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