Costa Rica,officially the Republic of Costa Rica,is a country in Central America,bordered by Nicaragua to the north,the Caribbean Sea to the northeast,Panama to the southeast,the Pacific Ocean to the southwest,and maritime border with Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around five million in a land area of 51,060 km2 (19,710 sq mi). An estimated 333,980 people live in the capital and largest city,San José,with around two million people in the surrounding metropolitan area.
Alajuela is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country,bordering Nicaragua to the north. It also borders the provinces of Heredia to the east,San Joséto the south,Puntarenas to the southwest and Guanacaste to the west. As of 2011,the province had a population of 885,571. Alajuela is composed of 16 cantons,which are divided into 111 districts. It covers an area of 9,757.53 square kilometers.
The University of Costa Rica is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica,in Central America. Its main campus,Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio,is located in San Pedro Montes de Oca,in the province of San José. It is the oldest and largest institution of higher learning in Costa Rica,originally established as the Universidad de Santo Tomás in 1843. It is also the most important research university in the country and Central America and is counted among the most prestigious universities of Latin America. Approximately 45,000 students attend UCR throughout the year.
The Citizens' Action Party is a political party in Costa Rica.
Ottón Solís Fallas is a Costa Rican politician. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Costa Rica in 1976 and gained a master's degree in economics from the University of Manchester in 1978. He is currently serving his second term as congressman,was a founding member of the Citizens' Action Party,and ran as its three-time presidential candidate. As an academic,he has taught at several universities in the United States and Costa Rica.
Education in Costa Rica is divided in 3 cycles:pre-education,primary education,and secondary school,which leads to higher education. School year starts between the second and third week of February,stops at the last week of June,it continues again between the third and fourth week of July and finishes between the last week of November and the second week of December. Preschool and basic education are free to the public. Elementary and secondary school are both divided in two cycles. Since 1869,education is free and compulsory.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica is the central bank of Costa Rica.
Clodomiro Picado Twight,also known as "Clorito Picado",was Costa Rican scientist who was internationally recognized for his pioneering research on snake venom and the development of various antivenins. His work on molds was a precursor to the formal discovery of penicillin and resulted in compounds which he used to treat patients at least one year before the re-discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming. He wrote over 115 works,mainly books and monographs.
Rodrigo Alberto Carazo Zeledón is a Costa Rican politician,economist,lawyer and political scientist and is currently Costa Rica's representative to the United Nations,having presented his credentials the 31st of August 2018. He was the first Ombudsman of the Republic of Costa Rica and a former delegate to the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica who served in that capacity during the Pacheco administration. He was president of the Partido Acción Ciudadana.
Epsy Alejandra Campbell Barr is a Costa Rican politician and economist who has been the First Vice-President of Costa Rica since 8 May 2018. She is Costa Rica’s first woman of color to become vice president,and the second female woman of color as Vice President in the Americas following Viola Burnham.
General elections were held in Costa Rica on Sunday,2 February 2014 to elect a new president,two vice presidents,and 57 Legislative Assembly lawmakers. In accordance with Article 132 of the constitution,incumbent President Laura Chinchilla Miranda was ineligible to run for a second consecutive term.
Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera is a Costa Rican politician and educator who was the President of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2018. He is a member of the center-left Citizens' Action Party (PAC). Solís led the field in the 2014 presidential election,and won the presidency in a landslide election,earning more votes than any presidential candidate in the history of the nation. Solís has a long academic and political career,culminating in his election as the first President of Costa Rica to be a member of the PAC.
Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría is a Costa Rica politician,who served as the nation's 2nd Vice President,under Luis Guillermo Solís 2014–2018,and as Ambassador in Spain,under Carlos Alvarado. Her political career is dedicated to issues of feminism,human rights,and public health policy. Previously a cabinet minister and deputy,Chacón has also served on numerous committees and conferences on the national and international level.
Elizabeth Bernardita Fonseca Corrales was a deputy in the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2010,representing San José. Fonseca holds a doctorate in History and American Society from the University of Paris. She was president of the Citizens' Action Party in 2010.
Guido Miranda Gutiérrez was a Costa Rican civil servant and medical doctor. Miranda is credited with spearheading the effort to push the Costa Rican Department of Social Insurance from the capital of San Joséinto smaller municipalities and rural regions.
Juan Carlos Mendoza García is a Costa Rican politician and the country's current Ambassador to the United Nations. He was a deputy with the Citizens' Action Party during the 2010 to 2014 and served as President of the Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2012.
Henry Mora Jiménez is a Costa Rican economist and political activist. Mora is a member of the 2014-2018 Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica,serving with the Citizens' Action Party. He was the President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 2014 to 2015.
Ronald Solís Bolaños is a Costa Rican businessman and politician. He served as a deputy in the Legislative Assembly.
General elections were held in Costa Rica in 2018 to elect both the President and Legislative Assembly. The first round of the presidential election was held on February 4,2018,with the two highest-ranked candidates being Christian singer and Congressman Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz from the conservative National Restoration Party and writer and former Minister Carlos Alvarado Quesada from the progressive Citizens’Action Party,gaining 24% and 21% of the votes respectively. As no candidate received more than 40% of the first round vote,a second round run-off election was held on April 1,2018 and was won by Carlos Alvarado Quesada,with a landslide victory of 60.6% of the vote.
The Ministry of the Presidency is a ministry of the Republic of Costa Rica created on 24 December 1961 through Law 2980. Its work prescribed by law consists in providing support to the President of the Republic,serving as a liaison between the Presidency and the other branches of government,civil society and the various ministries.
