Costa Rica and Congo, Republic of the Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Costa Rica	Congo, Republic of the
Leader
	President: Denis Sassou Nguesso
Population
4,695,942	4,492,689
Life Expectancy
78.060 years	55.600 years
Capital City
San Jose	Brazzaville
Largest city
San Jose (population: 335,007)	Brazzaville (population: 1,284,610)
Human Development Index
0.847	NA
GDP per capita
$12,600 US	$4,700 US
Literacy Rate
94.9%	83.8%
Corruption Perception Index
5.1	1.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
36.8%	NA
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
7.900%	53.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished	Abolished in practice

Political System
democratic republic	republic
Independence date
15 September 1821 (from Spain)	15 August 1960 (from France)
Religions
Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%	Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2%
Languages
Spanish (official), English	French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)
Exports
bananas, pineapples, coffee, melons, ornamental plants, sugar; seafood; electronic components, medical equipment	petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
External Debt
$12,040,000,000 $	$4,225,000,000 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)	Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar 441.72 (2008 est.), 483.6 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%	1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count

Location
Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama	Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon
Area
51,100 km sq	342,000 km sq
Coastline
1,290 km	169 km
Climate
tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands	tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator

» More Rankings

Costa Rica vs Congo, Republic of the