COSTA RICA
| Central American republic flanked by the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Member of the Central American Common Market. | |
| CAPITAL | San Jose. |
| PRINCIPAL PORTS | Caldera, Golfito, Puerto Limon, Puntarenas, Quepos. |
| POPULATION | 3,834,934 (July 2002 estimate). |
| LANGUAGE(S) | Spanish. |
| WEIGHTS AND MEASURES | Metric system. |
| ELECTRICITY SUPPLY | Domestic: 110v. (nominal), 117v. (actual) 60 cycles AC. Industrial and heavy domestic: 220v. 60 cycles AC. |
| CURRENCY(-IES) | 1 Costa Rican colon (CRC) = 100 centimos. |
| EXCHANGE RATE | 582.376 CRC = £1 sterling (fluctuating rate). |
| TIME | 6 hours behind GMT (7 hours behind BST). |
DIALLING CODE |
00 506. |
| PUBLIC HOLIDAYS | 1 Jan; 19 Mar; 11 Apr; 1 May; 29 Jun; 26 Jul; 2, 15 Aug; 15 Sep; 12 Oct; 8, 24–25, 28–31 Dec; in addition, the following which have variable dates: Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi. |
| EMBASSY(-IES) | Flat 1, 14 Lancaster Gate,
London W2 3LH. Tel: 020 7706 8844, fax: 020 7706 8655, e-mail: info@embcrlon.demon.co.uk - website: www.embcrlon.demon.co.uk. Office hours:
Mon-Fri 1000-1300. Legalisation waiting period: 24 hours. |
| BRITISH EMBASSY | Apartado 815, Edifico Centro Colon, (11th Floor), Sane José 1007. Tel: 00 506 258 2025, fax: 00 506 233 9938, e-mail: britemb@racsa.co.cr - website: www.embajadabritanica.com |
| CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | British Chamber of Commerce in Costa Rica c/o British Embassy (see above). Also, Camara de Comercio de Costa Rica, PO Box 1114-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica. Tel: 00 506 221 0005, fax: 00 506 223 1157, e-mail: director@camera-comercio.com |