Transcript Costa Rica - Edwin C. Foreman High School

Costa Rica
FLAG
•The blue color stands
for the sky,
opportunities, idealism
and perseverance.
•The white color stands
for peace, wisdom and
happiness.
•The red color stands
for the blood spilt by
martyrs in defense of
the country, as well as
the warmth and
generosity of the
people.
Emblem
The Costa Rican coat of arms
depicts three mountains. On
each end, water is located.
This represents the nation
being surrounded by the
Caribbean Sea and the Pacific
Ocean. Two ships are located
in each body of water, which
represents the nation’s
maritime tradition. Seven
white stars are located at the
top of the Costa Rican coat of
arms, which represent the
nation’s provinces. The yellow
beans on the side represent
coffee, which is an important
export.
The Costa Rican coat of arms
also contains two ribbons on
top that say the countries
name as well as “America
Central”.
Population
• The capital of Costa Rica is San José.
• The population of San José is 365,799.
• As of 2010, Costa Rica has an estimated
population of 4,640,000.
Ethnic make-up
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Whites and castizos being 82%.
mestizos 15%
while 2% are Black or Afro-corribean.
.8% Native American
0.2% Chinese
and 1% other
The average Costa Rican from the Central Valley is
75% European, 20% Amerindian and 5% Black
Costa Rica Weather Averages
Languages of Costa Rica
• The primary language spoken in Costa Rica is Costa Rican
Spanish.
• Some native languages are still spoken in indigenous
reservations. The most numerically important are the
Bribri, Maléku, Cabécar and Ngäbere languages.
• A Creole-English language, Jamaican patois (also known
as Mekatelyu), is spoken along the Caribbean coast.
• About 10.7% of Costa Rica's adult population (18 or
older) also speaks English, 0.7% French, and 0.3% speaks
Portuguese or German as a second language.
Economy
• According to the World Bank, Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US
$11,122.
• This developing country still faces the fourth-highest inflation
rate in Latin America, lack of maintenance and new investment
in infrastructure, a poverty rate estimated to be 23%, a 7.8%
unemployment rate, and a trade deficit of 5.2%.
• Costa Rica is located on the Central American isthmus, lying
between latitudes 8° and 12°N, and longitudes 82° and 86°W.
It borders the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the Pacific
Ocean .
Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion, and
Roman Catholicism is the official state religion
according to the 1949 Constitution, which at
the same time guarantees freedom of religion.
Exports
• The central government offers tax exemptions for those
willing to invest in the country.
• Several global high tech corporations have already
started developing in the area and are exporting goods,
including chip manufacturer Intel, pharmaceutical
company GlaxoSmithKline, and consumer products
company Procter & Gamble.
• In 2006, Intel's microprocessor facility alone was
responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 4.9% of
the country's GDP. Trade with Southeast Asia and Russia
boomed during 2004 and 2005.
Representative figure
Jose Maria Castro Madriz:
Was once the president of the
Congress and the Supreme Court
of Costa Rica. He co-founded the
Santo Tomas University and
started one of the first
newspapers of the country, “El
Mentor Costarricense”. He was
elected chief of state in 1847 and
made Costa Rica an independent
nation on 1848 and became the
first president of the Independent
Republic from 1848 to 1849.
During his presidency he created
a school for girls and established
the actual Costa Rica flag.