Costa Rica 
Facts
Population:
3,773,057 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
31.38% (male 605,728; female 578,128)
15-64 years:
63.37% (male 1,209,084; female 1,181,754)
65 years and over:
5.25% (male 92,314; female 106,049) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.65% (2001 est.)
Birth rate:
20.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate:
4.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.87 male(s)/female
total population:
1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
11.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
76.02 years
male:
73.49 years
female:
78.68 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.54% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
12,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
750 (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Costa Rican(s)
adjective:
Costa Rican
Ethnic groups:
white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
Languages:
Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
94.8%
male:
94.7%
female:
95% (1995 est.)
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $25 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
12.5%
industry:
30.7%
services:
56.8% (1999)
Population below poverty line:
20.6% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
1.3%
highest 10%:
34.7% (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11% (2000 est.)
Labor force:
1.9 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate:
5.2% (2000 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$1.95 billion
expenditures:
$2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries:
microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Industrial production growth rate:
4.3% (2000)
Electricity - production:
5.805 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
2.41%
hydro:
83.32%
nuclear:
0%
other:
14.27% (1999)
Electricity - consumption:
5.303 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports:
165 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports:
69 million kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products:
coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber
Exports:
$6.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities:
coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment
Exports - partners:
US 54.1%, EU 21.3%, Central America 8.6% (1999)
Imports:
$5.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities:
raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
Imports - partners:
US 56.4%, EU 9%, Mexico 5.4%, Japan 4.7%, (1999)
Debt - external:
$4.2 billion (2000 est.)
Currency:
Costa Rican colon (CRC)
Currency code:
CRC
Exchange rates:
Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 318.95 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997), 207.69 (1996)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Statistics: CIA World Factbook.
Press
Alajuela
San José
(Centrist), San José
http://www.nacion.co.cr/
(Independent), San José
http://www.prensalibre.co.cr/
La Républica
(Conservative), San José
Rumbo Centroamericano
(Centrist weekly), San José
(Liberal, English-language), San José
http://www.ticotimes.net/
Costa Rica in the News
Robert Taylor reviews Costa Rican coverage of the presidential election campaign there.
Costa Rica reacts to the terrorist attacks on the United States
Americas 
