The world / Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Capital: San José
- Costa Rica abolished its military on 1 December 1948, and its 1949 constitution made the decision permanent; the former military budget now funds health and education.
- Costa Rica says it holds as much as 6% of the world's species, and 26% of its land is protected.
- About 95% of Costa Rica's electricity came from renewable sources in 2023.
- Cocos Island lies about 550 km southwest of the mainland and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
- Laguna Caliente, in the crater of Poás Volcano, is one of the world's most acidic lakes, with a pH that can drop to nearly zero.