Economics

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**Economic Overview** 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 agriculture and tourism as the top industry. Costa Rica recently agreed to participate in the US - Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). (costariica.com)

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 * Currency:** Costa Rican Colon
 * Currency Code:** CRC
 * Exchange Rate:** 500 Costa Rican Colones = $1.01 US Dollar
 * > [[image:Coin_Front10.jpg caption="10 Colones Coin" link="@http://www.costarica.com/about-costa-rica/useful-information/costa-rican-currency/"]]

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 * > [[image:Coin_Front20.jpg caption="20 Colones Coin" link="@http://www.costarica.com/about-costa-rica/useful-information/costa-rican-currency/"]]

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 * Gross Domestic Product:** $48.63 billion (2009 est.)


 * Country's Budget:**
 * //Revenues: // $3.795 billion
 * //Expenditures:// $4.908 billion (2009 est.)


 * Labor Force** **(Employment)**: 2.09 million (2008 est.)


 * Employment by type of work:** Agriculture: 14% Industry: 22% Services: 64% (2006 est.)

 **Unemployment Rate:** 6.4% (2009 est.)


 * Agriculture Products:** bananas, pineapple, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef, poultry, dairy; timber


 * Industrial Production Growth Rate:** -5% (2009 est.)
 * Industries:** microprocessors, food processing, medical equipment, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products

$8.096 billion (2009 est.) (Table Info, 2007)
 * Exports:**
 * bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar, beef, seafood; electronic components, medical equipment
 * = __** Partners **__ ||= __** Percentage% **__ ||
 * United States ||= 25.7 ||
 * China ||= 14.1% ||
 * Netherlands ||= 10.9% ||
 * United Kingdom ||= 6.3% ||
 * Mexico ||= 5% ||

$15.37 billion (2008 est.) (Table Info, 2008)
 * Imports:**
 * raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
 * = __** Partners **__ ||= __** Percentage% **__ ||
 * United States ||= 23.9% ||
 * China ||= 13% ||
 * Netherlands ||= 13.3% ||
 * United Kingdom ||= 5% ||
 * Mexico ||= 4.9% ||

Back to Top **Questions: ** 1. What is the name of Costa Rica's currency? a. The Lira b. The Colon c. The Real

2. Which is NOT a major product of Costa Rica? a. Mangoes b. Coffee c. Bananas

Answers: //(highlight for answers)// 1. b  2. a

__References__ Costa Rican Economy. (n.d.). //Costa Rica//. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.costarica.com/business/costa-rican-economy/ Images from: http://www.costarica.com/about-costa-rica/useful-information/costa-rican-currency/