ALONG THE CENTRAL COAST
COUNTRY NAME:
Conventional long form: Republica de Costa Rica / Republic of Costa Rica. Short form: Costa Rica.
SIZE:
51,060 square kms (19,714 square miles)
POPULATION:
4 million (source: World Bank)
CAPITAL CITY:
San Jose. Estimated population: 1,200,000
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION:
7 provinces: San Jose (capital of the country), Cartago, Heredia, Alajuela, Guanacaste, Puntarenas and Limon.
LOCAL TIME DIFFERENCE:
GMT minus 6 hours.
LANGUAGES SPOKEN:
Spanish is the official language, although English is widely spoken in the business community and at most tourist destinations. English is spoken around Puerto Limon as part of the culture.
RELIGION:
Majority Roman Catholic, then Evangelical; Methodist; Baptist; Episcopalian; Jewish and others. The Catholic Faith is the official religion, although the right to practice other religions is guaranteed.
ETHNIC:
98% are white or “meztizos” (racially mixed), except in Limon province on the Caribbean coast, where an estimated 70,000 blacks and 5,000 Indigenous people live. The Northern Guanacaste province also has a sizeable Indigenous population.
NATIONAL BIRD:
Yigüirro (Turdus grayi)
NATIONAL FLOWER:
Guaria Morada (Cattleya skinneri)
NATIONAL TREE:
Guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum