Population of COSTA RICA

Costa Rica closed 2014 with a population of 4,937,755 people, an increase of 65,589 people compared to 2013.

In 2013, the male population was mostly men with 2,473,985, representing 50.78 of the total, compared to the 2,398,181 women are 49.22.

Costa Rica has an average population density of 97 inhabitants per km2.

Economy ofCOSTA RICA

In many respects, Costa Rica is a success story in terms of development. Considered an upper-middle-income country, Costa Rica has experienced sustained economic growth over the past 25 years. This progress is the result of an outward-oriented growth strategy, based on openness to foreign investment, as well as gradual trade liberalization.

Currently, the Costa Rican economy is based on a mixed and quite diversified structure, with heavy investments in the service sector and, to a lesser extent, in agriculture.

Costa Ricas export earnings from traditional agricultural products, such as bananas, coffee, sugar, cocoa and pineapple, continue to be important. The production of high quality Costa Rican coffee stands out and its export to the US market where it is highly appreciated.
However, income from the export of non-traditional products -such as flowers and mini vegetables- have largely exceeded the previous ones and the service sector has grown strongly in recent years, generating more than 10,000 jobs.

Tourism is the fastest growing industry, generating more foreign exchange since the early 2000s than any of the major agricultural export products.

The medical supplies production industry became the main export product of Costa Rica, reaching $ 2.2 billion dollars in 2015 and experiencing a growth of 19 compared to 2013, displacing the sector that produces electronic components for microprocessors already pineapple. The sector employs 19,000 people, 55 women.

History of COSTA RICA

The oldest evidence of human occupations in Costa Rica is associated with the arrival of groups of hunter-gatherers around 12,200 years, with the discovery in the canton of Siquirres of 66 human settlements where funerary elements, petroglyphs, basements of houses, were recovered, roads, stone tools, pottery, ceramics, which date from the Paleoindian and correspond to the Cabécar ethnic group, constituting the oldest archaeological site in Central America, from 10,000 to 7,000 years BC. Ancient archaeological evidences (manufacture of stone tools) located in the Turrialba Valley date from ancient archaeological evidence, with the presence of Clovis (North American) and fish tail (South American) spearheads.

Christopher Columbus arrived on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica on September 25, 1502, on his fourth trip, visiting the island of Uvita (called Quiribrí by the natives and named La Huerta by Colón), and the town of Cariay.
According to the diaries written by Columbus, there was a lot of gold in the territory, which prompted the adventurers to undertake other explorations and served as a pole of attraction for the colonizers. The initial expeditions of Diego de Nicuesa and Alonso de Ojeda on the Atlantic coast were followed by that of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513 after crossing the Isthmus of Panama. In 1519, Gaspar de Espinosa with Juan de Castañeda, Alonso Martín de Don Benito and Hernán Ponce de León discovered the Dulce Gulf and the Nicoya Gulf. Gil González Dávila traveled the Costa Rican Pacific coast, arrived in Nicoya and continued towards Nicaragua, where he was richly gifted by the cacique Nicarao.

Costa Rica obtains its independence on September 15, 1821 and adheres to the Federal Republic of Central America, of which it was a part between 1824 and 1838; however, it was dissolved in 1838 by internal struggles between states.

Little by little each province declared its independence, and in this way, on August 31, 1848, Costa Rica became a Republic, with José María Castro Madriz being the last head of state and the first president of the Republic.

In 1856, Costa Rica was part of the war against William Walker, an American filibuster whose aim was to turn Central America into a slave-supplying region for North America. The National Hero of Costa Rica, Juan Santamaría distinguished himself as an important character in Costa Rican history who was part of this battle, which was called the Battle of Rivas, which occurred on April 11, 1856.