Costa Rica or "rich coast" in English, is an intriguing country. While it’s neighbors often struggle to achieve peace and economic stability, Costa Rica has a stable democracy for more than 100 years and has a reputation for peace. Moreover, since the peace process in 1987 Costa Rica is a neutral country and has not had an army since 1948.

Costa Rica has a very temperate climate. There are only two seasons in Costa Rica.
The rainy season is from May to mid-november and summer is from mid-november to april. Fortunately, in the rainy season it rarely rains all day long. Usually the mornings are bright and sunny with showers in mid-afternoon.
Temperatures vary depending on elevation and location. Temperatures in the Central Valley of Costa Rica are generally between 66 to 75 degrees, On the coasts temperatures are overall higher and lower in the mountains.

In size, Costa Rica is a fairly small country, a grand total of 19,530 square miles. It hosts around 3 million inhabitants, most of whom live in the Central Valley. For its size, Costa Rica has an amazing amount of diversity : mountainous ranges, tropical and dry regions, cloud forests, ....
Costa Rica is a naturist’s wonderland. There are over 10,000 identified species of plants, 850 species of birds, 800 species of butterflies, and 500 species of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, combined.

* Location: in Middle America, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, and in between Nicaragua and Panama.

* Area:
total: 51,100 sq km
water: 440 sq km including also the parks-island "Isla del Coco"
land: 50,660 sq km

* Coastline: 1,290 km

* Climate: tropical & subtropical; there is a dry season (December to April); a rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands Terrain: coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes.

* Elevation extremes:
Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

Highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m

* Land use: arable land: 4.41% permanent
crops: 5.48% other: 90.11% (1998 est.)

* Irrigated land: 1,260 sq km (1998 est.)

* Natural hazards: occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes.

* Environment - current issues: deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution.

* Environment - international agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation

* Geography: four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65

* Population: 3,896,092 (July 2003 est.)

* Age structure: 0-14 years: 30.1% (male 600,812; female 573,375) 15-64 years: 64.4% (male 1,269,667; female 1,241,097) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 98,156; female 112,985) (2003 est.)

* Median age: total: 25.4 years male: 24.9 years female: 25.8 years (2002)

* Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.43 years male: 73.87 years female: 79.11 years (2003 est.)

* Ethnic groups: white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%

* Religions: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%

* Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon

* Country name: Republic of Costa Rica conventional short form: Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica,democratic republic.

* Capital: San Jose

* Administrative divisions: 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose Independence: 15 September 1821 (from Spain)

* National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September (1821)

* Constitution: 7 November 1949

* Legal system: based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.