Economy
Economy—overview: Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years and a strong social safety net has been put into place. Economic growth has rebounded from −0.9% in 1996 to 3% in 1997 and an estimated 5.5% in 1998. Inflation rose to 22.5% in 1995, dropped to 11.1% in 1997, and reached an estimated 12% in 1998. Unemployment appears moderate at 5.6%, but substantial underemployment continues. Furthermore, large government deficits—fueled by interest payments on the massive internal debt—have undermined efforts to maintain the quality of social services. Curbing inflation, reducing the deficit, and improving public sector efficiency remain key challenges to the government. President RODRIGUEZ has called for an increased economic role for the private sector, but political resistance to privatization has stalled much of his economic program.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$24 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 5.5% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$6,700 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 15% industry: 24% services: 61% (1997)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.3% highest 10%: 34.7% (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12% (1998 est.)
Labor force: 868,300
Labor force—by occupation: industry and commerce 23.3%, government and services 55.1%, agriculture 21.6% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.6% (1998 est.); much underemployment
Budget:
revenues: $1.1 billion
expenditures: $1.34 billion, including capital expenditures of $110
million (1991 est.)
Industries: food processing, textiles and clothing, construction
materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Industrial production growth rate: 10.5% (1992)
Electricity—production: 4.785 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 14.11% hydro: 75.44% nuclear: 0% other: 10.45% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 4.931 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 44 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 190 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: coffee, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber
Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: manufactured products, coffee, bananas,
textiles, sugar (1997)
Exports—partners: US, Benelux, Germany, Italy, Guatemala, El
Salvador, Netherlands, UK, France (1997)
Imports: $4.5 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports—commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital
equipment, petroleum (1997)
Imports—partners: US, Japan, Mexico, Venezuela, Guatemala,
Germany (1997)
Debt—external: $3.2 billion (October 1996 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $107.1 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Costa Rican colon (C) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates: Costa Rican colones (C) per US$1—272.58 (January 1999), 257.23 (1998), 232.60 (1997), 207.69 (1996), 179.73 (1995), 157.07 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 281,042 (1983 est.)
Telephone system: very good domestic telephone service
domestic: NA
international: connected to Central American Microwave System;
satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 71, FM 0, shortwave 13
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 6 (in addition, there are 11 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 340,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 950 km narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified)
Highways: total: 35,597 km paved: 6,051 km unpaved: 29,546 km (1997 est.)
Waterways: about 730 km, seasonally navigable
Pipelines: petroleum products 176 km
Ports and harbors: Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto
Quepos, Puntarenas
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 156 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 28 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 7 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 128 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 99 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Coast Guard, Air Section, Ministry of Public Security Force (Fuerza Publica); note—during 1996, the Ministry of Public Security reorganized and eliminated the Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard, and Frontier Guards as separate entities; they are now under the Ministry and operate on a geographic command basis performing ground security, law enforcement, counternarcotics, and national security (border patrol) functions; the constitution prohibits armed forces
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15–49: 988,887 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15–49: 662,827 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 36,751 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $55 million (1995)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2% (1995)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots
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@Cote d'Ivoire——————
Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Ghana and Liberia
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N, 5 00 W
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 322,460 sq km
land: 318,000 sq km
water: 4,460 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total: 3,110 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 584 km, Ghana 668 km, Guinea 610 km,
Liberia 716 km, Mali 532 km
Coastline: