Costa Rica has been in the travel scene as an exotic destination for quite some time now.
It was the first country to emerge as a thriving travel destination in Central America. It developed in peace while the rest of the region was in the middle of bloody wars and dictatorships. This head start turned Costa Rica into a unique experience that constantly surprises you.
The first things that will strike you are the country’s breathtaking beauty, the cheery friendliness of its people, the commitment to nature, and the hospitality industry’s readiness. But beyond, you also discover a unique blend of tropical indulgence, Western efficiency, and European sophistication that make it the ideal medical travel destination.
This is a country that has something for everyone.
An ideal place full of possible investments, a perfect romantic getaway, a nature lover haven, and one of the best places in the World to have your medical treatments done with state-of-the-art equipment and the best professionals
Where is Costa Rica?
Costa Rica is located between Nicaragua and Panama in the southern part of Central America. It is bathed by the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and it has a tropical climate.
How big is Costa Rica?
Costa Rica extends across 19,729 Mi2 (51,100 Km2) and has a little above five million people.
Is Costa Rica a democracy?
Costa Rica is among the oldest democracies of the World, with a
long-standing tradition of equality, stability, and peace. It abolished its standing army in 1948 and declared itself neutral in 1983.
The government system is represented by three powers: the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial Power. The Elections Supreme Court is deemed the fourth power of the Republic, although it is the most important of the four of them in election time.
Elections happen every four years, and the president is elected through direct representation by secret ballot.
The elections of Costa Rica are respected as one of the most transparent electoral developments in the World. It has been used as a compelling example of a successful democratic process.
With a literacy rate among the highest in the continent (97.9%) and a free and compulsory education system since 1886, Costa Rica is congratulated for its investment in public education. There are nearly 6,147 elementary, middle, and high schools and over 50 universities in the country.
The University of Costa Rica, the first higher education institution in the country, is among the top 20 universities of Latin America and has created effective bonds with universities throughout the World, allowing Costa Rican students to get to the best-specialized faculties worldwide.
The solid investment in education turns into a high-level qualification of Costa Rican capacities, with the skills to innovate and generate new specializations and businesses. In fact, about 81% of export companies are small- and medium-sized companies.
Although banana is still one of the top agricultural products with pineapples and coffee, it is not the main product.
Far from it, in the past decades, the country has developed a more diverse and sophisticated economy based on tourism, electronics, medical components exports, medical manufacturing, and IT services. (01)
Besides the travel industry, the primary employment source and the most crucial income that Costa Rica receives, it has many foreign investments from hundreds of companies, some known giants like Amazon, Intel, or Hewlett Packard.
The estimated GDP for 2017 was US$61.5 billion, up considerably from 2015 US$52.6 billion, while the estimated 2017 per capita (purchasing power parity) is US$12,382. (02)
Costa Rica spends around 6.9% of its entire budget on education compared to the 4.4% world average.
Thus, Costa Rica assures quality in diversity and production in exports. Costa Rica trades 4359 products to 157 countries, becoming the largest exporter in Latin America in high technology and the seventh in the World for industrial goods.
Video games, medical devices, products for the aeronautical industry, applications, software, pineapple, cantaloupe, tubers, chayote, rambutan, watermelon, plantains, and nutritional snacks are the most exported products. All this in a fierce commitment to the environment.
With only 0.03% of the total landmass of the planet, Costa Rica contains 5% of the World’s total living species hosted in a territory with heights up to 12,000 f.a.s.l. and two very different oceans that cause a mixture of climates that make this great tiny country a giant in a diversity of all sorts.
Costa Rica’s environmental references are inspiring: 98 percent of its energy sources are renewable, its forest cover stands at more than 53 percent (4) after meticulous work to shift deforestation decades, and a little over 31% of the Costa Rican land is preserved in national parks, reserves, wildlife refuges, and indigenous reserves.
Costa Rica also holds one of the unique five blue zones of the World in the Nicoya Peninsula. These blue zones are the areas in the World where people experience longer, healthier lives than anywhere else. They have been studied and used as a point of reference towards finding life’s proper balance.
In the Happy Planet Index, Costa Rica was placed #1
The Champion of the Earth award is the top environmental recognition presented by the UN. Costa Rica earned this award in 2019 for its continuous efforts and dedication to growing into a carbon-neutral country.
National Geographic UK recognizes Costa Rica as the second-best among the eight most sustainable destinations for 2021.
In 2019, the Selling Travel readers, one of the UK’s top travel magazines, selected Costa Rica as the best wildlife and nature destination.
Tripexpert, in 2019, gave the award of Best Beach Destination to Costa Rica.
The Guanacaste Airport (LIR) won the 2020 ASQ Award winners for “Best Airport by Size & Region” (Best Customer Experience).
Global Peace Index: Costa Rica is the highest-ranked country in Central America and the Caribbean.
Men’s Health magazine distinguished Costa Rica as the “best international healthy destination.”
In the Medical Tourism Index 2020-2921, Costa Rica ranks #1 in the Medical Tourism Industry awards and # 7 in the Global Ranking