Costa Rica is one of the small nations that together comprise the isthmus of Central America. The country’s borders are defined by Nicaragua to the North and Panama to the South. Because it is between two continents, and two oceans, this convergence of land and water makes the region a great bottleneck, rich in ecological diversity.

Area

51,100 sq km (19,929 square miles)

Geographic Division

Costa Rica is divided into seven provinces (States) which are: Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas, & San José (Capital City)

Climate

Tropical, average temperature around 27º C / 80º F.

Time

GMT / UTC minus 6 hours

Language

The most widely spoken language in Costa Rica is Spanish (97% of the population); although there are other native languages used mostly within the indigenous reserves. Many businesses, in and around San Jóse, and resorts throughout the country have employees who also speak english.

Electricity

110V, 60 Hz

Currency & Exchange rate

The Colón (¢1,00) is the national currency of Costa Rica.

The exchange rate against the US dollar can vary day by day, but as of April 2004, it is ¢426 colones per dollar.

http://www.costaricainfo.com/general/general.html

This is the the CIA 2007 fact sheet for Costa Rica, which gives more detail:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html

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