Facts about Costa Rica

• Area: 51,100 sq km
•  Population: 3,773,057
• Estimated Population in 2050: 5,696,700
• Capital: San Jose
• People: 96% Spanish descent, 2% African descent, 1% indigenous, 1% Chinese
• Language: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
• Literacy: 94.8% total, 94.7% male, 95% female
• Religion: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, other Protestant 0.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
• Life Expectancy: 73.49 male, 78.68 female
• Government: democratic republic
• GDP: US$38 billion
• GDP per capita: US$6,700
• Major Industries: microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
• Major Trading Partners: USA, Germany, Italy, Japan, Guatemala, Mexico
• Natural Resources: hydropower
• Check it out here
  
  
  
• The national flower: In Costa Rica, cattleya skinneri is one of the most common orchids. When in 1937 a vote was organized to choose the national flower of Costa Rica, nobody was surprised that cattleya skinneri was the winner. Not only scholars and horticulturists participated in the vote, but also secondary school and university students.
  
  
  
• National bird: The so called Yigüirro (clay-colored robin) was declared national bird of Costa Rica on January 3rd, 1977, as a tribute to its powerful and melodious call that signals the beginning of the rainyseason.This bird was chosen especially because it is so familiar to Costa Ricans as it tends to live near people's homes.
  
  
  
• National Tree: On August 31, 1959, the Guanacaste tree (enterolobium ciclocarpum) was declared the national tree of Costa Rica. It was chosen as a tribute to the people of Guanacaste, which was the last province to join the Republic in 1825. With the giant shade it provides, this tree symbolizes the protection that Costa Ricans enjoy from the State. The name "Guanacaste" originates from a native language called "náhuatl" and means "tree of the ears". This is because the fruits of the tree are similar to the shape ofthe human ear.
  
  
  
• Unofficial Motto: "Pura Vida."- the words convey the state of happiness, peace, and tranquility that the political stability and freedom bring to Costa Ricans.
• The phrase actually comes from a 1956 Mexican movie, "Pura Vida!" By 1970 Costa Ricans were using the expression on a daily basis. The expression "Pura Vida" has become so popular that has been added to Costa Rican Spanish dictionaries as an idiom to greet, or to show appreciation.