Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; NationalIndependent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National
Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National
Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party
or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]
note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN; numerous small parties share less than 25% of population's support
Political pressure groups and leaders: Authentic Confederation of
Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of
Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist
Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or
CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service
Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or
ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or
CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown]
International organization participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO,
G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 234–2945
FAX: [1] (202) 265–4795
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa
consulate(s): Austin
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Thomas J. DODD
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose
mailing address: APO AA 34020
telephone: [506] 220–3939
FAX: [506] 220–2305
Flag description: five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white disk on the hoist side of the red band
Costa Rica Economy
Economy - overview: Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt and with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector.
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
Costa
