Costa Rica Information
We often times get asked many of the same questions about Costa Rica. The following is general Costa Rica information that you may be interested in knowing.
Capital: San Jose
Currency: Colon
Time zone: GMT-6; EST -1. Costa Rica does not participate in Daylight Savings, so for approximately six months a year it is in the Central Time Zone and for the other approximate half of the year it is in Mountain Time zone. The lack of extreme time zone differences make Costa Rica an easy place to fly to (with little to no jet lag) and makes it easier to conduct business.
Country telephone code: 506 (when calling to Costa Rica from the USA or Canada, dial ‘011-506-xxxx-xxxx”. All Costa Rica phone numbers are eight digits in length (not including the country code)
Borders: Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southwest, Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea/Atlantic Ocean to the east.
Land Area: 51,100 square kilometers/19,730 square miles (about the size of West Virginia in the USA)
Maximum Length: 464 km/288 miles from the Sapoa River to Burica Point
Minimum Length: 119 km/74 miles from Tuba to Boca del Colorado
Maximum Width: 259 km/161 miles from Santa Elena to the mouth of the Colorado River
Tallest Mountain: Mount Chirripo. 3,820 meters/12,533 feet above sea level
National Flower: Guaria Morada orchid (guarianthe skinneri)
National Tree: Earpod tree (enterolobium cyclocarpurri)
National Bird: Clay-colored robin (turdus grayil)
Population: 4.3 million (approximately 51% men and 49% women)
Administrative Division: 7 provinces, 81 cantons and 463 districts