COSTA RICA [1]

General Information

Costa Rica is a unitary, democratic republic composed of seven provinces governed by the populace through three independent branches[2]. The National Statistics and Census Bureau estimated that as of July 1, 2002, Costa Rica had 4,045,837 inhabitants distributed over 51,100 sq. km. and an average population density of 79 inhabitants per sq. km. Of the total population, 28.3% (1,145,808 people) live in the Metropolitan Area, which covers 0.48% of the country’s total surface area and has a population density of 4,689 inhabitants per sq. km[3]. ECLAC reported that the percentage of urban dwellers in Costa Rica was 50.4% in 2000, which was expected to rise to 52.3% in 2005[4]. 4 Other ECLAC statistics reported 1.9% average annual population growth for 2000-2005[5]. Age distribution in Costa Rica in 2000 was as follows: 31.8% in the 0-14 age group; 34.9% from 15 to 34; 19.2% in the 35-49 age group; 8.8% from 50-64; and 5.3%, 65 years of age and over. Projected age group distribution for 2010 is as follows: 25.8% between 0 and 14; 35.7% from 15 to 34; 19.8% in the 35-49 group; 12.4% in the 50 to 64 age group, and finally 6.3% in the 65-and-over age group[6]. Illiteracy among the adult population (aged fifteen and over) was 6.1% in 1990, and was reduced to 4.4% the following decade. The estimated illiteracy rate for 2005 is 2.6%[7]. Life expectancy at birth for the pre-1990 period was 77.3 years, dropping slightly to 76.2 years for 1990-1995, and rising again the following period (2000 to 2005) to 78.1 years[8]. Those living in poverty accounted for 26.3% of the population in 1990, dropping to 20.3% in 2002. Extreme poverty was 9.9% during the 1990s, and dropped slightly to 8.2% in 2002[9]. Average annual urban unemployment was 5.4% in 1990, rising to 6.8% in 2002[10].Costa Rica’s GDP was US$16,836,817,920 in 2002. It rose by 3.8% to US$17,481,543,680 in 2003. The rate of growth for the GDP was 3% in 2002 and 6% in 2003[11]. Per capita GDP was equal to US$4,070 in 2002, and rose to US$4,280 in 2003, with a purchasing power parity of US$9,140 that year.
 

Judicial System Highlights
 

• Various articles of the Public Roadways Transit Law have been modified in order to decongest Costa Rica’s transit courts, which receive the highest volume of cases in the judicial system. Once the modifications entered into force, infractions with a set fine no longer merited a citation to appear before the court; they are now presented administratively to the Highway Safety Council. Where the decision is appealed, the matter is sent to the respective transit judge for consideration.

• The Ministry of Justice, which governs penitentiary matters in the country, developed an infrastructure plan for 2003-2004 and a Prison Plan for 2005-2006. The first included building 1,560 new spaces in the country’s prisons. As of December 2004, 1,132 had been created, and the remaining 428 were scheduled to be built in 2005. In addition, the Attorney General’s Office has created a public ethics and transparency office.

• The number of judges in Costa Rica increased by 12% during the 2001-2003. Between 2001 and 2004 the number of public defenders increased by 24%, the number of prosecutors grew by 15%, and the number of judicial police staff increased by 10%.

• During that same period the budget allocated to the justice sector grew by 21%[12] and the Judicial Branch budget grew by 24.1%; however, the Public Prosecutor’s Office budget shrank by 1.8%[13].

• The rate of litigiousness, which is expressed as the total number of cases filed, decreased by 6.9% from 2002 to 2003.

• During the same period the number of cases disposed dropped by 4.9%.

• The number of crimes reported increased by 12.5% between 2002 and 2003. The incidence of voluntary manslaughter rose by 15% and that of violent robberies by 48%.

• Prison holding capacity rose by 27% from 5,169 in 2000 to 7,100 in 2004. Over the same period prison population rose 33% from 5,637 inmates to 7,505. Overcrowding was therefore 8% in 2000 and 5% in 2004. There were 185.5 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants in the country in 2004.

• The number of practicing attorneys registered in the Costa Rica Bar Association increased by 18.6% between 2002 and 2004.

• Costa Rica’s Judicial Branch obtained an 86% rating in JSCA’s Index of Online Access to Judicial Information[14].