Economy

Historically, Costa Rica's economy has been based on agriculture, including the production of coffee, bananas, pineapples and ornamental house plants, but in recent times ecotourism, electronics, pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing and software development have become the prime industries. Costa Rica's location in the Central American isthmus provides easy access to American markets as it has the same time zone as the central part of the United States and direct ocean access to Europe and Asia.

The economy has been expanding in part because the Government implemented a seven year plan of expansion in the high tech industry. The central government offers tax exemptions for those who are willing to invest in the country. High levels of education among its residents make the country an attractive location for investors. Several global high tech corporations have already started developing in the area exporting goods, including chip manufacturer Intel and pharmaceutical companies such as Procter & Gamble and Glaxo Smith Kline. Trade with Southeast Asia and Russia boomed during 2004 and 2005, and the country is expected to obtain full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) membership by 2007 (the country became an observer in 2004).

For the 2007 fiscal year, Costa Rica showed it's first budget surplus in 50 years, however economic growth has slowed in the past two years as the global downturn reduced export demand and investment inflows. In 2008, economic growth was at 2.6 %, however inflation was at 13.4%

The unit of currency is the colón (CRC), which trades around 530 to the U.S. dollar.