Costa Rica and Bhutan Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Costa Rica	Bhutan
Leader
President: Laura Chinchilla	Head of state: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Population
4,636,348	716,896
Life Expectancy
77.890 years	67.880 years
Capital City
San Jose	Thimphu
Largest city
San Jose (population: 335,007)	Thimphu (population: 98,676)
Human Development Index
0.847	0.613
GDP per capita
$12,100 US	$6,200 US
Literacy Rate
94.9%	47%
Corruption Perception Index
5.1	5.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
36.8%	13.9%
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
6.500%	4.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished	Abolished

Political System
democratic republic	in transition to constitutional monarchy; special treaty relationship with India
Independence date
15 September 1821 (from Spain)	1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king)
Religions
Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%	Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%
Languages
Spanish (official), English	Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
Exports
bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar; seafood; electronic components, medical equipment	electricity (to India), cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, precious stones, spices
External Debt
$10,050,000,000 $	$1,275,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Costa Rican colones (CRC) per US dollar - 529.62 (2008 est.), 519.53 (2007), 511.3 (2006), 477.79 (2005), 437.91 (2004)	ngultrum (BTN) per US dollar - 41.487 (2007), 45.279 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003) note: the ngultrum is pegged to the Indian rupee
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.600%	1.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count

Location
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama	Southern Asia, between China and India
Area
51,100 km sq	38,394 km sq
Coastline
1,290 km	0 km
Climate
tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands	varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

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Costa Rica vs Bhutan