Costa Rica (Republic of Costa Rica)

Costa Rica Republic of Costa Rica
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	33rd best
Capital	San Jose
Land Area	51 060km21
Location	North America, The Americas, Central America
Population	5.0m2
Life Expectancy	77.02yrs (2017)3
GNI	$19 974 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	CR, CRI, 1885
Internet Domain	.cr6
Currency	Colon (CRC)7
Telephone	+5068

1. Overview
2. Costa Rica National and Social Development
3. Costa Rica's Demographics and Migration
4. Costa Rica's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
5. Costa Rica's Health
6. Costa Rica's Modernity and Learning
7. National Culture
8. Peace Versus Instability
9. The Natural Environment
10. Economic Inequality and Poverty
11. Religion and Beliefs
12. Links

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1. Overview

#costa_rica #spain #venezuela

“Although explored by the Spanish early in the 16th century, initial attempts at colonizing Costa Rica proved unsuccessful due to a combination of factors, including disease from mosquito-infested swamps, brutal heat, resistance by natives, and pirate raids. It was not until 1563 that a permanent settlement of Cartago was established in the cooler, fertile central highlands. The area remained a colony for some two and a half centuries. In 1821, Costa Rica became one of several Central American provinces that jointly declared their independence from Spain. Two years later it joined the United Provinces of Central America, but this federation disintegrated in 1838, at which time Costa Rica proclaimed its sovereignty and independence. Since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred the country's democratic development. In 1949, Costa Rica dissolved its armed forces. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“In Costa Rica trails lead to rushing waterfalls, mist-covered volcanoes and deserted beaches. Regardless of which you choose, this tropical playland is a feast for the senses. Whether you´re following the shimmer of a blue butterfly from palm to palm, staring into the yawning mouth of a deep purple orchid or watching wisps of fog roll in to soften the jagged edge of mountains, Costa Rica´s vivid colors last a lifetime. The canopies rustle with riotous troupes of monkeys, hillsides echo with the squawks of macaws and you can reach up to the trees and pick your day´s lunch. It might seem at times like some kind of wondrous tropical fantasy land, but this is Costa Rica.

As the preeminent eco- and adventure-tourism capital of Central America, Costa Rica has earned a rightful place in the cubicle daydreams of travelers around the world. With a world-class infrastructure, visionary sustainability initiatives and no standing army, Costa Rica is a green, peaceful jewel. Considering more than a third of the country enjoys some form of environmental protection and there´s greater biodiversity than the USA and Europe combined, it´s a country that earns the superlative descriptions.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

Along with 11 others, Costa Rica signed the Lima Declaration in 2017, condemning "the assault on democratic order and the systematic violation of human rights in Venezuela"₁₁.

2. Costa Rica National and Social Development

#economics #human_development #wealth

UN HDI (2021)12
Pos.		Higher is better Value12
1	Switzerland	0.962
2	Norway	0.961
3	Iceland	0.959
4	Hong Kong	0.952
5	Australia	0.951
	...
56	Kazakhstan	0.811
57	Trinidad & Tobago	0.810
58	Uruguay	0.809
59	Costa Rica	0.809
60	Belarus	0.808
61	Panama	0.805
	The Americas Avg	0.75
	World Avg	0.72
q=191.

Gross National Income Per-Capita (2021)12
Pos.		Higher is better PPP $12
1	Liechtenstein	$146 830
2	Singapore	$90 919
3	Qatar	$87 134
4	Luxembourg	$84 649
5	Ireland	$76 169
	...
63	Uruguay	$21 269
64	Argentina	$20 925
65	Montenegro	$20 839
66	Costa Rica	$19 974
67	Serbia	$19 123
68	Belarus	$18 849
	The Americas Avg	$16 628
	World Avg	$20 136
q=193.

Social & Moral Development Index13,14
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank13,14
1	Taiwan	28.6
2	Norway	29.4
3	Denmark	31.2
4	Sweden	32.2
5	Finland	32.6
	...
31	Cyprus	55.9
32	Malta	56.1
33	Uruguay	56.5
34	Costa Rica	56.5
35	Slovakia	56.6
36	Chile	58.8
	The Americas Avg	81.6
	World Avg	86.1
q=195.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

3. Costa Rica's Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population

Population:

Costa Rica's population is predicted to rise to 5.694 million by 2030. This rise is despite a low fertility rate, meaning, that this country is helping to alleviate problems with growing population in neighbouring countries by accepting immigrants, very likely as a requirement of maintaining an active workforce. This country has a fertility rate of 1.81. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

Population (2018)2
Pos.		Population2
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.4b
3	USA	327.1m
4	Indonesia	267.7m
5	Pakistan	212.2m
	...
116	Slovakia	5.5m
117	Norway	5.3m
118	Congo, (Brazzaville)	5.2m
119	Costa Rica	5.0m
120	Palestine	4.9m
121	Oman	4.8m
	World Avg	39.0m
q=195.

Life Expectancy (2021)12
Pos.		Higher is better Years12
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
4	Australia	84.5
5	Switzerland	84.0
	...
45	Barbados	77.6
46	USA	77.2
47	Estonia	77.1
48	Costa Rica	77.0
49	Saudi Arabia	76.9
50	Albania	76.5
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
4	France	1.99
5	Turkey	2.04
	...
28	Argentina	2.18
29	El Salvador	2.18
30	Grenada	2.18
31	Costa Rica	1.81
32	Qatar	2.20
33	Morocco	2.20
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)16
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10016
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
4	Burkina Faso	04.7
5	Sierra Leone	04.8
	...
123	Lebanon	21.1
124	Trinidad & Tobago	21.9
125	Bahamas	22.4
126	Costa Rica	22.6
127	Israel	22.9
128	Sri Lanka	23.7
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

Migration:

Immigrants (2017)17
Pos.		%17
1	UAE	88.4%
2	Kuwait	75.5%
3	Qatar	65.2%
4	Liechtenstein	65.1%
5	Monaco	54.9%
	...
64	Malaysia	8.5%
65	Portugal	8.5%
66	Suriname	8.5%
67	Costa Rica	8.4%
68	Russia	8.1%
69	Congo, (Brazzaville)	7.6%
	World Avg	9.4%
q=195.

Emigrants (2010)18
Pos.		%18
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
4	Grenada	65.5%
5	St Kitts & Nevis	61.1%
	...
142	Central African Rep.	2.9%
143	Angola	2.8%
144	France	2.8%
145	Costa Rica	2.7%
146	Rwanda	2.6%
147	Pakistan	2.5%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

4. Costa Rica's Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#antisemitism #equality #freedom #freethought #gender #gender_equality #homosexuality #human_rights #international_law #mass_media #misogyny #morals #politics #prejudice #religious_tolerance #slavery #tolerance #women

Compared to The Americas (2020)19,20
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank19,20
1	Canada	21.2
2	Uruguay	26.7
3	Costa Rica	36.7
4	Chile	40.1
5	Argentina	43.8
6	USA	47.4
7	Brazil	52.3
8	Bolivia	53.8
9	Peru	54.0
10	Mexico	56.6
11	Ecuador	58.1
12	Panama	59.9
13	Guatemala	63.0
	The Americas Avg	74.2
q=35.

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2020)19,20
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank19,20
1	Sweden	9.2
2	Norway	14.7
3	Denmark	14.7
4	Netherlands	15.8
5	New Zealand	17.5
	...
18	Taiwan	28.2
19	Spain	28.3
20	Slovenia	33.3
21	Costa Rica	36.7
22	Italy	37.3
23	Czechia	37.9
24	Ireland	38.5
	World Avg	87.7
q=199.

The best countries in the world at ensuring human rights, fostering equality and promoting tolerance, are Sweden, Norway and Denmark₁₉. These countries are displaying the best traits that humanity has to offer. The worst countries are The Solomon Islands, Somalia and Tuvalu₁₉.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are statistics on commentary in Human Rights Watch reports, its nominal commitment to Human Rights, speed of uptake of HR treaties, supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms, supporting press freedom, eliminating modern slavery, opposing gender inequality, the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators), the year from which women could participate in democracy, its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice, LGBT equality and freethought. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Baltic States and Europe₁₉, whereas the worst are Melanesia, Micronesia and Australasia₁₉.

For more, see:

• "Which are the Best Countries for Human Rights, Equality and Tolerance?" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Human Rights & Tolerance:

Human Rights Watch Comments (2017)21
Pos.		Higher is better Score21
1	UK	9
2	France	9
3	Germany	9
4	Canada	8
5	Netherlands	8
	...
34	Liechtenstein	2
35	Chile	2
36	Paraguay	1
37	Costa Rica	1
38	Norway	1
39	Panama	1
	The Americas Avg	-0.8
	World Avg	-1.9
q=123.

Nominal Commitment to HR (2009)22
Pos.		Higher is better Treaties22
1	Argentina	24
2	Chile	23
3	Costa Rica	23
4	Ecuador	23
5	Germany	23
6	Mexico	23
7	Peru	23
8	Spain	23
9	Slovenia	23
10	Paraguay	23
11	Serbia	23
12	Sweden	23
	The Americas Avg	16.5
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

HR Treaties Lag (2019)23
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Yrs/Treaty23
1	Ecuador	2.15
2	Uruguay	2.25
3	Tunisia	3.65
4	Colombia	3.68
5	Costa Rica	4.05
6	Mexico	4.08
7	Chile	4.12
8	Philippines	4.19
9	Bulgaria	4.24
10	Panama	4.26
11	Senegal	4.32
12	Namibia	4.36
	The Americas Avg	8.45
	World Avg	10.02
q=195.

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom (2014)24
Pos.		Lower is better Rank24
1	Hong Kong	1
2	Switzerland	2
3	New Zealand	3
4	Ireland	4
5	Denmark	5
	...
35	S. Korea	35
36	Spain	36
37	Hungary	37
38	Costa Rica	38
39	Slovenia	39
40	Bulgaria	40
	The Americas Avg	72.4
	World Avg	79.7
q=159.

Press Freedom (2013)25
Pos.		Lower is better25
1	Finland	638
2	Netherlands	648
3	Norway	652
4	Luxembourg	668
5	Andorra	682
	...
15	Ireland	1006
16	Czechia	1017
17	Germany	1024
18	Costa Rica	1208
19	Namibia	1250
20	Canada	1269
	The Americas Avg	2853
	World Avg	3249
q=178.

Slavery (2018)26
Pos.		Lower is better % Victims26
1	Japan	0.03
2	Canada	0.05
3	Taiwan	0.05
4	Australia	0.06
5	New Zealand	0.06
6	Chile	0.08
7	Mauritius	0.10
8	Uruguay	0.10
9	Costa Rica	0.13
10	USA	0.13
11	Argentina	0.13
12	Hong Kong	0.14
	The Americas Avg	0.25
	World Avg	0.65
q=167.

Gender Equality:

Costa Rica has made some steps towards ending gender inequality but much more needs to be done.

See:

• "Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

Gender Inequality (2015)27
Pos.		Lower is better27
1	Switzerland	0.04
2	Denmark	0.04
3	Netherlands	0.04
4	Sweden	0.05
5	Iceland	0.05
	...
60	Barbados	0.29
61	Armenia	0.29
62	Cuba	0.30
63	Costa Rica	0.31
64	Maldives	0.31
65	Chile	0.32
	The Americas Avg	0.39
	World Avg	0.36
q=159.

Year Women Can Vote
Pos.		Lower is better Year
1	New Zealand	1893
2	Australia	1902
3	Finland	1906
4	Norway	1913
5	Denmark	1915
	...
75	Niger	1948
76	Suriname	1948
77	Seychelles	1948
78	Costa Rica	1949
79	Chile	1949
80	China	1949
	The Americas Avg	1947
	World Avg	1930
q=189.

Prejudice:

Anti-Semite Opinions (2014)28
Pos.		Lower is better %28
1	Laos	0
2	Philippines	3
3	Sweden	4
4	Netherlands	5
5	Vietnam	6
	...
50	Kazakhstan	32
51	Bangladesh	32
52	Bosnia & Herzegovina	32
53	Costa Rica	32
54	Uruguay	33
55	Croatia	33
	The Americas Avg	29.7
	World Avg	36.8
q=101.

LGBT Equality (2017)29
Pos.		Higher is better Score29
1	Netherlands	103
2	Belgium	90
3	Sweden	86
4	Brazil	81
5	Spain	79
	...
59	Fiji	32
60	S. Korea	30
61	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	30
62	Costa Rica	30
63	Suriname	30
64	Venezuela	30
	The Americas Avg	26.1
	World Avg	12.6
q=196.

Freedom of Thought (2021)30
Pos.		Lower is better30
1	Belgium	1.0
2	Netherlands	1.0
3	Taiwan	1.0
4	Sao Tome & Principe	1.3
5	Ecuador	1.3
	...
55	Colombia	2.5
56	San Marino	2.5
57	Mali	2.5
58	Costa Rica	2.5
59	Bahamas	2.5
60	Liechtenstein	2.5
	The Americas Avg	2.7
	World Avg	3.0
q=196.

5. Costa Rica's Health

#alcohol #birth_control #Costa_Rica #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

Compared to The Americas (2020)31,32
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank31,32
1	Antigua & Barbuda	75.6
2	Brazil	82.1
3	Cuba	82.4
4	Canada	83.5
5	Barbados	85.1
	...
13	St Kitts & Nevis	91.8
14	Bahamas	92.3
15	USA	92.4
16	Costa Rica	93.8
17	Peru	96.5
18	St Vincent & Grenadines	96.8
19	Dominica	98.0
	The Americas Avg	96.2
q=35.

Health (2020)31,32
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank31,32
1	Monaco	13.0
2	Hong Kong	18.3
3	Maldives	41.0
4	Singapore	42.6
5	Japan	51.0
	...
97	Cambodia	93.3
98	Ethiopia	93.3
99	Sao Tome & Principe	93.6
100	Costa Rica	93.8
101	San Marino	94.5
102	Lebanon	95.4
103	Russia	95.5
	World Avg	93.5
q=196.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Hong Kong and The Maldives₃₁. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Marshall Islands, S. Sudan and Palau₃₁.

The data sets used to calculate points for each country are its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Asia and The Mediterranean₃₁, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Australasia and Africa₃₁.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

Costa Rica does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. Costa Rica does better than average when it comes to its suicide rate₃₃ (but bad for The Americas), its average life expectancy₁₂, its fertility rate₁₅, its smoking rate₃₄ (but high for The Americas) and in its alcohol consumption rate₃₅. Costa Rica doesn't do so well in other areas. Costa Rica does worse than average in its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₃₆, its adolescent birth rate₂₇ and in its immunizations take-up₃₇. The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% during the past 40 years.

Life Expectancy (2021)12
Pos.		Higher is better Years12
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
4	Australia	84.5
5	Switzerland	84.0
	...
45	Barbados	77.6
46	USA	77.2
47	Estonia	77.1
48	Costa Rica	77.0
49	Saudi Arabia	76.9
50	Albania	76.5
	The Americas Avg	72.58
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Alcohol Consumption (2016)35
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita35
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
4	Mauritania	0.0
5	Somalia	0.0
	...
72	Bahamas	4.4
73	Ecuador	4.4
74	Bolivia	4.8
75	Costa Rica	4.8
76	Guinea-Bissau	4.8
77	Myanmar (Burma)	4.8
	The Americas Avg	6.9
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
4	France	1.99
5	Turkey	2.04
	...
28	Argentina	2.18
29	El Salvador	2.18
30	Grenada	2.18
31	Costa Rica	1.81
32	Qatar	2.20
33	Morocco	2.20
	The Americas Avg	2.29
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

Smoking Rates (2014)34
Pos.		Higher is worse34
182	Montenegro	4 125
181	Belarus	3 831
180	Lebanon	3 023
179	Macedonia	2 732
178	Russia	2 690
	...
77	Djibouti	476
76	Syria	459
75	Botswana	449
74	Costa Rica	432
73	Sudan	428
72	Swaziland	427
	The Americas Avg	457
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate (2013)33
Pos.		Per 100k33
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
4	Jordan	0.2
5	Maldives	0.7
	...
32	Colombia	9.9
33	Panama	10.9
34	Nicaragua	11.6
35	Costa Rica	12.1
36	Italy	12.8
37	Macedonia	13.5
	The Americas Avg	13.57
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
4	UK	4
5	Norway	5
	...
107	Zimbabwe	107
108	Central African Rep.	108
109	Benin	109
110	Costa Rica	110
111	Dominica	111
112	Romania	112
	The Americas Avg	94.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults (2016)38
Pos.		Lower is better %38
1	Vietnam	18.3
2	India	19.7
3	Bangladesh	20.0
4	Ethiopia	20.9
5	Nepal	21.0
	...
145	Syria	61.4
146	Spain	61.6
147	Hungary	61.6
148	Costa Rica	61.6
149	Tunisia	61.6
150	Iran	61.6
	The Americas Avg	57.4
	World Avg	49.0
q=191.

Children's Health:

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)27
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100027
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
4	Hong Kong	3.2
5	Slovenia	3.8
	...
115	Eritrea	54.3
116	Papua New Guinea	54.8
117	Uruguay	56.1
118	Costa Rica	56.5
119	Seychelles	57.4
120	Paraguay	57.4
	The Americas Avg	56.6
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)37
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %37
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
4	Niue	98.8
5	Mongolia	98.7
	...
125	Sudan	89.2
126	Honduras	88.8
127	Kenya	88.5
128	Costa Rica	88.5
129	Colombia	88.4
130	Kiribati	88.4
	The Americas Avg	91.3
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

6. Costa Rica's Modernity and Learning

#education #english #intelligence #maths #modernity #religion #religiosity #research #science #secularisation #technology #the_internet

Compared to The Americas (2020)20
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank20
1	Canada	21.6
2	USA	29.3
3	Argentina	43.8
4	Chile	51.6
5	Barbados	54.2
6	Brazil	55.1
7	St Kitts & Nevis	56.7
8	Puerto Rico	57.5
9	Mexico	59.8
10	Grenada	68.5
11	Costa Rica	68.9
12	Bermuda	69.0
13	Trinidad & Tobago	69.1
	The Americas Avg	81.7
q=41.

Modernity and Learning (2020)20
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank20
1	Finland	8.4
2	Taiwan	10.0
3	Switzerland	15.1
4	Estonia	15.8
5	Denmark	16.0
	...
70	Montenegro	66.0
71	Vietnam	67.1
72	Grenada	68.5
73	Costa Rica	68.9
74	Bermuda	69.0
75	Trinidad & Tobago	69.1
76	Uruguay	69.4
	World Avg	83.2
q=205.

Modernity and Education:

Research and Development (2016)
Pos.		Higher is better % RDP PPP
1	S. Korea	4.2939
2	Israel	4.1139
3	Japan	3.5839
4	Finland	3.1739
5	Sweden	3.1639
	...
59	UAE	0.4940
60	Uganda	0.4841
61	Cyprus	0.4842
62	Costa Rica	0.4740
63	Qatar	0.4743
64	Cuba	0.4742
	The Americas Avg	0.47
	World Avg	0.84
q=126.

Secondary Education (2018)44
Pos.		Higher is better44
1	Luxembourg	100.0%
2	Estonia	100.0%
3	Austria	100.0%
4	Canada	100.0%
5	Finland	100.0%
	...
102	Lebanon	54.9%
103	Portugal	54.2%
104	Turkey	53.1%
105	Costa Rica	52.9%
106	Colombia	52.0%
107	Ecuador	51.9%
	The Americas Avg	63.0%
	World Avg	63.0%
q=169.

Length of Schooling (2021)45
Pos.		Higher is better Years45
1	Australia	21.1
2	New Zealand	20.3
3	Greece	20.0
4	Belgium	19.6
5	Sweden	19.4
	...
21	Malta	16.8
22	Uruguay	16.8
23	Chile	16.7
24	Costa Rica	16.5
25	Singapore	16.5
26	S. Korea	16.5
	The Americas Avg	14.2
	World Avg	13.5
q=193.

Intellectual Endeavours (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Ukraine	1
2	Czechia	2
3	Hungary	3
4	Denmark	4
5	UK	5
	...
73	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	73
74	Chile	74
75	Argentina	75
76	Costa Rica	76
77	Jamaica	77
78	Colombia	78
	The Americas Avg	99.8
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Maths, Science & Reading (2015)46
Pos.		Higher is better Score46
1	Singapore	1655
2	Hong Kong	1598
3	Japan	1586
4	Macau	1582
5	Estonia	1573
	...
51	Trinidad & Tobago	1269
52	Moldova	1264
53	Montenegro	1256
54	Costa Rica	1247
55	Mexico	1247
56	Albania	1245
	The Americas Avg	1287
	World Avg	1389
q=70.

Religiosity (2018)47
Pos.		Lower is better %47
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
4	Switzerland	9
5	Denmark	9
	...
64	Peru	73
65	S. Africa	75
66	Ecuador	76
67	Costa Rica	76
68	Puerto Rico	77
69	Malaysia	77
	The Americas Avg	65.4
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

IQ (2006)48
Pos.		Higher is better48
1	Hong Kong	108
2	Singapore	108
3	S. Korea	106
4	Japan	105
5	Taiwan	105
	...
56	Croatia	90
57	Kyrgyzstan	90
58	Chile	90
59	Costa Rica	89
60	Laos	89
61	Ecuador	88
	The Americas Avg	85.3
	World Avg	85.6
q=138.

Technology and Information:

Internet Users (2016)49
Pos.		Higher is better49
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
4	Bermuda	97%
5	Andorra	97%
	...
85	Seychelles	58%
86	Morocco	58%
87	Colombia	57%
88	Costa Rica	56%
89	Kazakhstan	56%
90	US Virgin Islands	54%
	The Americas Avg	56.4%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

IPv6 Uptake (2017)50
Pos.		Higher is better Ratio50
1	Belgium	55.4
2	Germany	41.8
3	Switzerland	35.1
4	USA	35.0
5	Greece	33.5
	...
75	Zambia	0.1
76	Panama	0.1
77	Croatia	0.1
78	Costa Rica	0.1
79	Serbia	0.1
80	Liechtenstein	0.0
	The Americas Avg	3.36
	World Avg	3.82
q=176.

7. National Culture

#charity #corruption #happiness #morals #politics

Costa Rica has an adequate long-term record on corruption.

World Giving Index (2013-2021)51
Pos.		Lower is better51
1	Myanmar (Burma)	2.7
2	New Zealand	4.0
3	USA	4.7
4	Australia	4.9
5	Indonesia	9.0
	...
55	Ghana	45.9
56	Chile	47.1
57	Saudi Arabia	48.6
58	Costa Rica	49.0
59	Nepal	49.1
60	Israel	49.4
	The Americas Avg	58.4
	World Avg	67.9
q=160.

Corruption (2022)52
Pos.		Higher is better Points52
1	Denmark	90.0
2	Finland	87.0
3	New Zealand	87.0
4	Norway	84.0
5	Singapore	83.0
	...
45	Dominica	55.0
46	Poland	55.0
47	St Lucia	55.0
48	Costa Rica	54.0
49	Fiji	53.0
50	Slovakia	53.0
	The Americas Avg	42.97
	World Avg	42.98
q=180.

Happiness (2018)53
Pos.		Higher is better53
1	Finland	7.6
2	Norway	7.6
3	Denmark	7.6
4	Iceland	7.5
5	Switzerland	7.5
	...
10	Australia	7.3
11	Israel	7.2
12	Austria	7.1
13	Costa Rica	7.1
14	Ireland	7.0
15	Germany	7.0
	The Americas Avg	6.05
	World Avg	5.38
q=156.

Creativity and Culture (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Belgium	1
2	Netherlands	2
3	Estonia	3
4	Switzerland	4
5	Sweden	5
	...
29	Singapore	29
30	Spain	30
31	Romania	31
32	Costa Rica	32
33	Serbia	33
34	S. Korea	34
	The Americas Avg	80.2
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Open Trading, Aid and Development (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Ireland	1
2	Denmark	2
3	Sweden	3
4	Netherlands	4
5	Switzerland	5
	...
79	Tonga	79
80	Latvia	80
81	Romania	81
82	Costa Rica	82
83	Kuwait	83
84	Belarus	84
	The Americas Avg	100.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

8. Peace Versus Instability

#extremism #human_development #peace #politics #religious_violence #terrorism

Global Peace Index (2021)54
Pos.		Lower is better54
1	Iceland	1.10
2	New Zealand	1.25
3	Denmark	1.26
4	Portugal	1.27
5	Slovenia	1.32
	...
36	Kuwait	1.69
37	Lithuania	1.69
38	Ghana	1.72
39	Costa Rica	1.74
40	Macedonia	1.74
41	Botswana	1.75
	The Americas Avg	2.13
	World Avg	2.08
q=163.

Peacekeeping and Security (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Samoa	1
2	S. Africa	2
3	Tunisia	3
4	Egypt	4
5	Nigeria	5
	...
13	Cameroon	13
14	Singapore	14
15	Colombia	15
16	Costa Rica	16
17	Hungary	17
18	Japan	18
	The Americas Avg	82.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Refugees and UN Treaties (2017)36
Pos.		Lower is better Rank36
1	Austria	1
2	Germany	2
3	Netherlands	3
4	Sweden	4
5	Malta	5
	...
19	New Zealand	19
20	Luxembourg	20
21	Ireland	21
22	Costa Rica	22
23	Thailand	23
24	Poland	24
	The Americas Avg	91.5
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Impact of Terrorism (2019)55
Pos.		Lower is better Score55
1	Togo	0.00
2	Mongolia	0.00
3	Swaziland	0.00
4	Equatorial Guinea	0.00
5	Cambodia	0.00
6	Portugal	0.00
7	Croatia	0.00
8	Benin	0.00
9	Mauritania	0.00
10	Slovenia	0.00
11	Costa Rica	0.00
12	Romania	0.00
	The Americas Avg	2.16
	World Avg	2.78
q=150.

9. The Natural Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #over-exploitation #the_environment

Forest Area Change 1990-2015 (2015)56
Pos.		Higher is better %56
1	Iceland	+205.6
2	Bahrain	+144.4
3	Uruguay	+131.3
4	Kuwait	+81.2
5	Dominican Rep.	+79.5
	...
46	Switzerland	+09.0
47	Ghana	+08.2
48	St Vincent & Grenadines	+08.0
49	Costa Rica	+07.5
50	Romania	+07.4
51	Cyprus	+07.2
	The Americas Avg	-00.2
	World Avg	+02.8
q=184.

Environmental Performance (2018)57
Pos.		Higher is better57
1	Switzerland	87.4
2	France	84.0
3	Denmark	81.6
4	Malta	80.9
5	Sweden	80.5
	...
28	Slovakia	70.6
29	Lithuania	69.3
30	Bulgaria	67.9
31	Costa Rica	67.9
32	Qatar	67.8
33	Czechia	67.7
	The Americas Avg	58.8
	World Avg	56.4
q=180.

Energy to GDP Efficiency (2014)58
Pos.		Higher is better58
1	Hong Kong	26.32
2	Sri Lanka	20.00
3	Panama	17.86
4	Colombia	17.54
5	Ireland	17.54
	...
12	Peru	14.49
13	Uruguay	14.08
14	UK	13.89
15	Costa Rica	13.51
16	Philippines	13.51
17	Luxembourg	13.33
	The Americas Avg	10.78
	World Avg	09.29
q=119.

Convention on Biological Diversity
Pos.		Earlier is better Signed
1	China	1993 Dec 29
2	Guinea	1993 Dec 29
3	Cook Islands	1993 Dec 29
4	Vanuatu	1993 Dec 29
5	Papua New Guinea	1993 Dec 29
	...
77	Austria	1994 Nov 16
78	Indonesia	1994 Nov 21
79	Slovakia	1994 Nov 23
80	Costa Rica	1994 Nov 24
81	Nigeria	1994 Nov 27
82	Guyana	1994 Nov 27
	The Americas Avg	1899 Dec 30
	World Avg	1899 Dec 30
q=197.

Rational Beliefs on the Environment (2011)59
Pos.		Higher is better %59
1	Argentina	78.3%
2	Greece	77.6%
3	Brazil	77.1%
4	Trinidad & Tobago	74.5%
5	Costa Rica	74.2%
6	Cyprus	71.0%
7	Guatemala	70.9%
8	Philippines	70.8%
9	S. Korea	70.7%
10	Colombia	70.3%
11	Bolivia	69.3%
12	Paraguay	68.9%
	The Americas Avg	58.6%
	World Avg	39.9%
q=145.

10. Economic Inequality and Poverty

#capitalism #economics #health #inequality #life_expectancy #social_development

Inequality in Life Expectancy (2019)60
Pos.		Higher is worse60
184	Chad	40.90
183	Central African Rep.	40.10
182	Sierra Leone	39.00
181	Somalia	38.90
180	Nigeria	37.10
	...
61	Ukraine	7.40
60	Lebanon	7.40
59	Albania	7.20
58	Costa Rica	7.10
57	Russia	7.10
56	Sri Lanka	7.00
	The Americas Avg	12.03
	World Avg	14.59
q=184.

Income Inequality (Gini Coefficient) (2017)61
Pos.		Lower is better %61
1	Ukraine	25.0
2	Belarus	25.4
3	Slovenia	25.4
4	Czechia	25.9
5	Moldova	25.9
	...
133	Cape Verde	47.2
134	Benin	47.8
135	Guatemala	48.3
136	Costa Rica	48.3
137	Paraguay	48.8
138	Congo, (Brazzaville)	48.9
	The Americas Avg	45.2
	World Avg	38.1
q=152.

11. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #god #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion #religiosity #secularisation

Religiosity (2018)47
Pos.		Lower is better %47
1	China	3
2	Estonia	6
3	Czechia	7
4	Switzerland	9
5	Denmark	9
	...
64	Peru	73
65	S. Africa	75
66	Ecuador	76
67	Costa Rica	76
68	Puerto Rico	77
69	Malaysia	77
	World Avg	54.3
q=106.

Disbelief In God (2007)62
Pos.		Higher is better %62
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
4	Czechia	61
5	Estonia	49
	...
74	Nicaragua	1
75	Bolivia	1
76	Colombia	1
77	Costa Rica	1
78	Honduras	1
79	Brazil	1
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₆₃:

Christian	90.9%
Muslim	0.1%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	0.8%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	7.9%

It appears that when asked "What religion are you" many give pollsters the 'correct' answer despite how they actually feel, and despite what they actually believe. Although 92.1% of the populace say they belong to a religion, only 76% say that they are religious when the question is phrased as "Is religion an important part of your daily life?".

For more on this phenomenon, see:

• "Institutionalized Religions Have Their Numbers Inflated by National Polls" by Vexen Crabtree (2009)

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states: Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%₆₄.

“The Catholic Church may be losing its grip [... - ] At present, Costa Rica is one of the few Western countries to have an official state religion. But a poll conducted by Unimer, for the newspaper La Nacion, showed that 47% of the Costa Rican population would rather live in a secular state - up from 41% two years ago. 30% of those questioned said they didn't mind if Costa Rica has an official religion or is secular, while 23% supported having the Catholic Church as an official religion (down from 27% in 2011).”

NSS (2013)₆₅

The International Humanist and Ethical Union produced a report in 2012 entitled "Freedom of Thought" (2012)₆₆, in which they document bias and prejudice at the national level that is based on religion, belief and/or lack of belief. Their entry for Costa Rica states:

“The constitution and other laws and policies protect freedom of religion or belief. However, the constitution establishes Catholicism as the state religion and requires that the state contribute to its maintenance. The constitution also prohibits the state from impeding the free exercise of other religions that do not impugn universal morality or proper behavior.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religion is responsible for managing the government's relationship with the Catholic Church and other religious groups. The ministry includes funding in its annual budget for maintenance and repairs of some Catholic churches. The Catholic Church receives exemptions from income and real estate taxes. The law allows the government to provide land to the Catholic Church. Government-to-church land transfers typically are effected through periodic legislation. Public schools provide Catholic religious instruction. Students may obtain exemptions with the permission of their parents.”

"Freedom of Thought" by IHEU (2012)₆₇

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?