Costa Rica Latin America Country Analysis

Latin America Country Analysis
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Latin America Country Analysis
Costa Rica is located in Central America, with coastlines along the North Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It borders two countries, Panama and Nicaragua, and the land boundaries occupy a total of 661 km while the coastlines cover a total of 1,290 km (Central Intelligence Agency, 2018). The country’s total area is 51, 100 square km, including the Cocos Island, of which 40 square km is water. The main natural resource is hydropower.
As of July 2018, the country has an estimated population of 4, 987, 142 and a large percentage (44%) of this comprises of individuals aged between 25-54 years of age. Approximately half of the population dwells in urban areas with the capital city, San Jose, accommodating close to a fifth of the total population. The main exports are pineapples, melons, bananas, coffee, sugar, beef, seafood, and ornamental plants, which accounts for $10.81 billion export earnings (CIA, 2018). Costa Rica has a current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 57, 057, 372, 468 US$ as of 2017 and the GDP per capita is 17,044.2 (The World Bank, 2017). The official Language is Spanish and the system of government is a democracy (Embassy of Costa Rica in Washington DC, n.d.).
Currently, the estimated life expectancy at birth is 78.9 years for the total population. The female life expectancy is 81.7 years and the male expectancy is 76.2 years. Costa Rica has been ranked 55 in the world when compared to other countries in terms of life expectancy at birth. Additionally, it has been ranked 153 when compared to other countries in term of infant mortality rate. It has an infant mortality rate of 7.8 deaths per 1000 live births (CIA, 2018). The World Bank estimates of the GINI index in Costa Rica is 48.7 as of 2016 while the poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day comprises 1.3 (The World Bank, 2017). The GINI index, which has almost at a stagnant value since 2014 with only minor changes reveals that Costa Rica continues to experience income inequality at a substantial level. Reducing this value will reduce income inequality in the country. Approximately 21% of Costa Rican live below the poverty line. When compared to Latin America as a whole, Costa Rica fairs well because the poverty headcount ratio of Latin America is 4.1 as of 2015. However, other countries are making considerable efforts to reduce poverty while Costa Rica is still struggling with inequality and poverty. Further, the GDP per capita for Latin America is 15,776.9, while the GDP is approximately six trillion. Thus in comparison, Costa Rica has fared well in terms of GDP per capita when compared to Latin America countries.
History-Before Independence
Costa Rica was a Spanish colony, although the level of colonization was lower in comparison to other countries in Central America, a factor that was attributed to its lack of mineral resources that were being sought after by the colonialists (Costarica, 2015). The first European to settle in Costa Rica was Christopher Columbus, an explorer who settled in Costa Rica in 1502 after his voyage. However, the settlement of Europeans started in 1522 and the Spanish believed that they would acquire a lot of minerals from Costa R...