Costa Rica. Ballpoint Pens, Rollerball Pens,Cartridges, Fountain Pens.

Pen Ink City Alajuela Pen Ink City Cartago Pen Ink City Curridabat Pen Ink City Escazú Pen Ink City Golfito Pen Ink City Jacó Pen Ink City Liberia Pen Ink City Limón Pen Ink City Nicoya Pen Ink City Puntarenas Pen Ink City San José Pen Ink City San Ramón, Alajuela Pen Ink City Santa Ana Pen Ink City Tibás England Description Costa Rica Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including: disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country's democratic development. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. Location Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama   Geographic Coordinates 10 00 N, 84 00 W Area - comparative slightly smaller than West Virginia Coast line 1,290 km Climate tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands Terrain Costa Rica coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes Natural Resources Costa Rica hydropower Irrigated land 1,080 sq km (2003) Total Renewable Water Resources 112.4 cu km (2000) Natural Hazards occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes Environment Currentissues deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution Geography Note four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 Population Costa Rica 4,516,220 (July 2010 est.) Population growth rate 1.347% (2010 est.) Birth Rate 16.65 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Death Rate 4.29 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Netmigration Rate 1.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.) Total Fertility Rate 1.93 children born/woman (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate 0.4% (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids 9,700 (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids Deaths white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% Religions Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% Languages Spanish (official), English Education Expenditures 4.9% of GDP (2004) Government Type democratic republic Administrative Divisions 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose Independence 15 September 1821 (from Spain) National Holiday Independence Day, 15 September (1821) Constitution 7-Nov-49 Legal System based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Suffrage 18 years of age; universal and compulsory Legislative Branch unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) Political Partie Sand Leaders Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for renewable eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Costa Rican Exporter's Chamber or CADEXCO; Costa Rican Solidarity Movement; Costa Rican Union of Private Sector Enterprises or UCCAEP [Rafael CARRILLO]; Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; National Association of Public and Private Employees or ANEP [Albino VARGAS]; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert BROWN] International Organization Participation BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Flag Description five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA Economy Overview Prior to the global economic crisis, Costa Rica enjoyed stable economic growth. The economy contracted by about 2% in 2009. While the traditional agricultural exports of bananas, coffee, sugar, and beef are still the backbone of commodity export trade, a variety of industrial and specialized agricultural products have broadened export trade in recent years. High value added goods and services, including microchips, have further bolstered exports. Tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange, as Costa Rica's impressive biodiversity makes it a key destination for ecotourism. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and relatively high education levels, as well as the fiscal incentives offered in the free-trade zones; and Costa Rica has attracted one of the highest levels of foreign direct investment per capita in Latin America. However, many business impediments, such as high levels of bureaucracy, difficulty of enforcing contracts, and weak investor protection, remain. Poverty has remained around 20% for nearly 20 years, and the strong social safety net that had been put into place by the government has eroded due to increased financial constraints on government expenditures. Unlike the rest of Central America, Costa Rica is not highly dependent on remittances as they only represent about 2% of GDP. Immigration from Nicaragua has increasingly become a concern for the government. The estimated 300,000-500,000 Nicaraguans in Costa Rica legally and illegally are an important source of - mostly unskilled - labor, but also place heavy demands on the social welfare system. Under the ARIAS administration, the government has made strides in reducing internal and external debt - in 2007, Costa Rica had its first budget surplus in 50 years. The US-Central American-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) entered into force on 1 January 2009, after significant delays within the Costa Rican legislature. GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) $48.63 billion (2009 est.) GDP (Official Exchange Rate) $29.64 billion (2009 est.) GDP Real Growth Rate -1.6% (2009 est.) GDP Per Capita (PPP) $10,900 (2009 est.) Labor Force 2.09 million Unemployment Rate 6.4% (2009 est.) Population Below Poverty Line 16% (2006 est.) Distribution Of Family Income 48 (2008) Unvestment Gross Fixed 20.5% of GDP (2009 est.) Inflation Rrate 49.3% of GDP (2009 est.) Central Bank Discount Rate 8.3% (2009 est.) Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate 25% (31 December 2008) Stock Of Money 15.83% (31 December 2008) Stock Of Quasi Money $4.209 billion (31 December 2008) Stock Of Domestic Credit $3.143 billion (31 December 2008) Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares $15.15 billion (31 December 2008) Agriculture - Products $NA (31 December 2008) Industries bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef, poultry, dairy; timber Industrial Production Growth Rate microprocessors, food processing, medical equipment, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products Electricity Production -5% (2009 est.) Electricity Consumption 8.808 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Exports 8.064 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Imports 77.16 million kWh (2008 est.) Oil Production 203.2 million kWh (2007 est.) Oil Consumption 0 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Exports 45,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Imports 2,117 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Proved Reserves 47,860 bbl/day (2007 est.) Natural Gas Production 0 bbl Natural Gas Consumption 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Exports 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Imports 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Proved Reserves 0 cu m (2008 est.) Current Account Balance 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Exports -$662 million (2009 est.) Exports Commodities $8.096 billion (2009 est.) Exports Partners bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar; beef; seafood; electronic components, medical equipment Imports US 23.9%, Netherlands 13.3%, China 13%, UK 5%, Mexico 4.9% (2008) Imports Commodities $10.53 billion (2009 est.) Imports Partners raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum, construction materials Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold US 42.7%, Mexico 6.9%, Venezuela 6.3%, Japan 5.4%, China 4.6%, Brazil 4.5% (2008) Debt - External $4.089 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Radio Broadcast Stations $11.64 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Television Broadcast Stations $540 million (31 December 2009 est.) Internet Country Code Costa Rican colones (CRC) per US dollar - 580.01 (2009), 530.41 (2008), 519.53 (2007), 511.3 (2006), 477.79 (2005) Airports AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002) Military Service Age and Obligation 151 (2009)

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