COSTA RICA
Official infomation about Costa Rica to be found at Costa Ricas Tourist Board Website

Costa Rica, located in Central America, forms a natural bridge and narrow isthmus, lies 10° North of the Equator Line, on the Tropic. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and to the west, the Pacific Ocean.  Costa Rica features a total of 1,300 kilometers or 800 miles of coastline (215 km / 135 mileson the Caribbean coast and 1,085 km / 665 miles on the Pacific Coast). It is about the size of  the State West Virginia, in the USA. Adventure is widely offered. Many romantic and exclusive hotels and resorts are available.  Some of the best hotels in Costa Rica you will find in this website.   Among the country's most popular rivers to practice it are the Pacuare River, the Pejiballe River & the Reventazon River located to the east of San Jose at the Central Highland Volcanic Region.  Check the Company Explornatura.  They are very professional. Costa Rica also borders  Nicaragua to the north and to the South Panama. In total, Costa Rica comprises 51,100 sq. km (or 19,731 sq. mi.) plus 589.000 sq. km territorial waters. The highest peak in the country is the Chirripó Peak with an altitude of 3,822 m (or 12,503 ft), being the  5th highest point in Central America. The Irazu Volcano is the highest volcano in the country with 3,432 m / 11,261 ft. Arenal, is a popular active volcano and artificial lake, the largest lake in Costa Rica. Costa Rica also comprises several beautiful islands. Isla del Coco stands out because of its biodiversity and distance from continental landmass.  It is 24 km² / 10 sq mi, big and lies  502 km or 301 mi from Puntarenas Harbor.  Other important islands are Caño Island, Catalinas Islands, Tortuga Island (located at the Nicoya Gulf) Costa Rica features over 25% protected area of its national territory within some kind of protected areas system, comprising diverse legal units, such as National Parks, forest preserves, wildlife refuges, etc.  It also possesses, due to its small size one of  the most diverse and greatest density of species (biodiversity) in the world. The Republic of Costa Rica boasts a long existing democracy with a strong constitution. Costa Ricans (known as ticos) claim that the country has had more than 115 years of uninterrupted democracy, which is by far the longest in Latin America, making Costa Rica, one of the most stable countries in the Central American region. Costa Rica has made efforts to avoid violence and erradicate poverty and criminality that has plagued Central America. Executive responsibilities are vested in a democratically elected president, who is the country's center of power. There also are two vice presidents as well as a  cabinet of Ministers, designated by the president. The president, vice presidents, and 57 representatives of the 7 provinces or "diputados" at the National Legislative Assembly are elected for 4-year terms. Until April 2003, there was a constitutional ban on presidential re-election.  It was reversed, allowing popular leader Oscar Arias (Nobel Peace Prize of 1987) to run for President for a second term. He was re-elected in 2006 at a tight and highly contested election. He took office May 2006. Autonomous state institutes enjoy considerable operational independence; they include: the telecommunications and electrical power monopolies (ICE and CNFL), the nationalized banks (BNCR, BCR, BP, BCAC), the state insurance monopoly (INS), and the social security or Caja (CCSS) the National Housing Institute (INVU) the Costa Rican Tourist Board (ICT)  Costa Rica has no army nor military by constitution, but maintains a well trained domestic civil police for internal security. These include the Guardia Civil and the Guardia Rural.

Provinces and cantons of Costa Rica Costa Rica is composed of 7 provinces, which are divided into 90 cantons, each directed by a mayor /alcalde, which is chosen democratically every 4 years by each canton's population. Alajuela province Cartago province Guanacaste province Heredia province Limón province Puntarenas province San José province

Economy In recent times electronics, pharmaceuticals, service and call centers, financial outsourcing, software development, and specially tourism or ecotourism on the very first place, have become the most important industries of Costa Rica's economy. The high literacy rate among its population make Costa Rica a very attractive tourist destination and location for investments. The currency is called COLON (CRC), which trades around 500 to the dollar and about 720 to the Euro. Check updated info; On 2006, a new currency system was introduced, allowing the value of the CRC colón to float between two bands. The idea of the Central Bank by doing this, was to be able to better control inflation and discourage the locals usage of US dollars. Since then, the value of the COLON  has increased against the dollar. Costa Rica's location provides easy access to all American markets as it has the same time zone as the central part of the United States and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia. A country wide referendum has recently approved a free trade agreement with the United States. Tourism With a $1.8 billion income per year, thanks to tourism industry, Costa Rica remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in Latin America and stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region. Eco-tourism is extremely popular and demanded with many tourists visiting the many National Parks and protected regions around the country. Sex tourism has become a popular form of tourism and gained popularity in the past in Costa Rica. Costa Rica has been hailed as a destination for sex tourists, this is largely because prostitution is legal.The government has made efforts to attack mainly children prostitution. A large child prostitution organization was dismantled by authorities some years ago, sending the female leader to 8 years in jail. Foreign affairs Costa Rica is an active member of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Costa Rica holds a seat on the Inter-American Court of Human Rightsand on the United Nations University of Peace and many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy. Costa Rica's main foreign policy objective is to foster human rights and sustainable development as a way to secure stability and growth. Costa Rica is also a member of the International Criminal Court, without a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98). On June 1, 2007, Costa Rica broke ties with the Republic of China in Taiwan, switching to the People's Republic of China in mainland China. Flora and fauna Costa Rica is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. While the country has only about 0.1% of the world's landmass, it contains 5% of the world's biodiversity Over 25% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests and reserves.  One national park that is internationally-renowned among ecologists for its biodiversity (including big cats and tapirs) and where visitors can expect to see an abundance of wildlife is the Corcovado National Park Tortuguero National Park – the name Tortuguero can be translated as "Place of turtles" – is home to spider, howler and white-throated Capuchin monkeys, the three-toed sloth, 320 species of birds (including eight species of parrots), a variety of reptiles, but is mostly recognized for the annual nesting of the endangered green turtle and is considered the most important nesting site for this species. Giant leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also nest here. The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve hosts two thousand plant species, including numerous orchids. Over four hundred types of birds can be found here, and over one hundred species of mammals. As a whole, around eight hundred species of birds have been identified in Costa Rica. The Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBIO) is allowed to collect royalties on any biological discoveries of medical importance.