Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Demographics of Costa Rica
Unlike many of their Central American neighbors, present-day Costa Ricans are largely of European rather than mestizo descent; Spain was the primary country of origin.It is true that few of the native Indians survived European contact; the indigenous population today numbers about 29,000 or less than 1% of the population. Descendants of 19th century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority and -- at 3% of the population -- number about 96,000. An important ethnic group in Costa Rica are Nicaraguans who represent 10% of the population. Most of these Nicaraguans are refugees from the Sandinista regime that existed in Nicaragua; the main migrants were those of German, Polish, Italian, and Jewish ancestry, but today there is a growing number of Amerindian people who migrate for seasonal work opportunities as agricultural workers. There is also a growing number of Colombian, Panamanian and Peruvian refugees who call Costa Rica home. An example of Costa Rica's hospitality and peaceful government in Latin America
Stats
Population: 3,710,558 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
32% (male 609,051; female 581,302)
15-64 years:
63% (male 1,177,262; female 1,150,673)
65 years and over:
5% (male 89,541; female 102,729) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.69% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 20.69 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.87 male(s)/female
total population:
1.02 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 11.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
75.82 years
male:
73.3 years
female:
78.47 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.52 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Costa Rican(s)
adjective:
Costa Rican
Ethnic groups: white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%*
- this information is not 100% accurate and needs further reviewing.
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Evangelical Protestant, approximately 14%, other less than 1%
Languages: Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
94.8%
male:
94.7%
female:
95% (1995 est.)
See also
External links
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details