ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population: 4.0m

Population growth: 1.59%

Population density (people per sq. km): 78

UN Human Development Index ranking . 45/177

Gross national income (current US$): $17.2bn (2003)

Gross national income per capita: $4,280

PPP Gross national income: $36.2bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $9,040

GDP growth: 3.9% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 8.4%, Industry: 28.9%, Services: 62.7%

Inflation (12-month average): 8.9 (2003)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 18.1%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 83.8% (8.8%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 46.0%

Top 3 export markets: US, EU, Central America

Local industries: Microprocessors, food processing, textiles & clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking * : 50/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking ** : 48/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: 50/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 41/145

Languages: Spanish (official), English

FDI INFORMATION

Region: Central America

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 19

Market-share of projects in the region: 4.2%

Value of projects relative to GDP: 11.2%

Top 3 destination sectors: Energy, food & drink, healthcare

Top 3 business functions: Manufacturing, retail, customer support centre

Top 3 source countries: US, Spain, Peru

Top 3 investors: Intel, Kola Real, Abengoa

IPA

Name: CINDE - The Costa Rican Investment Board

Web address: www.cinde.org

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations