Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [21]
The middle and upper class largely reside in San José, as well as the major cities of the Central Valley highlands (Heredia, Alajuela and Cartago), and enjoy a level of comfort similar to their economic brethren in Europe and the USA. They live in large homes or apartments, have a maid, a car or two and, for the lucky few, a second home on the beach or in the mountains. On the outskirts of these urban areas, the urban poor have hastily constructed shanty towns, but certainly not on the scale of some other Latin American countries.
The home of an average Tico is a one-story construction made of concrete blocks, wood or a combination of both. In the poorer lowland areas, people often live in windowless houses made of caña brava, a local cane.
For the vast majority of campesinos (farmers) and indígenas (indigenous people), life is hard, and poverty levels are higher and standards of living are lower than in the rest of the country. This is especially true along the Caribbean coast where the descendants of Jamaican immigrants have long suffered from a lack of attention by the federal government. However, although poor families have few possessions and little financial security, every member assists with working the land or contributing to the household, which creates a strong safety net.
As in the rest of the developing world, globalization is having a dramatic effect on family ways. These days, society is increasingly geographically mobile – the Tico that was born in Puntarenas might end up managing a lodge on the Península de Osa. And, with the advent of better-paved roads, cell phones, electrification and the increasing presence of North American and European expats, change will continue to come at a steady pace for the Tico family unit.
The expression matando la culebra (meaning ‘to be idle,’ literally ‘killing the snake’) originates with peones (laborers) from banana plantations. When foremen would ask what they were doing, the response was ‘¡Matando la culebra!’.
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ECONOMY
For about 20 years, Costa Rica’s economy has remained remarkably stable thanks to strong returns on tourism, agriculture and industry. Commerce, tourism and services (hotels, restaurants, tourist services, banks and insurance) account for 67.6% of the total gross domestic product (GDP), while agriculture and industry make up 6.5% and 25.9% respectively.
Principle agriculture exports include pineapples, coffee, beef, sugar, rice, dairy products, vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants, while industrial exports include electronic components (microchips), food processing, textiles, construction materials, fertilizer and medical equipment.
Poverty levels have also been kept in check for more than 20 years by strong welfare programs. Although approximately 16% of the populace lives below the poverty line, beggars are few and far between, and you won’t see the packs of ragged street kids that seem to roam around other Latin American capitals.
A subsistence farmer might earn as little as US$100 a year, far below the national average of US$11,500 per capita. However, even in the most deprived region, such as the Caribbean coast, most people have adequate facilities and clean drinking water. In fact, Unicef estimates that more than 90% of households have adequate sanitation systems, while virtually all have access to potable water.
Increased legal and illegal immigration from Nicaragua has started to put a strain on the economic system. There are an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Nicaraguans in Costa Rica, who serve as an important source of mostly unskilled labor, but some believe they also threaten to overwhelm the welfare state.
Foreign investors continue to be attracted by the country’s political stability, high education levels and well-developed tourism infrastructure. At the same time, the