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POPULATION STATISTICS: historical demography of all countries, their divisions and towns

About this siteFrequently Asked QuestionsLinks to other sitesRemarks on the dataSources used for the dataRecent updates of the data
map of Costa Rica; source: WRCOSTA RICA

general data of the country

 
General useful information
 
Note: some data are of constant value, while other are due to changes, fluctuations etc.
 
Nation and population
 
official name (short form): Costa Rica
country code ISO: CR [CRI] //; - FIPS: CS
location: Central America
time zone: -6 UT
surface (land) area: 50100 sq.km = 19344 sq.mi //; - area incl. inland waters: 51100 (51500) sq.km = 19730 (19344) sq.mi
geographical position in extreme co-ordinates: North: 11°13'12" N / South: 8° N / East: 84°15' W / West: 85°57'57" W
borders (land): Nicaragua, Panama
borders (coastline): Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean
climate: tropical, with varieties due to altitude
Government
independent since: 1821-09-15 ; 1838-11-14
type of government: republic
capital: San Jose
administrative division: provincia (7)
Population
population according to the latest census (2000): 3810,187 ; or: 3824,593
total population according to the estimate of midyear 2000: 3710,558; or: 3811,000 /-; 2001: 3907,000 /-; 2002: 3942,000
population density: 76 per sq.km = 196 per sq.mi
population growth: 2,9% //; - doubling time: 33 years
birth rate: 20 - 26 per 1000
death rate: 4 per 1000
fertility rate: 3 children per female
maternal mortality: 36 per 100,000
infant mortality (in the first year of life): 9 - 17 per 1000
infant mortality (from 1st - 4th year of life): 9 - 13 per 1000
life expectancy: 75 years (male: 73; female: 78) [FW 2002 total both sexes: 78 years]
age breakdown: 0-14 years: 36% //; - 15-59 years: 57% //; - 60+ years: 6%
urbanisation: 48% //; - urbanisation growth: 4%
percentage of urban population in the greatest city: 65%
Ethnic composition, language, religion
ethnic groups: White 87%; Mestizo 7%; Mulatto: 3%; of Asian descent: 2%; Amerindian 1%
languages: Spanish (official), Creole, Amerindian
religious affiliation: Roman Catholic 92 - 95%; Protestant: 5 - 8%
Health
daily food intake: 2781 calories per capita
population with access to safe water: 92% [FW 2000: 95%]
people per physician: 560 - 1030
people per hospital bed: 582
Education, literacy
school enrolment: primary education 6-11 years: 100% [FW 2001: 91%]
school enrolment: secondary education: 48% [FW 2001: 51%]
school enrolment: tertiary education 20-24 years: 23%
adult literacy: 94,8% (male: 94,7%; female: 95%) [PG total: 93%; FW 2000 total: 96%]
 
Economy and infrastructure
 
Economy and trade
currency: Costa Rica colon = 100 centimos
annual inflation rate: 16 - 17%
population below poverty line: 22% [FW 2001: 7%]
Gross Domestic Product: USD 6260 per capita
GNI USD 3810 - 4070 per capita //; - [ppp: 7980 - 8560]
GDP growth: 3%
income: USD 1930 - 2610 per capita
import: USD 3030 per capita //; - export: USD 2218 per capita
trade: USD 1110 per capita //; - or 77% of GDP
trade partners: US GT DE IT MX JP VE GB NL IL
human development index: 0,821 //; - position of the country in the world no.: 41
female labour force: 31%
unemployment: 5 - 7%
tourism: 1 million
Economic activities in agriculture, fisheries, industry, mining, services, energy
land use: arable land: 10% //; - grass land: 46% //; - wooded area: 32% //; - arid land and desert: %
agriculture: labour force: 25% [FW 2002: 16%] //; - part of agriculture in GDP: 18% [FW 2002: 8%]
agricultural products: coffee, meat, bananas, sugarcane, pineapples, rice, oranges, plantains, palm oil, potatoes
livestock (1000s): asses: 8 / cattle: 1220-1720 / goats: 1650 / horses: 114 / pigs: 390-475 / poultry: 17140 / sheep: 3
fish catch: 25679 - 37658 metric tonnes
industry: labour force: 18% [PG: 27% ; FW 2002: 22,5%] //; - part of industry in GDP: 25% [FW 2002: 29%]
industrial products: chemicals, machinery, textiles, leather, food processing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastics
mining products: gold, salt, silver, haematite, bauxite, manganese, mercury
CO2 emission per capita: 1,4
services: labour force: 56% [PG: 48%; FW 2002: 61%] //; - part of services in GDP: 57% [FW 2002: 62%]
energy use (kg per capita): 818
electricity use (per capita): 1426
annual water use (per capita): 780
Traffic, communication
road network: 35556 km //; - of which paved: 22% [7896] //; - of which are motorways: 663 km (Pan American highway)
vehicles: 50 - 88 per 1000 // international license plate: CR
railways: 581; or: 950 km //; - railways passenger/km: 6
navigable inland waterways: 730 km
ownership telephone: 204 - 230 per 1000 // international dialling code: +506
ownership radio receivers: 258 - 283 per 1000
ownership tv-sets: 136 - 386 per 1000
newspaper circulation: 102 per 1000
persons per post office:
personal computers: 149 per 1000
 
Some physical landmarks
 
mountains: Cerro Cirripo Grande (in the Cordillera de Talamanca) 3819-3820 m, Cerro Kamuk 3554, Volcan Irazu 3432, Volcan Turrialba 3328
lowest point: sea level
lakes (natural): Lago Arenal
lakes (artificial reservoirs): unknown
lakes (deepest): unknown
rivers: Grande de Tarcoles, Tempisque, San Juan, San Carlos
canals: none
waterfalls: unknown
caves: longest system: unknown / deepest:
islands: Isla Calero 151,6 sq.km; Isla Brava 44,4; Isla Chira 43
deserts: none
other natural features:
 
Additional remarks, especially on the statistical information
 
other important features:
apart from physical landmarks most of the above figures are changeable, in most cases they date from the 1990's
 
primary sources used for the general information:
BB CA DK EV FW PW WA WB WR, and some - local national or international - statistical yearbooks
particulars concerning population data:
 

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Latest modification of this page on 2004-12-30 by Jan Lahmeyer
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