Capital (and largest city) San José
9°55'N 84°4'W / 9.917°N 84.067°W / 9.917; -84.067

Official languages Spanish Recognised regional languages Mekatelyu

Ethnic groups 94% white, Castizo and Mestizo 3.0% West African, 1.0% Amerindian, 1.0% Chinese, 1.0% Other

Demonym Costa Rican

Government Constitutional democracy (Presidential republic)

Independence from Spain (via Guatemala) - Declared September 14, 1821 - Recognized by Spain May 10, 1850 - from the UPCA 1838

Area - Total 51,100 km2 (128th) 19,730 sq mi - Water (%) 0.7

Population - July 2007 estimate 4,133,884 (119th) - Density 85/km2 (107th) 220/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate - Total $46.021 billion[1] - Per capita $10,357[1] GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate - Total $26.232 billion[1] - Per capita $5,903[1]

Gini (2001) 49.9 (high) HDI (2007) ? 0.846 (high) (48th)

Currency Costa Rican Colón (CRC)

Time zone (UTC-6)

Drives on the right

Internet TLD .cr

Calling code 506

Costa Rica has a population of 4,133,884. The combined white and Mestizo groups constitute 94% of the population, while 3% are Black/Afro-Caribbean, 1% Amerindian, 1% Chinese and 1% are of other ethnic groups. The exact breakdown, however, is not known because the Costa Rican census combines whites and Mestizos in one category. The white population is primarily of Spaniard ancestry with significant numbers of Costa Ricans of Italian, German, Jewish and Polish descent.

Just under 3% of the population is of black African descent. The majority of the Afro-Costa Ricans are Creole English-speaking descendants of nineteenth century black Jamaican immigrant workers, as well as slaves who were brought during the Atlantic slave trade.

The indigenous or Amerindian population numbers around 1%, or over 41,000 individuals. A significant portion of the population descends from a bi-racial mix of local Amerindians and Spaniards; most live in secluded Indian reservations in the Cordillera de Talamanca or Guanacaste.

There is also an expatriate community of people from the United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Britain, and other countries.

Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia and Nicaragua. As a result, an estimated 10% of the Costa Rican population is made up of Nicaraguans, most of whom migrate for seasonal work opportunities and then return to their country. Moreover, Costa Rica took in many refugees from a range of other Latin American countries fleeing civil wars and dictatorships during the 1970s and 80s-notably from Chile and Argentina, as well as El Salvador who fled from guerrillas and government death squads.

Religion:
Christianity is the predominant religion in Costa Rica, and Roman Catholicism is the official state religion as guaranteed by the constitution of 1949. Some 84% of Costa Ricans are Christian, and like many other parts of Latin America, Evangelical Protestant denominations have been experiencing rapid growth. However, 70% still adhere to Roman Catholicism.

Because of the recent small but continuous immigration of communities from Asia, the Middle East, and other places, other religions have grown, the most popular being Buddhism (because of an increasing Chinese community of 40,000), and smaller numbers of Jewish, Muslim, Bahá'í and Hindu adherents.

There is a Jewish synagogue, the B'nei Israel Congregation, in San José, near the La Sabana Metropolitan Park. Several homes in the neighborhood east of La Sabana Metropolitan Park are festooned with the Star of David and other recognizable Jewish symbols.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has seen modest growth in Costa Rica in the last 40 years and has built one of only two temples in Central America in the San Antonio de Belen region of Heredia.

Languages:
The only official language is Spanish. There are two main accents native to Costa Rica, the standard Costa Rican and the Nicoyan. The Nicoyan accent is very similar to the standard Nicaraguan accent. A peculiarity of the Spanish in Costa Rica is the relative lack of the use of the pronoun tú, which is considered rather informal by native Costa Ricans. Instead, Costa Ricans use vos or usted. The conjugation of vos in Costa Rica is practically the same as in Argentina, with the exception of the subjunctive forms.

Jamaican immigrants in the 19th century brought with them a dialect of English that has evolved into the Mekatelyu creole dialect. 

Reference: Wikipedia Costa Rica