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2 / 28 / 99 Per. 0 COSTA RICA Costa Rica is a Central American republic located north of Panama and possessing two seacoasts (Pacific-west, Caribbean east). The capital and largest city, San Jose, is located in the central mountain valley. Costa Rica is notable among many Latin American countries for its long-standing democratic form of government. Costa Rica is well known for their hydroelectric plants and agricultural goods. I.
Government: 1) Capital: San Jose 2) Country: Costa Rica 3) There are presidential elections every 4 years. 4) Costa Rica has a Democratic Republic. a. The president of the Republic of Costa Rica is Miguel Angel Rodriguez. Which is part of the Christian Unity Party b. Costa Rica is constantly growing and so is their economic system. 5) Their constitution was written November 9, 1949. 6) Costa Rica is divided into 7 provinces.
a. San Jose its capital city, b. Alajuela, c. Cargo, d. Heredia, e. Guanacaste, f.
puntarenas g. and Limo'n. 7) Costa Rica boarders Panama and Nicaragua 8) The voting age in Costa Rica is 18 years old male / female II. Historical Background 1) Costa Rica was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502, on his fourth trip to the Americas. He founded Port Limo'n, on the Caribbean coast. Because he was so impressed by the vegetation and the gold / jewelry the natives wore he called it Costa Rica (Coast of Plenty). In 1821 Costa Rica declared independence from Spain.
Costa Rica celebrated its 100 th anniversary of democracy in 1989. The army was abolished in 1948 by means of a new constitution promoted by Mr. Jose Figueres Ferrer, which was looked upon as a national hero. Ever since there has bean no army and the headquarters was made into a National Museum. Costa Rica has also bean nominated for the Nobel Peace prize 12 times 2) The president at the time is Miguel Angel Rodriguez 3) There are three main political parties: a. National Liberation Party b.
Reformist Organization c. Social Christian Unity Party 4) After WWII Costa Rica did much like many of the other Latin countries, later causing its economy to start an imbalance and the price compared to one dollar dropped. 5) The flags seven stars represent the seven provinces, the three volcanoes represent Costa Rica's three mountain ranges, III. Population and Language 1) The population of Costa Rica is now over 3, 674, 490 million. 2) There are 1, 858, 686 men and 1, 815, 804 women in Costa Rica. a. It's expected to double in the next few years 3) There are really only one chief language there: a. Spanish b.
English is spoken in few of Costa Rica's provinces. 4) The main religion in Costa Rica is Christianity, 95 %, but there is a small percentage of other religions like Jewish, and Muslim. 5) After the revolution in Costa Rica in 1948, the island has become a tourist attraction and has gotten many more cultures brought to its lands. The percentage of Costa Ricans in Costa Rica is over 70 %, but many people from the other South American countries have imported there for a better life and education. IV. Customs and Practices 1) There holidays are much like America's holidays: a. They have a Christmas and New Year holiday b. Another important holiday in Costa Rica is Semana Sante or Holy Week.
c. There national holiday is Independence Day, September 15, 1821 d. Festivals of saints are a colorful part of town life. 2) If the persons that are to be wed are Catholic the ceremonies are much like Catholic marriage ceremonies in the US. But on many occasions they are on the beach and have more of a colorful and fun ceremony instead of the traditional black and white wedding ceremonies. 3) Popular instruments are a. the guitar, b. accordion, c.
and mandolin. V. Livelihood 1) Costa Rica's chief source of revenue is (they make 1. 1 billion of there revenues): a. Banana's b.
Coffee beans c. Livestock is also a major part. 2) Costa Rica's total import cost is 4. 5 billion dollars. a. Its main imports are raw materials like petroleum and oil. 3) Costa Rica's gain from exports is 3. 9 billion. 4) They largely clear the land for cattle ranching. 5) The terrain is coastal plains separated by rugged mountains 6) Minerals like: a. Gold, b. silver, c.
sulfur, d. nickel, e. mercury, f. and magnesium are mined. 7) Costa Rica's major export partners are: a. US, b.
Benelux, c. Germany, d. Italy, e. Guatemala, f. El Salvador, g. Netherlands, h.
UK, i. France. 8) Its GDP growth rate is 5 % 9) Its GDP for purchasing power is 24 billion 10) Costa Rica's Per Capita growth is 6, 700 (for part. Electricity) 11) There chief income comes from these exports: 12) Their natural disasters consist of, constant flooding of lowlands during rainy season, volcano eruptions from active volcanoes, and hurricanes. a.
Tourism, b. Agriculture, g. Electronics 13) Costa Rica's currency is 1 colon = 100 centimos (Spanish currency) 14) There exchange rates are as follows: a. One US dollar = 272. 58 colons 14) Active volcano is Iraq'. VI. Education 1) The literacy rate in Costa Rica is 94. 8 %, which is high than most of the South American countries. 2) The education in Costa Rica is very good.
It has some of the best language schools and it has the K 12 system, which gives public schooling for those that can not afford private schooling. 3) Schooling is not required in Costa Rica, people do it so that they will be able to have a better job than labor work when there out of school. 4) Education is compulsory from ages 6 - 15 5) There are currently 3, 544 primary schools 6) Primary and secondary education is free 7) The schooling levels in Costa Rica are as follows: a. Elementary b. High school (can go up to 5 or 6 years if you get technical classes) c. University 8) President Jose Maria Figueres implied the training of 500 teachers. VII.
Sports and Leisure 1) The chief sport in Costa Rica like most of South America is soccer (foot ball) 2) Water sports like sailing and rafting are also very popular. 3) Costa Rica has a wide range of entertaining activities like scuba diving, sailing, water skiing etc. 4) Costa Rica was has not been in any of the recent World Cup matches. 5) Some sports heroes in Costa Rica are Claudia Poll which placed first in the 200 m freestyle, and Frederick Ramirez which was the winner of the cycling tournament in the 1996 Olympic games. Costa Rica's culture and education are rapidly spreading throughout South America. Costa Rica's language schools are known to be some of the best in the world. Their economy is also getting better and is expected to keep rising in oncoming years. Costa Rica has a good president and is expected to lead them to a new height by the year 2002 when there is the next election. More religions and cultures are influencing Costa Rica because of attractive scenery and good universities.
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Research essay sample on Costa Rica San Jose
