Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Ecuador to the south of Cocos Island. It has a population of around 4.5 million, of whom nearly a quarter live in the metropolitan area of the capital and largest city, San José.
Pharmaceuticals, financial outsourcing, software development, and ecotourism have become the prime industries in Costa Rica's economy. High levels of education among its residents make the country an attractive investing location. Since 1999, tourism earns more foreign exchange than the combined exports of the country's three main cash crops: bananas, pineapples and coffee.[1] Coffee production has played a key role in Costa Rica's history and economy, and by 2006, was the third cash crop export.[1]
Notable firms
editThis list includes notable companies with primary headquarters located in the country. The industry and sector follow the Industry Classification Benchmark taxonomy. Organizations which have ceased operations are included and noted as defunct.
Name | Industry | Sector | Headquarters | Founded | Notes | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abangares Mining Company | Basic materials | Gold mining | Abangares | 1884[2] | Gold mining, defunct | P | D |
Aeropostal Alas de Centroamerica | Consumer services | Airlines | San José | 2003 | Airline, defunct | P | D |
Avianca Costa Rica | Consumer services | Airlines | San José | 1945 | Part of Avianca (Colombia) | P | A |
Café Britt | Consumer services | Restaurants & bars | Heredia | 1985 | Coffee | P | A |
Cerveceria Costa Rica | Consumer goods | Brewers | Heredia | 1908 | Brewery | P | A |
Dos Pinos | Consumer goods | Food products | Alajuela Province | 1947 | Dairy products | P | A |
Florida Ice and Farm Company | Consumer goods | Brewers | Heredia | 1908 | Brewery, food processor | P | A |
ICE | Utilities | Conventional electricity | San José | 1949 | Electrical monopoly | S | A |
Nature Air | Consumer services | Airlines | San José | 1990 | Airline | P | A |
Paradise Air | Consumer services | Airlines | San José | 2000 | Charter airline, defunct 2013 | P | D |
Realtime Gaming | Consumer services | Gambling | Heredia | 1998 | Gambling | P | A |
Rostipollos | Consumer services | Restaurants & bars | San José | 1983 | Restaurant | P | A |
Sansa Airlines | Consumer services | Airlines | San José | 1978 | Airline | P | A |
Ticos Air | Consumer services | Airlines | Santa Ana | 2012 | Airline | P | A |
Ujarrás | Consumer goods | Food products | San José | 1962 | Food | P | A |
Wagerweb | Consumer services | Gambling | San José | 1994 | Gambling | P | A |
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An Intel microprocessor facility in Costa Rica.
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A coffee plantation in the Orosí Valley.
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Café Britt storefront.
References
edit- ^ a b Departamento de Estadísticas ICT (2006). "Anuário Estadísticas de Demanda 2006" (PDF) (in Spanish). Intituto Costarricense de Turismo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-02. Retrieved 2008-07-29. Table 44 and 45
- ^ Aviva Chomsky; Aldo Lauria-Santiago (1998). Identity and Struggle at the Margins of the Nation-state: The Laboring Peoples of Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean. Duke University Press. pp. 171–. ISBN 0-8223-2218-8.