18 interesting facts about Costa Rica

18 interesting facts about Costa Rica

We share the most interesting facts about Costa Rica that we collected during our visit to this diverse destination

The tiny republic of Costa Rica is a Central American success story. The democratic, prosperous and stable country is an oasis in the middle of an often turbulent region of the world.

On our very first National Geographic Expedition we visited Costa Rica for nine days. Highlights included climbing the slopes of a misty volcanic peak, hiking through a fairytale cloud forest in Santa Elena, searching for sloths in Manuel Antonio National Park, and planting trees at the Monteverde Institute.

Our short but packed trip revealed a number of interesting facts about Costa Rica, the best of which we share below.

Interesting facts about Costa Rica

1. Costa Rica repräsentiert etwa 6 % der weltweiten Biodiversität, obwohl es nur 0,03 % der Landoberfläche des Planeten einnimmt. (Quelle: WWF)

alt="interesting facts about costa rica biodiversity frog">Brandon Alms/ShutterstockA colorful tree frog in Costa Rica

1. Der Name Costa Rica bedeutet auf Spanisch, der einzigen Amtssprache Costa Ricas, „reiche Küste“. (Quelle: Spanish Dict)
2. Christoph Kolumbus, der 1502 als erster Europäer das Gebiet besuchte, gab dem Land seinen Namen. (Quelle: BBC)
3. Im Jahr 2013 schätzten Wissenschaftler, dass Costa Rica mehr als 500.000 Arten beheimatet. Dazu gehören mehr als 300.000 Insektenarten, 1.251 Schmetterlinge, 8.000 Motten, 175 Amphibien (davon 85 % Frösche), 225 Reptilien, 250 Säugetiere und 894 Vögel. (Quelle: Costa Rica Star)

alt="interesting facts about the Costa Rica butterfly">Atlas & BootsIts biodiversity offers countless interesting facts about Costa Rica

1. Costa Rica hat die beste Bilanz bei der Achtung der Meinungsfreiheit in Lateinamerika und belegt im Pressefreiheitsindex weltweit den achten Platz. (Quelle: Reporter ohne Grenzen)

2. Between 1849 and 1859, Costa Rica fought William Walker, an American imperialist who attempted to take control of the region with a mercenary army. (Source: BBC)

3. Costa Rica has not had an army since 1948. The constitution has banned a standing military since 1949. Costa Rica is also home to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Peace University. (Source: Telegraph)

4. Because Costa Rica sits on the narrow Central American isthmus, it is possible to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean) and the sunset over the Pacific Ocean on the same day. At its narrowest point, the distance between the Pacific and the Caribbean is only 120 km. (Source: Britannica)

alt="A Map of Costa Rica">Cartarium/ShutterstockYou can watch the sunrise over the Atlantic and the sunset over the Pacific

1. Einige der interessantesten Fakten über Costa Rica ergeben sich aus seinem Engagement für Umweltfragen. Im Jahr 2015 versprach es, bis 2021 die erste CO2-neutrale Nation der Erde zu werden (mit einer Netto-Null-Freisetzung von Kohlendioxid in die Atmosphäre). (Quelle: New York Times)

2. Costa Rica currently generates more than 99% of its electricity exclusively from renewable sources. In 2017, it set the world record for the most consecutive days powered by renewable energy: 300 in total. (Source: Independent)

3. Costa Rica was the first tropical country to stop and reverse deforestation. Over half of its land is now covered by forest, compared to just 26% in 1983. (Source: World Bank)

4. There are 14 known volcanoes in Costa Rica. Six of them have been active in the last 75 years. (Source: Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program)

alt="Arenal Volcano with a small stream of smoke">Nickolay Stanev/ShutterstockArenal volcano

1. Über 25 % der gesamten Landfläche Costa Ricas sind durch irgendeine Art von Schutzzone geschützt, seien es Nationalparks, biologische Reservate, Schutzzonen, Waldreservate oder Wildschutzgebiete. (Quelle: SINAC und Costa Rica Nationalparks)

2. In Costa Rica it is common to hear the expression pura vida (pure life). It can mean many things including hello, goodbye, everything is cool, same for you, but it never has a negative connotation. (Source: Lonely Planet)

3. Coffee was introduced to Costa Rica from Cuba in 1808 and quickly became its main crop. Today, Costa Rica is the 15th highest coffee exporter in the world. For a country with just 4.8 million people, it exports a whopping 89,520 tons per year and consumes 2.76 kg per capita. (Source: BBC and International Coffee Organization)

alt=“Close-up of coffee beans “>Atlas & BootsCosta Rica is the 15th highest coffee exporter

1. Costa Rica ist nach Ecuador und Belgien auch der drittgrößte Bananenexporteur der Welt. (Quelle: WTEx)

2. Costa Rica has been named the happiest country in the world three times by the Happy Planet Index (HPI), an index of human well-being and environmental impact. (Source: Happy Planet Index)

3. Óscar Arias Sánchez, president of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end the Central American Crisis - a series of civil wars and revolutions that erupted in Central American countries in the 1970s and '80s. (Source: The Nobel Prize)

Lonely Planet Costa Rica is a comprehensive travel guide to Costa Rica that covers a range of activities and destinations as well as many other interesting facts about Costa Rica.

Main image: Nicholas Courtney/Shutterstock

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