Economy of Costa Rica
Encyclopedia
The economy of Costa Rica
heavily depends on tourism
, agriculture
, and electronics
exports. Poverty
has been reduced over the past 15 years, and a social safety net put into place.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US$
10,900 (2009); however, there is a lack of maintenance and new investment in infrastructure, 16% of the people living below the poverty
line and 7.8% (2009) unemployed. The Costa Rican economy grew nearly 5% in 2006 after experiencing 4 years of slow economic growth.
Inflation rose to 22.5% in 1995, dropped to 11.1% in 1997, 12% in 1998, 11% in 1999 and 13% in 2008. Measures taken by the Central Bank have reduced inflation substantially to 4.3% in 2009, and a projected 5.8% for 2010. Curbing inflation
, reducing the deficit, and improving public sector efficiency through an anti-corruption drive, remain key challenges to the government. Previous political resistance to privatization
had stalled liberalization efforts. However, after the signing of CAFTA, Costa Rica has now opened to competition its insurance and telecommunications markets.
Costa Rica's economy emerged from recession in 1997 and has shown strong aggregate growth since then. After 6.2% growth in 1998, GDP grew a substantial 8.3% in 1999, led by exports.Nat
The strength in the nontraditional export and tourism sector is masking a relatively lackluster performance by traditional sectors, including agriculture. The central government deficit decreased to 3.2% of GDP in 1999, down from 3.3% from the year before. On a consolidated basis, including Central Bank losses and parastatal enterprise profits, the public sector deficit was 2.3% of GDP.
Controlling the budget deficit remains the single biggest challenge for the country's economic policy makers, as interest costs on the accumulated central government debt consumes the equivalent of 30% of the government's total revenues. This limits the resources available for investments in the country's deteriorated public infrastructure, investments in many cases that would result in higher quality infrastructure if they were better planned.
.It has one of the best economies in Latin America
In terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index
ranking, Costa Rica is 5th in the world, up from the 15th place in 2006.
With a $1.92-billion-a-year tourism
industry, Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region, with 1.9 million foreign visitors in 2007, thus reaching a rate of foreign tourists per capita of 0.46, one of the highest in the Caribbean Basin, and above other popular destinations such as Mexico (0.21), Dominican Republic (0.38), and Brazil (0.03).
Ecotourism
is extremely popular with the many tourists visiting the extensive national parks and protected area
s around the country. Costa Rica was a pioneer in this type of tourism and the country is recognized as one of the few with real ecotourism. Other important market segments are adventure, and sun and beaches. Most of the tourists come from the U.S. and Canada
(46%), and the E.U. (16%), the prime market travelers in the world, which translates into a relatively high expenditure per tourist of $1000 per trip. In terms of 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index
(TTCI), Costa Rica reached the 44th place in the world ranking, being the first among Latin American countries, and second if the Caribbean
is included. Just considering the subindex measuring human, cultural, and natural resources, Costa Rica ranks in the 24th place at a worldwide level, and 7th when considering just the natural resources criteria. The TTCI report also notes Costa Rica's main weaknesses, ground transport infrastructure (ranked 113th), and safety and security (ranked 128th).
Costa Rica used to be known principally as a producer of banana
s and coffee
. Even though coffee, bananas, pineapple
, sugar
, lumber
, wood
products and beef are still important exports, in recent times electronics
, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing, software development, and ecotourism
have become the prime industries in Costa Rica's economy
. High levels of education
among its residents make the country an attractive investing location.
The country has successfully attracted important investments by such companies as Intel Corporation, which employs nearly 3,500 people at its custom built $300 million microprocessor plant; Procter & Gamble
, which is establishing its administrative center for the Western Hemisphere in Costa Rica; and Abbott Laboratories and Baxter Healthcare from the health care products industry likewise. Manufacturing and industry's contribution to GDP overtook agriculture over the course of the 1990s, led by foreign investment in Costa Rica's free trade zones. Well over half of that investment has come from the U.S. 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 South East Asia and Russia
has boomed during 2004 and 2005, and the country obtained full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007 (the country became an observer in 2004). In 2011 the Financial Times
Intelligent Unit awarded Costa Rica with the fDi’s Caribbean and Central American Country of the Future 2011/12 for its successful record in attracting FDI into the country, and being the number one destination country in the region in terms of foreign direct investment
(FDI) project numbers since 2003. In the previous assessment for the 2009/10 ranking the country had ranked second after Puerto Rico
.
Tourism
is booming, with the number of visitors up from 780,000 in 1996, through 1 million in 1999, to 2.089 million foreign visitors in 2008, allowing the country to earn $2.144-billion in that year. Tourism now earns more foreign exchange than bananas and coffee combined. In 2005, tourism contributed with 8,1% of the country's GDP and represented 13,3% of direct and indirect employment.
The country has not discovered sources of fossil fuels—apart from minor coal
deposits—but its mountainous terrain and abundant rainfall have permitted the construction of a dozen hydroelectric power plants, making it self-sufficient in all energy needs, except oil for transportation. Costa Rica exports electricity to Central America and has the potential to become a major electricity exporter if plans for new generating plants and a regional distribution grid are realized. Mild climate and trade winds make neither heating nor cooling necessary, particularly in the highland cities and towns where some 90% of the population lives.
and Panama
, the neighboring countries to the North and the South. Costa Rica's port
s are struggling to keep pace with growing trade. They have insufficient capacity, and their equipment is in poor condition. The railroad didn't function for several years, until recent government effort to reactivate it for city transportation.
The government hopes to bring foreign investment, technology, and management into the telecommunications and electrical power sectors, which are monopolies of the state. However, political opposition to opening these sectors to private participation has stalled the government's efforts.
Costa Rica has a reputation as one of the most stable, prosperous, and among the least corrupt in Latin America. However, in fall 2004, three former Costa Rican presidents (Jose Maria Figueres
, Miguel Angel Rodríguez
, and Rafael Angel Calderon
) were investigated on corruption
charges related to the issuance of government contracts, and several of the legal proceeding are still open.
Costa Rica also is a member of the Cairns Group
which is pursuing global agricultural trade liberalization in the World Trade Organization and helping to maintain the proper economy level in Costa Rica.
$29.32 billion (2009)
GDP PPP:
$48.51 billion. (2009)
GDP real growth rate:
-1.5% (2009)
GDP per capita:
purchasing power parity: $10,900 (2009)
GDP per capita
nominal: $6,590 (2008)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture:
7.6% (2008) Bananas, pineapples, coffee, beef, sugarcane, rice, corn, dairy products, vegetables, timber, fruits and ornamental plants.
industry:
29.1% (2008) Electronic components, food processing, textiles and apparel, construction materials, cement, fertilizer.
services:
63.3% (2008) Hotels, restaurants, tourist services, banks, and insurance.
Population below poverty line:
21.3% (2010)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
1.0%
highest 10%:
37.4% (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.05% (2009)
Labor force:
1.975 million (2008) Note: Excluding Nicaraguans living in the country
Labor force by occupation:
agriculture 14%, industry 22%, services 64% (2006)
Unemployment rate:
7.8% (2009)
Budget:
revenues:
$4.604 billion (2008)
expenditures:
$4.552 billion (2008)
Industries:
microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Industrial production growth rate:
-0.8% (2008)
Electricity production:
8.918 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity production by source:
fossil fuel:
9.28%
hydro:
80.62%
nuclear:
0%
other:
10.1% (1998)
Electricity consumption:
7.779 kWh (2006)
Electricity exports:
77.16 million kWh (2008)
Electricity imports:
203.22 million kWh (2008)
Agriculture products:
coffee, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes, beef, timber
Exports:
$8.847 billion (2009)
Export commodities:
bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar; seafood; electronic components, medical equipment
Export partners:
USA 25.7%, China 14.1%, Netherlands 10.9%, UK 6.3%, Mexico 5% (2007)
Imports:
$10.87 billion (2009)
Import commodities:
raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum, construction materials
Import partners:
USA 41%, Mexico 6.1%, Venezuela 5.7%, Japan 5.4%, China 5.1%, Brazil 4.3% (2007)
External debt:
$7.401 billion (December 2008)
Economic aid - recipient:
$107.1 million (1995)
Currency:
1 Costa Rican colon (₡) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates:
Costa Rican colones (₡) per US$1 – 512.11 (September 4, 2010), US$1 – 559.51 (October 24, 2008), per US$1 – 500.10 (December 2007), 516.78 (November 2007), 506.11 (April 2006), 479.57 (July 2005), 299.63 (February 2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997), 207.69 (1996) and 179.73 (1995)
Fiscal year:
October 1 – September 30
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
heavily depends on tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
exports. Poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
has been reduced over the past 15 years, and a social safety net put into place.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Costa Rica's GDP per capita is US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
10,900 (2009); however, there is a lack of maintenance and new investment in infrastructure, 16% of the people living below the poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
line and 7.8% (2009) unemployed. The Costa Rican economy grew nearly 5% in 2006 after experiencing 4 years of slow economic growth.
Inflation rose to 22.5% in 1995, dropped to 11.1% in 1997, 12% in 1998, 11% in 1999 and 13% in 2008. Measures taken by the Central Bank have reduced inflation substantially to 4.3% in 2009, and a projected 5.8% for 2010. Curbing inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, reducing the deficit, and improving public sector efficiency through an anti-corruption drive, remain key challenges to the government. Previous political resistance to privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
had stalled liberalization efforts. However, after the signing of CAFTA, Costa Rica has now opened to competition its insurance and telecommunications markets.
Costa Rica's economy emerged from recession in 1997 and has shown strong aggregate growth since then. After 6.2% growth in 1998, GDP grew a substantial 8.3% in 1999, led by exports.Nat
The strength in the nontraditional export and tourism sector is masking a relatively lackluster performance by traditional sectors, including agriculture. The central government deficit decreased to 3.2% of GDP in 1999, down from 3.3% from the year before. On a consolidated basis, including Central Bank losses and parastatal enterprise profits, the public sector deficit was 2.3% of GDP.
Controlling the budget deficit remains the single biggest challenge for the country's economic policy makers, as interest costs on the accumulated central government debt consumes the equivalent of 30% of the government's total revenues. This limits the resources available for investments in the country's deteriorated public infrastructure, investments in many cases that would result in higher quality infrastructure if they were better planned.
Natural resources
Costa Rica's major economic resources are its fertile land and frequent rainfall, its well-educated population, and its location in the Central American isthmus, which provides easy access to North and South American markets and direct ocean access to the European and Asian Continents. Costa Rica has two seasons, both of which have their own agricultural resources: the tropical wet and dry seasons. One-fourth of Costa Rica's land is dedicated to national forests, often adjoining beaches, which has made the country a popular destination for affluent retirees and ecotouristsEcotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
.It has one of the best economies in Latin America
In terms of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index
Environmental Performance Index
The Environmental Performance Index is a method of quantifying and numerically benchmarking the environmental performance of a country's policies. This index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, first published in 2002, and designed to supplement the environmental targets...
ranking, Costa Rica is 5th in the world, up from the 15th place in 2006.
Tourism
With a $1.92-billion-a-year tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industry, Costa Rica stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region, with 1.9 million foreign visitors in 2007, thus reaching a rate of foreign tourists per capita of 0.46, one of the highest in the Caribbean Basin, and above other popular destinations such as Mexico (0.21), Dominican Republic (0.38), and Brazil (0.03).
Ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
is extremely popular with the many tourists visiting the extensive national parks and protected area
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
s around the country. Costa Rica was a pioneer in this type of tourism and the country is recognized as one of the few with real ecotourism. Other important market segments are adventure, and sun and beaches. Most of the tourists come from the U.S. and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(46%), and the E.U. (16%), the prime market travelers in the world, which translates into a relatively high expenditure per tourist of $1000 per trip. In terms of 2008 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report
The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report was first published in 2007 by the World Economic Forum. The 2007 report covered 124 major and emerging economies. The 2008 report covered 130 countries,, the 2009 report expanded to 133 countries, and the 2011 report to 139 countries...
(TTCI), Costa Rica reached the 44th place in the world ranking, being the first among Latin American countries, and second if the Caribbean
Anglophone Caribbean
The term Commonwealth Caribbean is used to refer to the independent English-speaking countries of the Caribbean region. Upon a country's full independence from the United Kingdom, Anglophone Caribbean or Commonwealth Caribbean traditionally becomes the preferred sub-regional term as a replacement...
is included. Just considering the subindex measuring human, cultural, and natural resources, Costa Rica ranks in the 24th place at a worldwide level, and 7th when considering just the natural resources criteria. The TTCI report also notes Costa Rica's main weaknesses, ground transport infrastructure (ranked 113th), and safety and security (ranked 128th).
Exports, jobs, and energy
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
. Even though coffee, bananas, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
, lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
, wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
products and beef are still important exports, in recent times electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing, software development, and ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
have become the prime industries in Costa Rica's economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
. High levels of education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
among its residents make the country an attractive investing location.
The country has successfully attracted important investments by such companies as Intel Corporation, which employs nearly 3,500 people at its custom built $300 million microprocessor plant; Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
, which is establishing its administrative center for the Western Hemisphere in Costa Rica; and Abbott Laboratories and Baxter Healthcare from the health care products industry likewise. Manufacturing and industry's contribution to GDP overtook agriculture over the course of the 1990s, led by foreign investment in Costa Rica's free trade zones. Well over half of that investment has come from the U.S. In 2006 Intel's microprocessor facility alone was responsible for 20% of Costa Rican exports and 4.9% of the country's GDP.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
has boomed during 2004 and 2005, and the country obtained full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007 (the country became an observer in 2004). In 2011 the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
Intelligent Unit awarded Costa Rica with the fDi’s Caribbean and Central American Country of the Future 2011/12 for its successful record in attracting FDI into the country, and being the number one destination country in the region in terms of foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
(FDI) project numbers since 2003. In the previous assessment for the 2009/10 ranking the country had ranked second after Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
is booming, with the number of visitors up from 780,000 in 1996, through 1 million in 1999, to 2.089 million foreign visitors in 2008, allowing the country to earn $2.144-billion in that year. Tourism now earns more foreign exchange than bananas and coffee combined. In 2005, tourism contributed with 8,1% of the country's GDP and represented 13,3% of direct and indirect employment.
The country has not discovered sources of fossil fuels—apart from minor coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
deposits—but its mountainous terrain and abundant rainfall have permitted the construction of a dozen hydroelectric power plants, making it self-sufficient in all energy needs, except oil for transportation. Costa Rica exports electricity to Central America and has the potential to become a major electricity exporter if plans for new generating plants and a regional distribution grid are realized. Mild climate and trade winds make neither heating nor cooling necessary, particularly in the highland cities and towns where some 90% of the population lives.
Infrastructure
Costa Rica's infrastructure has suffered from a lack of maintenance and new investment. The country has an extensive road system of more than 30,000 kilometers, although much of it is in disrepair. Most parts of the country are accessible by road. The main highland cities in the country's Central Valley are connected by paved all-weather roads with the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and by the Pan American Highway with NicaraguaNicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, the neighboring countries to the North and the South. Costa Rica's port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
s are struggling to keep pace with growing trade. They have insufficient capacity, and their equipment is in poor condition. The railroad didn't function for several years, until recent government effort to reactivate it for city transportation.
The government hopes to bring foreign investment, technology, and management into the telecommunications and electrical power sectors, which are monopolies of the state. However, political opposition to opening these sectors to private participation has stalled the government's efforts.
Costa Rica has a reputation as one of the most stable, prosperous, and among the least corrupt in Latin America. However, in fall 2004, three former Costa Rican presidents (Jose Maria Figueres
José María Figueres
José María Figueres Olsen , is a Costa Rican politician, businessman and international expert on Sustainable Development and Technology...
, Miguel Angel Rodríguez
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría is a Costa Rican economist, lawyer, businessman, and politician. He served as President of Costa Rica from 1998 to 2002 and was briefly Secretary General of the Organization of American States in 2004, before stepping down and returning to his country to face...
, and Rafael Angel Calderon
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier served as President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994. He was the presidential candidate of the Social Christian Unity Party for the national elections held in February 2010, but resigned his candidacy on 5 October 2009, when he was sentenced to five years in prison...
) were investigated on corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
charges related to the issuance of government contracts, and several of the legal proceeding are still open.
Trade policy
Costa Rica has sought to widen its economic and trade ties, both within and outside the region. Costa Rica signed a bilateral trade agreement with Mexico in 1994, which was later amended to cover a wider range of products. Costa Rica joined other Central American countries, plus the Dominican Republic, in establishing a Trade and Investment Council with the United States in March 1998.- Costa RicaCosta RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
has bilateral free trade agreements with the following countries and blocs which took effect on (see date):- CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(November 1, 2002) - ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
(February 15, 2002) - Caribbean CommunityCaribbean CommunityThe Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...
(CARICOM)¨ (November 15, 2002) - Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
(March 7, 2002) - El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
Customs union, (1963, re-launched on October 29, 1993) - GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
Customs union, (1963, re-launched on October 29, 1993) - HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
Customs union, (1963, re-launched on October 29, 1993) - MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
(January 1, 1995) - NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
Customs union, (1963, re-launched on October 29, 1993) - PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
(July 31, 1973, renegotiated and expanded for (January 1, 2009) - United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(January 1, 2009) - ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
under negotiation - SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
under negotiation - European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
under negotiation
- Canada
Costa Rica also is a member of the Cairns Group
Cairns Group
The Cairns Group is an interest group of 19 agricultural exporting countries, composed of Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Uruguay.-History...
which is pursuing global agricultural trade liberalization in the World Trade Organization and helping to maintain the proper economy level in Costa Rica.
Statistics
GDP:$29.32 billion (2009)
GDP PPP:
$48.51 billion. (2009)
GDP real growth rate:
-1.5% (2009)
GDP per capita:
purchasing power parity: $10,900 (2009)
GDP per capita
nominal: $6,590 (2008)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture:
7.6% (2008) Bananas, pineapples, coffee, beef, sugarcane, rice, corn, dairy products, vegetables, timber, fruits and ornamental plants.
industry:
29.1% (2008) Electronic components, food processing, textiles and apparel, construction materials, cement, fertilizer.
services:
63.3% (2008) Hotels, restaurants, tourist services, banks, and insurance.
Population below poverty line:
21.3% (2010)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
1.0%
highest 10%:
37.4% (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.05% (2009)
Labor force:
1.975 million (2008) Note: Excluding Nicaraguans living in the country
Labor force by occupation:
agriculture 14%, industry 22%, services 64% (2006)
Unemployment rate:
7.8% (2009)
Budget:
revenues:
$4.604 billion (2008)
expenditures:
$4.552 billion (2008)
Industries:
microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Industrial production growth rate:
-0.8% (2008)
Electricity production:
8.918 billion kWh (2007)
Electricity production by source:
fossil fuel:
9.28%
hydro:
80.62%
nuclear:
0%
other:
10.1% (1998)
Electricity consumption:
7.779 kWh (2006)
Electricity exports:
77.16 million kWh (2008)
Electricity imports:
203.22 million kWh (2008)
Agriculture products:
coffee, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes, beef, timber
Exports:
$8.847 billion (2009)
Export commodities:
bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar; seafood; electronic components, medical equipment
Export partners:
USA 25.7%, China 14.1%, Netherlands 10.9%, UK 6.3%, Mexico 5% (2007)
Imports:
$10.87 billion (2009)
Import commodities:
raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum, construction materials
Import partners:
USA 41%, Mexico 6.1%, Venezuela 5.7%, Japan 5.4%, China 5.1%, Brazil 4.3% (2007)
External debt:
$7.401 billion (December 2008)
Economic aid - recipient:
$107.1 million (1995)
Currency:
1 Costa Rican colon (₡) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates:
Costa Rican colones (₡) per US$1 – 512.11 (September 4, 2010), US$1 – 559.51 (October 24, 2008), per US$1 – 500.10 (December 2007), 516.78 (November 2007), 506.11 (April 2006), 479.57 (July 2005), 299.63 (February 2000), 285.68 (1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997), 207.69 (1996) and 179.73 (1995)
Fiscal year:
October 1 – September 30