- 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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