Location:

Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama

Geographic coordinates:

10 00 N, 84 00 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean

Area:

total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km
water: 440 sq km
note: includes Isla del Coco

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:

total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km

Coastline:

1,290 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm

Climate:

tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands

Terrain:

coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m

Natural resources:

hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 4.4%
permanent crops: 5.87%
other: 89.73% (2005)

Irrigated land:

1,080 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

112.4 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 2.68 cu km/yr (29%/17%/53%)
per capita: 619 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes

Environment - current issues:

deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:

four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65