Costa Rica
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica
local long form: Republica de Costa Rica
local short form: Costa Rica
Government type: democratic republic
Capital: San Jose
Population: 3,956,507 (July 2004 est.)
Area:
total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km
water: 440 sq km
note:includes Isla del Coco
Geography - note:
four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the centre of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65
Location:
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Land boundaries:
total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Terrain:
coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m
Currency: Costa Rican colon (CRC)
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