Costa Rica’s economy is based on tourism, agriculture and electronics exports. Coffee and banana exports dominated the economy in Costa Rica until 1998 when technology exports replaced both agricultural and tourism as the top industry.

Costa Rica recently agreed to participate in the US - Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA); read more about the implications of CAFTA.

GDP: $44.48 billion (2008 est.)

GDP real growth rate:
3% (2008 est.)
6.8% (2007 est.)

GDP per capita:
$11,600 (2008 est.)
$11,400 (2007 est.)

GDP composition by sector:

agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 29.1%
services: 63.3% (2008 est.)

Investment (gross fixed): 20.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 1.1%
highest 10%: 36.8% (2002)

Distribution of family income- Gini index:48 (2008)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13.9% (2008 est.)

Labor force: 1.957 million
note: this official estimate excludes Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:agriculture: 14%
industry: 22%
services: 64% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.6% (2008 est.)

Budget:  revenues:  $4.604 billion
expenditures: $4.552 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt:38.4% of GDP (2008)

Agriculture - products: coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber

Industries: microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products

Industrial production growth rate:-0.8% (2008 est.)

Electricity production: 8.918 billion kWh (2007)

Electricity consumption: 7.779 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity exports: 77.16 million kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity imports: 203.2 million kWh (2007 est.)

Oil production: 0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil consumption: 44,000 bbl/day (January 2009)

Oil exports: 2,115 bbl/day (2005)

Oil imports: 43,110 bbl/day (2005)

Current account balance:-$5.698 billion (2008 est.)

Exports: $9.675 billion (2008 est.)

Exports commodities:

coffee, bananas, sugar, pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment

Exports partners: US 25.7%, China 14.1%, Netherlands 10.9%, UK 6.3%, Mexico 5% (2007)

Imports: $15.37 billion (2008 est.)

Imports commodities: raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum

Imports partners: US 41%, Mexico 6.1%, Venezuela 5.7%, Japan 5.4%, China 5.1%, Brazil 4.3% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: $3.573 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Debt - external: $7.401 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Currency: Costa Rican colon (CRC)

Currency code: CRC

Exchange rates:

Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 530.41 (2009), 493.25 (2008), 517. 2 (2007), 511.3 (2006), 477.79 (2005), 437.91 (2004), 398.663 (2003), 359.817 (2002), 328.871 (2001), 308.187 (2000), 285.685 (1999)

Fiscal year: Calendar year

All data gathered from the CIA -World Fact Book, 2009

See Also:

Costa Rican Currency

Banking in Costa Rica

Major Banks in Costa Rica

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