Of course, Costa Rica is a country that impresses with its bewitching beauty, interesting traditions, and incredible people. It consists of a variety of colors and truly unique phenomena. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of tourists come to the country to see it from the inside.
So what interesting facts does Costa Rica hide?
1. In fact, the name of the country Costa Rica dates back to 1502.
According to historical facts, when Christopher Columbus arrived in an incredibly beautiful and exotic territory, he exclaimed: “costa rica” (“rich coast” from Spanish ). Moreover, as a sign of gratitude to their discoverer, the local population called their currency “colon”.
2. All the inhabitants of Costa Rica called “Ticos”.
This colloquial name comes from the habit of the natives to use the diminutive suffix “tiko” in words. So, for example, instead of the word “chico” (from Spanish “small”), the inhabitants of Costa Rica say “chiquitico” and so on.
3. Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rates in the world (97.8%).
In addition, education in Costa Rica is free, and the share of government spending on it is higher than in other Latin American countries. And the majority of the population tends to pursue higher education.
4. Locals of Costa Rica love to use the phrase “pura vida” in their daily life, which translates as “pure life”.
In general, all greetings, goodbyes, and expressions of appreciation and gratitude begin with these words. Furthermore, this phrase reflects the entire philosophy of life and worldview of Costa Ricans. After all, tikos are famous for their lightness and cheerfulness, as well as democratic freedom.
5. Costa Rica is a country that is proud of no having an army.
So the government disbanded its armed forces in 1949. It announced that Costa Rica would create an “army of teachers” instead. Besides, the money saved by the army is used by Costa Ricans to improve the living standards of the population. Meanwhile, the country’s security is ensured by the Civil Guard, which consists of 10 thousand people.
6. 5% of the world’s biological diversity is found in Costa Rica.
And this despite the fact that the territory of the state occupies only 0.03% of the world’s land. Moreover, Costa Rica has about 615 animal species per 10,000 square miles. For example, there are over 34,000 species of insects, about 20,000 species of spiders, and over 50 species of hummingbirds. And the number of butterflies in Costa Rica is about 15% of the world’s natural heritage.
7. An interesting is that in Costa Rica there are no usual street names.
As a rule, addresses are given taking in relation to their distance from local attractions. For example, in the country, you can often hear: “This is 200 meters west of the embassy”, “50 meters north of the church” and so on.
8. Costa Rica was built on coffee.
It is worth noting that coffee has been the country’s main export and source of income for many years. Furthermore, in the 1800s, tikos even received free land if they wanted to grow coffee. And even now, Costa Ricans are a nation of true coffee lovers. After all, coffee from Costa Rica is widely known for its high quality and incredible taste.
9. Costa Rica is considered one of the most environmentally friendly countries.
It is known that Costa Rica generates over 99% of its electricity from renewable sources: solar energy, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal energy.
10. Costa Rica is recognized as the happiest country in the world.
First of all, the International Happiness Index includes many criteria: well-being, ecology, economy, life expectancy. And based on this, Costa Rica is in the lead. In addition, the country’s life expectancy is 80 years. And the Nicoya region is one of the world’s five zones of longevity.
