Costa Rica - officially the Republic of Costa Rica - the Rich Coast is a Central America country, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica is composed of seven provinces (Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas, and San JoséSan José , which in turn are divided into 81 cantons. The official country language is Spanish. Like the rest of Central America, Costa Rica never fought for independence from Spain. On September 15, 1821, after the final Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821), the authorities in Guatemala declared the independence of all of Central America. That date is still celebrated as Independence Day in Costa Rica. Because Costa Rica is located between 8-12 degrees north of the Equator, the climate is tropical year round. However, the country has many microclimates depending on elevation, rainfall, topography, and by the geography of each particular region. Costa Rica measures only 180 miles across at its widest point, but four mountain ranges segment this tropical isthmus: Cordillera Guanacaste (northwest area), Cordillera Tilarán (north central), Cordillera Central, and Cordillera Talamanca (the oldest and southernmost mountain range, which features Mount Chirrípo at an elevation of 12,526 ft./3,818 m, the highest point in the country). Costa Rica is among the countries with the highest amount of protected land in the world; 25% of the national territory is dedicated to the national park system or biological, marine and land reserves, as well as other natural wildlife areas.

The biodiversity of fauna in Costa Rica is immense. The country supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Within the 19,653 sq. mi./51,100 sq. km area (about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined), Costa Rica is home to nearly 4% of the total species estimated on Planet Earth. There are approximately 850 bird species (600 of which are non-migratory), 205 mammalian species, 34,000 insect species (1,250 species of butterflies), 220 reptilian species, and 160 amphibian species.