About Costa Rica:

Costa Rica is a Democratic Republic and is the second smallest country in Central America next to El Salvador with a landmass of about 20,000 square miles. It has not had an acting army since 1949 and is bordered by Nicaragua (to the north) and Panama (to the south). A series of volcanic mountain chains runs from the Nicaraguan border to the Panamanian border, splitting the country in two. With an abundance of beaches, its coasts stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. There are seven provinces that make up the country: San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Puntarenas, Cartago, Guanacaste and Limón. The capital, San José, is in the province of the same name, which is the most densely populated of all the provinces. There are approximately 3.6 million people whose native language is Spanish and on the Caribbean coast, many Caribbean blacks speak a lively dialect of English known as Creole. Indigenous languages are spoken in isolated areas, primarily Bribrí, which is estimated to be understood by about 10,000 people. For many citizens, English is a second language and is also spoken in most tourist areas. French, German and Italian are also spoken.

Costa Rica’s economy is basically stable and depends on electronic exports, agriculture and tourism. Foreign investors find Costa Rica appealing because of its political stability and tourism brings in foreign exchange. Also, in matters of land and property ownership, foreigners and Costa Rican citizens have equal rights under the law. You do not have to be a citizen to own property.

The national currency is the Colon and dollars are easily exchanged at banks of the National Banking System, other foreign currency can be exchanged through private angencies. All major credit cards as well as traveler’s checks are widely accepted. The Colon exchanges at 467 per dollar (as of May 2005) and can be expected to depreciate by 0.17 on average per day.