The economy of Costa Rica has been very stable for some years now, with continuing growth in the GDP and moderate inflation, though with a high unemployment rate: 11.49% in 2019. Costa Rica's economy emerged from recession in 1997 and has shown strong aggregate growth since then. The estimated GDP for 2023 is US$78 billion, up significantly from the US$52.6 billion in 2015 while the estimated 2023 per capita is US$26,422.
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Central Valley, within San José Canton. San José is Costa Rica's seat of national government, focal point of political and economic activity, and major transportation hub. San José Canton's population was 288,054 in 2011, and San José's municipal land area is 44.2 square kilometers, with an estimated 333,980 residents in 2015. Together with several other cantons of the central valley, including Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago, it forms the country's Greater Metropolitan Area, with an estimated population of over 2 million in 2017. The city is named in honor of Joseph of Nazareth.
According to Article 168 of the Constitution of Costa Rica, the political divisions are officially classified into 3 tiers of sub-national entities.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica is the central bank of Costa Rica.
San Pedro is a district of the Montes de Oca canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica.
The bilateral relations between Costa Rica and Russia date back to 1872, when Costa Rican president Tomás Guardia and Emperor of Russia Alexander II exchanged correspondence. Relations were not formally established until 1944, at the final stages of World War II, when the Russian Empire was already succeeded by the Soviet Union.
Renewable energy in Costa Rica supplied about 98.1% of the electrical energy output for the entire nation in 2016. Fossil fuel energy consumption in Costa Rica was 49.48 as of 2014, with demand for oil increasing in recent years. In 2014, 99% of its electrical energy was derived from renewable energy sources, about 80% of which from hydroelectric power. For the first 75 days of 2015, 100% of its electrical energy was derived from renewable energy sources and in mid 2016 that feat was accomplished for 110 consecutive days despite suboptimal weather conditions.
The 2006 Costa Rica local elections were held on December 3, 2006. In the February 2006 general elections, Costa Rica elected president, vice-presidents, deputies of the Legislative Assembly and municipal councilors in the general elections. The December 2006 elections were held to elect cantonal mayors, members of the District Councils of each of the nation’s districts and intendants of eight special autonomous districts and islands.
Municipal and local elections were held for the first time in Costa Rica on 1 December 2002. This was the first time citizens of the 81 cantons were able to directly choose their mayors as previously the municipal executive was appointed by the city council. A syndic and 4 District Councilors were also elected for each canton’s district as 8 intendants for especial districts with administrative autonomy.
According to the Territorial Administrative Division, the cantons of Costa Rica are subdivided into 492 districts (distritos), each of which has a unique five-digit postal code.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Costa Rica was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Costa Rica on 6 March 2020, after a 49-year-old woman tourist from New York, United States, tested positive for the virus.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship is the ministry in charge of the foreign policy of Costa Rica, including the management of diplomatic missions around the world and their personnel.
Carlos Manuel Martínez Castro is a Costa Rican footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Costa Rican Alajuelense and the Costa Rica national team.
The Social Democratic Progress Party is a Costa Rican political party founded in 2018 and led by Rodrigo Chaves Robles and Pilar Cisneros Gallo.
Rodrigo Alberto de Jesús Chaves Robles is a Costa Rican politician and economist who has served as the 49th and current President of Costa Rica since May 2022. He was previously Minister of Finance from 2019 to 2020 during the presidency of Carlos Alvarado Quesada.
Punto Neutro de Intercambio de Tráfico de Costa Rica (CRIX), established in 2014, is an internet exchange point operated by NIC Costa Rica in San José, the capital of Costa Rica. NIC Costa Rica is a non-profit organization and specialized unit of the National Academy of Sciences. It is responsible for managing and providing top-level .cr domains and second-level .co.cr, .fi.cr, .or.cr, .sa.cr, .ed.cr, ac.cr and .go.cr domains.
Beginning on the night (UTC-6:00) of April 17, 2022, a ransomware attack began against nearly 30 institutions of the government of Costa Rica, including its Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), the National Meteorological Institute, state internet service provider RACSA, the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the Fund for Social Development and Family Allowances, and the Administrative Board of the Municipal Electricity Service of Cartago.
Douglas Andrey López Araya is a Costa Rican professional footballer for C.S. Herediano in Liga FPD, the Costa Rican top division, and the Costa Rica national football team.
Miss Grand Costa Rica is a San José-based female national beauty pageant in Costa Rica, organized separately for in first time in 2022 by the Concurso Nacional de Belleza de Costa Rica, with Erick Solis as the president. The winner of the contest represents the country at its parent competition, the Miss Grand International pageant. Before 2022, the competition license belonged to different organizers, such as the Reinas de Costa Rica organization (2015 – 2017) and the Miss Costa Rica organization (2018 – 2021). Most of the country's representatives at the Miss Grand International pageant during such a period were appointed without organizing the respective pageant.
