Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread.
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 deficit and massive 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 recently concluded negotiations to participate in the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which, if ratified by the Costa Rican Legislature, would result in economic reforms and an improved investment climate.
Source: The World Factbook
- Guatemalan coach fired after team fails to qualify for World Cup (USA Today)
14 Oct 2005
Guatemalan soccer coach Ramon Maradiaga was fired Friday after the team failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Guatemala beat Costa Rica 3-1 Wednesday but was pushed out of contention when Trinidad & Tobago beat Mexico, winning the right to face Bahrain in a playoff for a berth.
- Knotek to build Habitat homes in Costa Rica (Crookston Daily Times)
14 Oct 2005
Dale Knotek, a longtime leader of the Crookston Area Habitat for Humanity chapter, is leaving for Costa Rica Saturday to spend 10 days building Habitat homes there, as part of a Habitat Global Village Build.
- OBS and Salis Open Processing Facility in Costa Rica (PR Newswire via Yahoo! ...
14 Oct 2005
Salis, Inc., a leading state and local tax management services firm focused on sales tax, use tax, and exemption certificate management, announces a partnership with OBS, a Business Process Outsourcing company based in Costa Rica to establish a processing facility.
- Home in Rochester and in Costa Rica Hispanic Heritage Month - Rochester Democ...
14 Oct 2005
Home in Rochester and in Costa Rica Hispanic Heritage MonthRochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY - 17 hours ago... I was born in Costa Rica, a tiny country in Central America. I studied journalism at the University of Costa Rica and worked as ...
- Costa Rica earns World Cup bid (Miami Herald)
14 Oct 2005
Costa Rica charged into the World Cup before a noisy, thrilled and drenched crowd, beating the United States 3-0 on Saturday night in San Jose, Costa Rica, on goals by Carlos Hernandez and Paolo Wanchope.
- Cartagines turn to Costa Rica - Special Broadcasting Service
13 Oct 2005
Cartagines turn to Costa RicaSpecial Broadcasting Service, Australia - Oct 13, 2005... National team for the World Cup in Italy. Costa Rica have made it into the 2006 World Cup by finishing third in the CONCACAF Zone.
- Poker Expo To Be Held In Costa Rica - Launchpoker.com
13 Oct 2005
Poker Expo To Be Held In Costa RicaLaunchpoker.com, UK - Oct 13, 2005... This Winter at the Barcelo San Jose Palaciao in Costa Rica professional poker players, merchants, online site operators and anyone who just loves poker will be ...
- ASROC Alternative Payment Processing Conference to be held December 1-2, 2005...
13 Oct 2005
New York, NY (PRWEB) October 13, 2005 -- Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. announces the 4th annual ASROC financial conference will be held on December 1-2 at the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica.
- Costa Rica Poker Expo (pPlayer.com)
13 Oct 2005
Filed under: International , Odds & Ends There is going to be a Poker Industry Expo in Costa Rica this winter. It?s scheduled to be held on December 3rd - 4th at the San Jose Palacio Hotel . This poker expo is held annually and it is a business convention for the poker industry. This expo w...
- A hi-tech success story from Costa Rica - Business Day
13 Oct 2005
A hi-tech success story from Costa RicaBusiness Day, South Africa - Oct 12, 2005COSTA Rica may be best known for its sports fishing and for having no army. Fewer know it as the home of Intel manufacturing, as ...
- Guatemala beats Costa Rica 3-1, but can't keep World Cup hopes alive (Slam! S...
12 Oct 2005
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Guatemala scored three times in the first half and beat Costa Rica 3-1 on Wednesday, but it was not enough to keep the country's hopes of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup alive.
- Poker Conference Held in Costa Rica (Rolling Good Times)
12 Oct 2005
NEW YORK ? (PRESS RELEASE) -- Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. announces a Poker Industry Conference and Exposition will be held the weekend of December 3-4, 2005 in Costa Rica at the Barcelo San Jose Palacio.
- Conference for Online Pharmaceuticals (COPHARM) to Be Held November 29-30, 20...
12 Oct 2005
NEW YORK, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. announces the third annual Conference for the Online Pharmaceutical Industry (COPHARM) to be held on November 29-30, 2005 at the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica.
- ECI Supplies Optical Backbone in Costa Rica - Converge Network Digest
12 Oct 2005
ECI Supplies Optical Backbone in Costa RicaConverge Network Digest - Oct 11, 2005ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad), a government owned utility company in Costa Rica, selected ECI to deploy a complete optical transmission network ...
- US falls in qualifier to Costa Rica - Daily Texan
11 Oct 2005
US falls in qualifier to Costa RicaDaily Texan, TX - Oct 11, 2005Costa Rica celebrated throughout the weekend after its national team clinched a berth in the 2006 World Cup with a 3-0 win over the United States on Saturday ...
- ECI signs $59-mn deal with ICE Costa Rica - CIOL
11 Oct 2005
ECI signs $59-mn deal with ICE Costa RicaCIOL, India - Oct 11, 2005... announced that it has signed an agreement with ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad), a government-owned utility company in Costa Rica, to provide it ...
