Facts of Costa Rica

Now you probably know that Costa Rica is located in the middle of a jungle, but what you might not know that over 500,000 DIFFERENT species of wildlife call this country home? that means that for every person, there are three species in the country, whilst China's ratio is 34,567 people per species.

Puntarenas Province is perhaps the weirdest shaped province in any country (except maybe ANY province from Liechtenstein) and takes up nearly the entire west coast, as well as stretching for over 200 miles. It includes many natural parks, such as Lucas and Cocos Islands, as well as even a UNESCO world heritage site, the Stone Spheres of Diquís.

Bahia Ballena, (also in Puntarenas) is a peninsula, which at low tide, looks uncannily like a Whale's Tail. (Bahia Ballena translates to that). Very interesting natural formation!

Costa Rica is a big jungle, as I'm sure you all know. But what you might not know, is that Costa Rica is the only country in the world with a population over 1 Million who is Carbon Neutral! This refers to earlier in the jungle, and 98% of power comes from renewable resources.

Sort of how the United States uses its presidents on money, (Jackson, Washington, Grant, etc, and follow the monetary system (1,2,5,10,20,50)) Costa Rica is known for its colourful currency, the Colon. (no not real colons ew) The currency ranges in colors from Blue, to Green, to Red, to Orange, and feature many animals! The 1,000 Colon bill (1.5 USD 1.6 EU) features a Guanacaste Tree, as well as a White-Tailed Deer on a red background. The 2,000 bill (3.1 USD 3.2 EU) shows a coral reef, a starfish, and a bull shark on a blue background. The 5,000 bill (7.9 USD 8.1 EU) stars a Mangrove tree, a Capuchin Monkey, and a Mangrove crab on a yellow background. the 10,000 bill (15.8 USD 16.3 EU) features a Sloth, as well as a forest with eriopsis orchids and cup fungi on a green background. The 20,000 bill (31.7 USD 32.7 EU) stars a Volcano Hummingbird, a sunflower, and some coffee plants. And finally, the 50,000 bill (79.4 USD 80 EU) shows a Parasol Mushroom, a Bromelia Flower, and a Morpho Butterfly, on a Purple Background.

Of all North American countries, Costa Rica  has the fourth-highest life expectancy in the continent! It is only behind the United States, Antigua and Barbuda, and Canada. On another end of the spectrum, Costa Rica is one of the happiest countries in the world!

Of all 196 countries, only a handful of countries with a population over 150,000 have NO military! Costa Rica is one, abolished by Jose Figueres Ferrer in 1948. The reason is that, similar to the middle east, a violent civil war broke out due to, you guessed it, politics. After that devastating war, Jose Ferrer decided to abolish the military, the main cause of the war.

Sort of like Tuvalu, Costa Rica gains much of its revenue from things other than production. Over 20 percent of Costa Rica's GDP comes from tourism alone. Makes sense, considering the natural beauty of the country.

Costa Rica is the second safest country in North America! (The top five are Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic and United States) Travellers report Costa Ricans being very friendly and welcome toward tourists.