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About Costa Rica:
Costa Rica is located in Central
America,
bordering both the Caribbean
Sea and the
North Pacific Ocean, between
Nicaragua and
Panama. Costa Rica is widely
acknowledged
to be one of the most beautiful
countries
in Central America. There is
an increasing
population of North Americans
and Europeans
settling in Costa Rica due to
it's ideal
climate and safe political structure.
Many
foreign businesses are also relocating
to
Costa Rica due to an educated
work force
and the amount of bilingual talent
in the
work force.
Costa Rica is slightly smaller
than West
Virginia in size and has two
seasons. The
rainy season runs from May to
November and
the dry season is December to
April.
Natural hazards in Costa Rica
include: occasional
earthquakes, hurricanes along
Atlantic coast;
frequent flooding of lowlands
at onset of
rainy season and landslides;
and four volcanoes.
(Two of them are active.)
The government of Costa Rica
is a democratic
republic. The capital city is
San Jose, and
most of the nation's commerce
takes place
in the San Jose city limits.
Costa Rica's basically stable
economy depends
on tourism, agriculture, and
electronics
exports. Poverty has been substantially
reduced
over the past 15 years, and a
strong social
safety net has been put into
place. Foreign
investors remain attracted by
the country's
political stability and high
education levels,
and tourism continues to bring
in foreign
exchange. Low prices for coffee
and bananas
have hurt the agricultural sector.
The government
continues to grapple with its
large internal
and external deficits and sizable
internal
debt. The reduction of inflation
remains
a difficult problem because of
rises in the
price of imports, labor market
rigidities,
and fiscal deficits. The country
also needs
to reform its tax system and
its pattern
of public expenditure. Costa
Rica is the
only signatory to the US-Central
American
Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
that has not
ratified it. CAFTA implementation
would result
in economic reforms and an improved
investment
climate.
Costa Rica has no formal military
and is
seldom involved in disputes with
other nations.
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