#2022 World Cup #2022 Qatar World Cup Finals Round Participant Introduction – Costa Rica
Costa Rica, fully known as the Republic of Costa Rica, is located in Central America, covering an area of 51,000 square kilometers, second only to Brazil in Latin America, and is administratively divided into 7 provinces. In 2021, the population was 5.163 million, of which 95% were white and Indo-European, mainly descendants of Spanish immigrants; Blacks 3% and Indians 0.5%; The Chinese account for about 1%, mostly descendants of road builders who came to Costa Rica in the 19th century. 95% of the inhabitants are Catholic. The official language is Spanish. Costa Rica is the size of the mainland Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and its population is 70% of the population of mainland Ningxia.
(1) Gold Coast
Costa Rica was originally inhabited by Indians. In 1502, Christopher Columbus arrived on the east coast of Costa Rica on his fourth voyage, he saw the locals wearing a large amount of gold jewelry, and thought that he had found the legendary golden peninsula in Malacca, so he called it the "Gold Coast", and there was not much gold here. In 1564, the Gold Coast became a Spanish colony under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan District of Guatemala. After independence in September 1821, the name of the country was changed to "Costa Rica", which means "rich coast" in Spanish, and the republic was established in August 1848. Although a Spanish colony, Costa Rica differed from Peru or Mexico, where the colonists did not loot gold and silver, and Costa Rica's independence process was carried out peacefully.
(2) Permanent neutrality
By 2022, there are seven permanently neutral countries that are generally recognized internationally: Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Costa Rica and Turkmenistan. In February 2022, Finland and Sweden felt threatened by their security after the Russian-Ukrainian war, so they applied to join NATO in May of the same year, abandoning the policy of neutrality they had maintained for many years. Costa Rica is the only permanently neutral country on the American continent, and in 1948 it abolished its army, becoming the first country in the world to have no army in the legal sense. In 1983, Costa Rica declared itself permanently neutral. The world's first and only university for peace, the United Nations University for Peace, is located in San José, Costa Rica. Costa Rica's defence is managed by the United States, which has troops in Costa Rica. There are currently about 20,000 police officers in Costa Rica who maintain public order. Because Costa Rica abolished the military and saved a large amount of military expenditure to improve people's livelihood, develop education, improve social security, etc., Costa Rica's society is stable and happiness is high
(3) Countries with the richest biological species
Costa Rica is a small country, only 0.03% of the world's land area, but home to nearly 5% of the world's species, making it one of the richest biological species in the world. Nearly 30% of the country's land area is national parks or nature reserves, including 27 national parks, 15 wetland reserves, 11 forest reserves, and 8 biological reserves. The national forest cover rate is 52%. There are more than 300 species of hummingbirds in the world, and Costa Rica has 52 species. Costa Rica is home to howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, Central American squirrel monkeys, and Jeffrey spider monkeys, and Corcovado National Park is the only place to find all of them. Costa Rica is home to more than 200 species of amphibians, including 146 different species of frogs and toads, most notably the red-eyed tree frog. The red-eyed tree frog is the most popular pet frog because of its high ornamental character. The name "red-eyed tree frog" is a mistranslation, although the red-eyed tree frog lives in trees most of its time, but belongs to the rain frog family. Costa Rican banknotes feature prominent figures of the country on the front, while natural habitats and various animals are featured on the reverse.
(4) Countries with the highest proportion of renewable energy generation
Costa Rica has one of the highest share of renewable energy generation, accounting for 99.78% of the country's total electricity generation in 2020. Costa Rica is rich in hydropower, with hydropower being the main source of electricity, accounting for nearly 72%, with geothermal energy, wind, biomass and solar energy being complementary energy sources. Costa Rica released its National Decarbonization Plan in 2019, which aims to generate electricity from 100% renewable energy by 2030 and achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
(5) Central American Switzerland
Costa Rica has a unique natural environment and cultural heritage and diverse culture, leading the entire Latin American region in economic development, environmental protection, renewable energy, education and many other fields, and is known as the "Switzerland of Central America". Exploring tropical rainforests, active volcanoes, jungle wildlife and marine life attracts visitors from all over the world. Lonely Planet, a renowned travel magazine, recommended Costa Rica as the "Best Accessible Travel Destination 2021". International Living magazine ranked Costa Rica as the number one of the "10 best countries to retire in 2021". Costa Rica is a very open society, many people are enjoying life, the low cost of living, cheap medical expenses, a variety of housing options and beautiful natural environment, making it an ideal retirement place for many people.
(6) You can see the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean at the same time
With more than half of its land area covered by forests, fresh air and a wide variety of flora and fauna, Costa Rica is known as the "Garden of Central America", and Mount Irazú is the garden within a garden. Mount Iracú is located in central Costa Rica, and on a clear day, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans can be seen from the summit, and the unique natural scenery and volcanic wonders attract backpackers from all over the world.
(7) The oxcart is a national symbol
Traditional ox carts were once the most important means of transportation in Costa Rica and are often used as a symbol of social status. Since the mid-19th century, oxcarts have been used as a means of transport to transport coffee beans from Costa Rica's Central Valley to Pacific ports. In 1915, painted ox carts became a national folk event in Costa Rica. Although the current ox cart is no longer a means of transportation, it has greatly contributed to the economic development of Costa Rica and left a deep memory for Costa Ricans. In 1988, Costa Rica officially established the oxcart as a national symbol. In November 2005, UNESCO inscribed Costa Rica's oxcart on the Third Representative List of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
(8) Drinking and driving are allowed
The vast majority of countries do not allow alcohol to be prescribed, and if violated, the penalties are more severe, but Costa Rica is an exception. Drinking while driving is allowed in Costa Rica, provided that you don't get drunk. But everyone's amount of alcohol is different, and whether you are drunk or not is not a quantitative indicator, so Costa Rica stipulates that as long as 100ml of blood and the alcohol content does not exceed 75mg, it is not considered drunk driving. According to the mainland's "Threshold and Test of Blood and Breath Alcohol Content of Vehicle Drivers", blood alcohol content greater than or equal to 20mg/100mL and less than 80mg/100mL is considered drunk driving, and blood alcohol content greater than or equal to 80mg/100mL is drunk driving. Costa Rica's label 75mg/100mL is close to the mainland for drunk driving.
(9) Corn is the oldest food
The first to transform corn into a crop were the Indians of Central America, the original inhabitants of Costa Rica were Indians, and for a long time, only Indians knew how to grow corn. At the end of the 15th century, Columbus brought corn to Europe. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Portuguese introduced corn by sea to India and China. The corn kernels engraved on both sides of the coat of arms of Costa Rica symbolize that Costa Rica regards corn as a meritorious food that has been nurtured for generations.
(10) Pirates of the Caribbean
The Costa Rican men's soccer team, known as the "Pirates of the Caribbean", is a strong team in CONCACACA. Costa Rica has reached the World Cup finals six times, with the best result being the last eight of the 2014 World Cup. In this World Cup, Costa Rica is in Group E with Germany, Spain and Japan. In the first round, Costa Rica lost 7-0 to Spain. In the second round, Costa Rica beat Japan 1-0. Ecuador is ranked 31st in the latest FIFA rankings (79th for the national team), a clear gap with Germany and Spain in the same group, and Ecuador will stop at the group stage if it is not upset. In 2002, Costa Rica defeated the Chinese men's team 2-0, becoming one of the few teams to beat the Chinese men's team in the World Cup.
Costa Rica was once a traditional agricultural and pastoral country, and the cultivation of pineapple, banana, coffee and other crops occupied an important position in the national economy. Costa Rica's GDP per capita in 2021 was US$12,400, about the same as China's. In the Human Development Report 2020 published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Costa Rica ranked 62nd on the Human Development Index (85th in Chinese mainland); In the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 published by the World Economic Forum, Costa Rica ranked 62nd on the Global Competitiveness Index (28th in Chinese mainland); In the Global Happiness Report 2022, published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SNDN), Costa Rica ranked 23rd on the happiness index (72nd in Chinese mainland).
Reference books: Annals of Nations: Costa Rica, A Brief History of Costa Rica, History of Central America, etc.
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