Unlike many of their Central American neighbors, present-day Costa Ricans are largely of European rather than mestizo descent; Spain was the primary country of origin. Few of the native Indians survived European contact; the indigenous population today numbers about 29,000 or less than 1% of the population. Descendants of 19th century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority and -- at 3% of the population -- number about 96,000.
In 1502, on his fourth and last voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus made the first European landfall in the area. Settlement of Costa Rica began in 1522. For nearly three centuries, Spain administered the region as part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala under a military governor. The Spanish optimistically called the country "Rich Coast". Finding little gold or other valuable minerals in Costa Rica, however, the Spanish turned to agriculture.
The small landowners' relative poverty, the lack of a large indigenous labor force, the population's ethnic and linguistic homogeneity, and Costa Rica's isolation from the Spanish colonial centers in Mexico and the Andes -- all contributed to the development of an autonomous and individualistic agrarian society. An egalitarian tradition also arose. This tradition survived the widened class distinctions brought on by the 19th-century introduction of banana- and coffee-cultivation and consequent accumulations of local wealth.
Costa Rica joined other Central American provinces in 1821 in a joint declaration of independence from Spain. Although the newly independent provinces formed a Federation, border disputes broke out among them, adding to the region's turbulent history and conditions. Costa Rica's northern Guanacaste Province was annexed from Nicaragua in one such regional dispute. In 1838, long after the Central American Federation ceased to function in practice, Costa Rica formally withdrew and proclaimed itself sovereign.
An era of peaceful democracy in Costa Rica began in 1899 with elections considered the first truly free and honest ones in the country's history. This began a trend continued until today with only two lapses: in 1917-19, Federico Tinoco ruled as a dictator, and, in 1948, Jose Figueres led an armed uprising in the wake of a disputed presidential election.
With more than 2,000 dead, the 44-day civil war resulting from this uprising was the bloodiest event in 20th-century Costa Rican history, but the victorious junta drafted a constitution guaranteeing free elections with universal suffrage and the abolition of the military. Figueres became a national hero, winning the first election under the new constitution in 1953. Since then, Costa Rica has held 11 presidential elections, the latest in 2002.
Population: 3,710,558 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
32% (male 609,051; female 581,302)
15-64 years:
63% (male 1,177,262; female 1,150,673)
65 years and over:
5% (male 89,541; female 102,729) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.69% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 20.69 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.87 male(s)/female
total population:
1.02 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
75.82 years
male:
73.3 years
female:
78.47 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.52 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Costa Rican(s)
adjective:
Costa Rican
Ethnic groups: white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Evangelical Protestant, approximately 14%, other less than 1%
Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
94.8%
male:
94.7%
female:
95% (1995 est.)
- See also : Costa Rica
