This small country, measuring just over 50,000 square kilometers, located in the heart of America, is the pride of the four million "ticos" and "ticas". They are happy that their country is known as the land of "pura vida". Costa Rica has one of the oldest democracies in the world, and is one of the few countries without an army. Its army was abolished in 1948. Instead of spending money to support the military, it has used its resources to bring education, healthcare, water and electricity to its most remote communities. Thanks to this effort, today it has one of the highest literacy rates in all Latin America, and excellent longevity statistics.
Ticos are proud to have more teachers than policemen, teachers who work to fulfill the mission that is stated in signs on all the public schools in the country:
"Here we study in order to improve ourselves"
Another source of pride for ticos are their natural treasures which attract more than a million international tourists each year. With only 0.03% fo the world's land mass, Costa Rican forests are home to almost 5% of all the species of flora and fauna on the planet. It is known in the international scientific community as a site of "megadiversity".
All these natural treasures are protected by the System of National Parks and Protected Areas which cover more than 25% of the national territory. Most of these protected areas have facilities to receive ecotourists. This represents a great effort on the part of the Costa Rican government, but it would not be possible without the support of private reserves and community conservation organizations.
Costa Rica has 4,248,508 inhabitants, according to the 2004 census, living in seven provinces: San Jose, Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, Guanacaste, Puntarenas and Limon. These provinces are divided in 81 cantons and 470 districts. The capitol is the city of San José, where almost half of the population lives.
Nicaragua is to the north, and Panama is to the south. The Pacific Ocean is on the west, and the Atlantic on the east. It covers 51,100 square kilometers, but its maritime territory is ten times larger than that, because Isla del Coco belongs to Costa Rica but is located 500 kilometers to the southwest, in the Pacific.
The official language is Spanish, However, in some regions, other languages are spoken. In Limon, people have inherited a creole English known as Mekatelyu. Some indigenous groups have conserved their own languages, such as Bribri, Gnobe or Guaymi, and Cabécar.
Costa Rica is a republic, with presidential elections every four years. The official religion is Catholicism, but there is complete religious freedom. In fact, it is easy to find places of worship of many different religions coexisting in most communities.
The national currency is the colón, which floats in relation to the US dollar. That is the reason that most hotel and tour prices are given in dollars.
The national flower is the guaria morada (Cattleya Skinned), the national tree is the guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum) and the national bird is the yiguirro (Turdus grayi).
Ecotourism and Nature 
