Invest in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Economy

The prime industries of Costa-Rica's economy include electronics, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing, software development, and eco-tourism.  Costa Rica's population is highly educated, and unlike other Central American countries such as Guatemala, an overwhelming percentage (~92%) of the population is of European or mixed descent; there is no culture of native separatism, and the country's official language (Spanish) is widely understood.

A seven-year expansion plan

A government-implemented expansion plan for the technology industry has further improved the economy.  The government offers generous tax incentives for foreign investment, and has exhibited a history of treating foreign investors with respect (unlike such countries as Venezuela and Ecuador).  Costa Rica's advanced electronics and pharmaceutical industries industries have blossomed in recent years. With a per capita GDP of $12,000, Costa Rica's domestic consumption is also strong.

Trade boomed with Southeast Asia and Russia during 2004 and 2005.  The country is expected to obtain full APEC membership by 2007.

The unit of currency is the colo'n (CRC) which trades at around 518 to the USD.  In Mid October of 2006 a new "crawling band" currency exchange system was introduced, allowing for tightly-constrained trading of CRCs on the FX market.  It was originally designed to help the central bank track inflation and discourage use of USD.  (The "crawling peg" has proven fashionable among smaller countries, which are highly susceptible to speculative attacks by certain unnamed currency fund managers with deeper pockets than the small countries' own central banks.) So far, the CRC's value relative to the dollar has been stable.