Central America and the Caribbean > Costa Rica > Geography

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Area > A note	includes Isla del Coco
Area > Comparative to US places slightly smaller than West Virginia
DEFINITION: This entry provides an area comparison based on total area equivalents. Most entities are compared with the entire US or one of the 50 states based on area measurements (1990 revised) provided by the US Bureau of the Census. The smaller entities are compared with Washington, DC (178 sq km, 69 sq mi) or The Mall in Washington, DC (0.59 sq km, 0.23 sq mi, 146 acres).		View time series
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook, December 2003
Capital city with population	San Jose - 315,909
DEFINITION: Capital cities including most recent population (estimates included). Populations are figures only within the city limits, unless otherwise specified. All populations are from 2001 t0 2005 unless otherwise specified.
SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Forested Land	38.5%		[59th of 193]
DEFINITION: Forested land as a proportion of total land area, estimate by FAO
SOURCE: United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook, City Population, CIA World Factbook, World Gazetteer, Official government websites.
Geographic coordinates	10 00 N, 84 00 W
DEFINITION: This entry includes rounded latitude and longitude figures for the purpose of finding the approximate geographic center of an entity and is based on the Gazetteer of Conventional Names, Third Edition, August 1988, US Board on Geographic Names and on other sources.		View time series
SOURCE: FAO
Largest city	San José
DEFINITION: The city with the highest population
SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Largest city population	920,000		[93rd of 174]
DEFINITION: The population of the country's largest city
SOURCE: United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook
Largest city with population	San Jose - 315,909
DEFINITION: Largest cities including most recent population (estimates included). Populations are figures only within the city limits, unless otherwise specified. All populations are from 2001 t0 2005 unless otherwise specified.
SOURCE: United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook
northernmost point > Latitude	11º13'N
DEFINITION:
SOURCE: United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook, City Population, CIA World Factbook, World Gazetteer, Official government websites.
Population density	72.53 people per sqkm		[120th of 256]
DEFINITION: People per square kilometre, in 1999. At this time the world average was 14.42.
SOURCE: Wikipedia: List of countries by northernmost point
Population density > people per sq. km	84.75 people/m²		[94th of 204]
DEFINITION: Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.		View time series
SOURCE: Heal The World Foundation.
Rural population density > rural population per sq. km of arable land	730.96 people/km² of arable lan		[30th of 188]
DEFINITION: Rural population density is the rural population divided by the arable land area. Rural population is calculated as the difference between the total population and the urban population. Arable land includes land defined by the FAO as land under temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted once), temporary meadows for mowing or for pasture, land under market or kitchen gardens, and land temporarily fallow. Land abandoned as a result of shifting cultivation is excluded.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
Surface area > sq. km	51,100 km²		[126th of 206]
DEFINITION: Surface area is a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.		View time series
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database
tallest mountains > Mountain	Cerro Chirripo
DEFINITION:
SOURCE: World Development Indicators database

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