History
Christopher Columbus anchored off Uvita Island in front of what is now Limón, Costa Rica, in September 15th on his fourth exploratory voyage to the Americas.
The Spanish colony lasted for more than 300 years, but on September 15,1821, Costa Rica and the rest of its Central American sister colonies, declared its independence from Spain.
After initially forming part of the Central American Federation, Costa Rica proclaimed itself a free and independent Republic in 1848. It has since enjoyed relative prosperity and political stability, including more than a century of continuous democratic rule.
Location:
Costa Rica lies in the heart of the land bridge connecting North and South America, ten degrees north of the equator on the Central American isthmus. It shares its northern border with Nicaragua, and its southern neighbor is Panamá, to the east it basks in the warmth of the Caribbean Sea and the western plains slope down to the breathtaking beaches and bays of the Pacific Ocean.
Size:
Costa Rica is a tiny country, about the size of Rhode Island or Belgium. Its very multifaceted surface covers less than 20,000 square miles.
The East-West distance between the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean varies from 75 to around 150 miles, while the distance between the borders with Panama and Nicaragua is approximately 180 miles.
Language:
The official language of Costa Rica is Spanish, although English is taught in the public and private school systems and is widely spoken, French, Italian and German are also a mounting recognition of the importance of The Pacific Ring languages, Japanese and Chinese.
Population:
Today Costa Rica has a population of 3.810.179. The ethnic mix is nearly 98% of European (Spanish, German, French and English) descent, although there are many colonies from other European, African and Asian countries. Costa Rica’s aboriginal descendants represent less than 2% of the total population.
More About Costa Rica at Wikipedia
