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PACKAGES COSTA RICA |
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ABOUT - COSTA RICA TRAVEL DEALS |
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Costa Rica travel deals and packages Costa Rica provide complete geographical and political information. Costa Rica was inhabited by an estimated 400,000 Indians when Columbus explored it in 1502. The Spanish conquest began in 1524. The region grew slowly and was administered as a Spanish province. Costa Rica achieved independence in 1821 but was absorbed for two years by Agustín de Iturbide in his Mexican empire. It became a republic in 1848. Except for the military dictatorship of Tomás Guardia from 1870 to 1882, Costa Rica has enjoyed one of the most democratic governments in Latin America.
In the 1970s, rising oil prices, falling international commodity prices, and inflation hurt the economy. Efforts have since been made to reduce reliance on coffee, banana, and beef exports. |
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| Geography of Costa Rica |
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This Central American country lies between Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Its area slightly exceeds that of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. It has a narrow Pacific coastal region. Cocos Island (10 sq mi; 26 sq km), about 300 mi (483 km) off the Pacific Coast, is under Costa Rican sovereignty. |
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| Land area |
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19,560 sq mi (50,660 sq km); total area: 19,730 sq mi (51,100 sq km) |
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| Population (2007 est.) |
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4,075,261 (growth rate: 1.5%); birth rate: 18.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 9.7/1000; life expectancy: 77.0; density per sq mi: 208 |
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| Capital and largest city (2003 est.) |
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San José, 1,527,300 (metro. area), 337,200 (city proper) |
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| Ethnicity/race |
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White (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% |
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| Language |
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Spanish (official), English |
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| Religions |
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Roman Catholic 76%, Evangelical 14%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1%, other Protestant 1%, other 5%, none 3% |
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| Literacy rate |
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96% (2003 est.) |
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| Agriculture |
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Coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber. |
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| Natural resources |
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Hydropower |
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| Visas |
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Citizens holding valid passports from the following countries are permitted to stay in Costa Rica for 90 days without a visa:
Andorra Argentina Australia Austria Barbados Belgium Brazil Canada Chile Croatia Cyprus Czech Rep. Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latvia Liechtenstein Lituania Luxembourg Malta Mexico Monaco Montenegro Netherlands New Zealand Norway Panama Paraguay Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Romania San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Trinidad and Tobago United Kingdom United States Uruguay
Citizens holding valid passports from the following countries are allowed to stay in Costa Rica for 30 days without a visa, though once in the country, they can apply for an extension (Prórroga de Turismo) from the Immigration office (Migración), which allows them to stay a total of 90 days:
Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Bangladesh Belize Bolivia Dominican El Salvador Fiyi Granada Guatemala Guyana Honduras India Jamaica Kiribati Maldivas Marshall islands Mauricio Micronesia Nauru Palau Russia Samoa San Cristóbal San Vicente Santa Lucia Santo Tomé Singapore Solomon Islands Suriname Taiwan The Philippines Tonga Turkey Tuvalu Vanuatu Venezuela
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