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Country Presentation Costa Rica

Agenda

• Introdution

• History of the country

• Geographic location and the demography

• Political Structure

• The economy

• Conclusion

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History

Costa Rica was colonized by Spaniards

Spanish conquistadors arrived in 16th century

Become independent in 15 September 1821

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Geograpy

Costa Rica is located in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, panama to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east

Costa Rica comprises 51,100 square kilometers and 589 square kilometers of territorial waters.

Costa Rica also comprises several islands, volcanoes and waterfalls

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Demograpy

Costa Rica has an estimated population of 4.640.000 with the following ditribuition

White and mestizos 94%

Black or Afro Caribbean 3%

Native Americans 1%

Chinese 1%

Others 1%

Costa Rica hosts many refugees, mainly from Colombia an Nicaragua

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Politics

• POLITICAL STRUCTURE

• Republic of Costa Rica ( provinces, cantons and districts )

• Supreme Court into a court system• There are 11main political organizations

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The Economy

• Key economic information

GDP per capita $11,122

Considered a developing country

Poverty rate 5 to 8%

Unemployment rate 8%

Inflation rate (9.3% to 13.9% during 2007-2008)

Currency CR Colon and 1$=507 CRC

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Traded goods

• Micro processor facility Coffe plantation

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The Economy

• Traded goods

Exports

High Tec and electronics products

Manufactured goods

Bananas

Coffee

Imports

Intermediate goods

Consumer goods

Capital goods

US and China are the leading markets

US and Mexico are the leading suppliers

The Economy

• Recently Ecotourism, Financial outsourcing and Software development became also prime industry in CR’s economy

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Conclusion

The success of this growing economy is mainly because of:

•High level of education;

•Location of the country;

•Lengthy political stability;

•Structural reforms.

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