Costa Rica is an active member of the international community and, in 1983, claimed it was for neutrality. Due to certain powerful constituencies favoring its methods, it has a weight in world affairs far beyond its size. The country lobbied aggressively for the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and became the first nation to recognize the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Human Rights Court, based in San José.
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.
Puntarenas is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces Guanacaste, Alajuela, San José and Limón, and the neighbouring country of Panama.
The Isthmo-Colombian Area is defined as a cultural area encompassing those territories occupied predominantly by speakers of the Chibchan languages at the time of European contact. It includes portions of the Central American isthmus like eastern El Salvador, eastern Honduras, Caribbean Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and northern Colombia.
José Jesús Francisco Zúñiga Chavarría was a Costa Rican-born Mexican artist, known both for his painting and his sculpture. Journalist Fernando González Gortázar lists Zúñiga as one of the 100 most notable Mexicans of the 20th century, while the Encyclopædia Britannica calls him "perhaps the best sculptor" of the Mexican political modern style.
The stone spheres of Costa Rica are an assortment of over 300 petrospheres in Costa Rica, on the Diquís Delta and on Isla del Caño. Locally, they are also known as bolas de piedra. The spheres are commonly attributed to the extinct Diquís culture, and they are sometimes referred to as the Diquís Spheres. They are the best-known stone sculptures of the Isthmo-Colombian area.
The Naso or Teribe people are an indigenous people of Panama and Costa Rica. They primarily live in northwest Panama in the Bocas del Toro Province and Naso Tjër Di Comarca. There are roughly 3,500 people who belong to the Naso tribe. It is one of the few Native American indigenous groups or tribes that continues to have a monarchy.
Territorial disputes of Nicaragua include the territorial dispute with Colombia over the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina and Quita Sueño Bank. Nicaragua also has a maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea and a boundary dispute over the Rio San Juan with Costa Rica.
Relations between Costa Rica and the United States have been historically close; nevertheless there were instances in history where the US and Costa Rica disagreed. One such example might be the case of Freebooter William Walker. Nevertheless, considering that Costa Rica generally supports the U.S. in international fora, especially in the areas of democracy and human rights, modern day relations are very strong.
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.
Ibo Bonilla Oconitrillo is an architect, sculptor, mathematician and educator of Costa Rica. He has Costa Rican and Spanish nationality. He is known mainly because of the creation of Bioclimatic Buildings and his Monuments in Public Square.
The Museo del Jade is an archaeological museum in San José, Costa Rica. Since 2014, it has been located in front of Plaza de la Democracia. It was founded in 1977 by Fidel Tristán Castro, the first president of the INS. The museum contains the world's largest collection of American jade.
The visa policy of Costa Rica requires that any foreign national wishing to enter Costa Rica must obtain a visa from one of the Costa Rican diplomatic missions, unless they hold a passport issued by one of the 95 eligible visa exempt countries or if the fulfill the requirements for a substitute visa. Costa Rican visas are documents issued by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, which is part of the Ministry of Interior and Police, with the stated goal of regulating and facilitating migratory flows.
The Diquis culture was a pre-Columbian indigenous culture of Costa Rica that flourished from AD 700 to 1530. The word "diquís" means "great waters" or "great river" in the Boruca language. The Diquis formed part of the Greater Chiriqui culture that spanned from southern Costa Rica to western Panama.
Costa Rica–Uruguay relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Costa Rica and Uruguay. Both nations are members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Group of 77, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the United Nations.
Costa Rica–Mexico relations are the diplomatic relations between Costa Rica and Mexico. Both nations are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States and the United Nations.
Ángela Acuña Braun, also known as Ángela Acuña de Chacón,, a Costa Rican lawyer, women's rights pioneer and ambassador, was the first woman to graduate as a lawyer in Central America. Orphaned at the age of 12, she was raised by her maternal aunt and uncle, attending elementary school and beginning high school in Costa Rica. She continued her education in France and England, gaining exposure to the ideas of women's rights. Returning to Costa Rica in 1912, she published articles in support of women's equality. She attended the boys' lyceum or high school where she passed the bachillerato, a prerequisite for entering law school. She embarked on law studies in 1913, leading to a bachelor's degree in 1916. As women were barred from entering the profession, Acuña immediately presented a reform to the civil code allowing this, which was adopted.
