Costa Rica
Updated: Oct 2, 2022
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Country Name
Costa Rica, or officially the Republic of Costa Rica.
Location
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island.
Capital
San José.
Reason for Naming the country
The name Costa Rica means "rich coast" in the Spanish language. Christopher Columbus* is credited with discovering Costa Rica in 1502 and gave Costa Rica its name, "rich coast” because he believed the land to be filled with precious metals. *who sailed to the eastern shores of Costa Rica during his final voyage, and reported vast quantities of gold jewelry worn by natives.
Flag
The Costa Rican flag was adopted on November 27, 1906.
Costa Rica's First Lady, Pacifica Fernandez Oreamuno, designed the flag in 1848.
It was designed after the ideals of the French Revolution -freedom, equality, and brotherhood - and the colors of the French National Flag. The Costa Rican flag consists of five horizontal stripes. The top and bottom strips are blue, the middle stripe is red and the strips above and below the red stripe are white. The red stripe is double the size of the blue and white stripes.
A national coat of arms is placed on the left side of the red stripe, blue represents the sky, intellectual thinking, infinite, eternity, and ideals
of the religious and spiritual desires, White represents clear thinking, happiness, wisdom, power, and beauty of the sky, initiative to search for new endeavors, and peace; Red represents the warmth of the Costa Rican people, their love of life, their bloodshed for freedom, and their generosity.
*Flag Facts:
- The flag of Costa Rica is similar to the flag of Thailand, Both flags consist of five horizontal bands of blue, white, red (double width), white and blue with the coat of arms off-center to the right while the Flag of Taiwan is without the coat of arms.
Language
Spanish is the official language of Costa Rica. Spanish is used in the government administration of the country, by the media of the country as well as in the educational institutions of Costa Rica.
Also, there are Five indigenous languages spoken in Costa Rica.
These indigenous Costa Rica languages are Maléku, Cabécar, Bribri, Guaymí, and Bugler.
Religion
Christianity is Costa Rica's official religion, with Roman Catholicism being the official state religion according to the 1949 Constitution, which at the same time guarantees freedom of religion. About half of the population identify themselves as Roman Catholics, 25% are Evangelical Protestants, 15% report that they do not have a religion, and 2% declare that they belong to another religion. Due to small, immigration from Asia and the Middle East, other religions have grown such as Buddhism, and a small community of Muslims.
Currency
Costa Rican colón (CRC).
Time Zone
-06:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary presidential constitutional republic.
Climate
The climate in Costa Rica is hot all year round on the plains and along the coasts, while it's milder on the plateau. Temperature variations are low because the country is located near the Equator, so the main difference between the seasons is found in the rains. Most of the country is so rainy that it is covered with rainforests. On the Pacific coast and the plateau, there are a dry season from December to April and a rainy season from May to November, during which rainfall is abundant. In contrast, in the eastern plains and coasts (but also in the southernmost part of the Pacific coast) the climate is equatorial, with abundant rainfall throughout the year.