| The fact that more than one million tourists
visit Costa Rica each year does not happen by chance.
Our country, located in Central America, is an isthmus
where life seems to have created its roots. Covering
only 0.03% of the surface of our planet, Costa Rica
has approximately 6% of the world's biodiversity.
In addition, Costa Rica is characterized by impressive
scenic beauty, a consolidated system of protected
areas, social and political stability, high educational
levels, and efficient infrastructure and services.
All of this offered in a territory of only 51 thousand
square kilometers, surrounded by both the Pacific
and Atlantic Oceans, at a distance from each other
of only three to four hours by land or 45 minutes
by air.
 Our
People
Ticos, as Costa Ricans are commonly known, are a fairly
mixed bunch. Though the majority of the country´s
3.3 million inhabitants are the descendants of Spanish
immigrants, many families originated from other parts
of Europe, Asia, Africa and, of course, Central America.
You may be surprised by the number of fair-skinned
people you´ll see in the country, especially
in the Central Valley.
In the lowlands, more people are mestizo -that is
mixture of European and Indigenous blood- whereas
the majority along the Caribbean coast are of African
lineage, and much of the Talamanca Mountain Range
is inhabited by full-blooded Indians of various tribes. |
