Five Reasons Why Costa Rica isn't a Third-World Country
By, Preston A. Gitlin
President, CR Communities, S.A.
CR Communities
pgitlin@crcommunities.com
When many people hear about Costa Rica, they think, “Well
isn’t it a third world country?” or “It’s probably pretty risky to live
there.” Sure, it’s a fair assessment to
say that Costa Rica isn’t as developed as the United States, or similar
nations, but if you tell someone who’s been to Nicaragua or Honduras that Costa
Rica is a third world country, they might look at you cross-eyed. There are many aspects of Costa Rica that
differentiate it from other much less developed countries, but below are five
reasons why “third world” appears to be incorrect categorization.
A relatively high
economic standing, and is growing fast
At one point known only for its agriculture products and
tourist attractions, Costa Rica is growing rapidly in the telecommunications and
call center sectors. For example, Intel
has made a substantial investment here and continues to create jobs for Costa
Ricans. It also has the highest GDP per capita in Central America at $11,862
annually according to an IMF study. This
is relatively high when you consider it’s not a highly industrialized nation
and the cost of living is about half of what it is in the United States.
Given current economic woes in the United States, those
looking to invest or retire here may wonder how this will affect Costa Rica’s
economy. Of course, if companies in the
U.S. import less from Costa Rica it will certainly have some impact, but Costa
Rica is well prepared to fend off any possible recession because it currently
has a surplus. Therefore, the government
will have more flexibility in placing more capital in the marketplace short
term to boost the local economy. Just
the fact alone that Costa Rica has a surplus should be a solid indicator that “third
world” just doesn’t fit. In addition,
Costa Rica’s tourism sector, which employs a significant number of people, is
expected to continue to be strong as historically in times of recession, people
travel closer to home for their vacations.
A highly educated
labor force
Due to an abundance of public and even low cost private
schools, Costa Rica now boasts arguably the best equipped labor force in all of
Latin America. Its literacy rate of 96%
only validates the priority Costa Rica places on education. To put it into
perspective, neighboring Nicaragua has a literacy rate of 67.5%.
A highly democratic
structure without a military
Costa Rica is one of the world’s most democratic and
peaceful nations. Over 50 years ago it
abolished its army, allocating those resources to education, public health, and
environmental protection. A current
example of how democracy plays an important role in society is the recent
passing of CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement). Costa Rica was the only country to conduct a
national referendum where citizens actually decided whether or not to join the
U.S.-led free trade agreement. While the referendum did just barely pass, international
election watch dog groups said the referendum was highly transparent and there
was no evidence of corruption. And,
while there were many rallies on both sides of the issue, there was no violence
during the referendum process.
Improving
infrastructure
Alright, I admit it. The roads in Costa Rica are still a bit
more comical than anything else. However,
in the past five years alone, the improvement is so obvious and widespread that
it has only encouraged investment around them. It is also important to note that the main
highway which feeds many retirement towns from the airport is very well
maintained. It isn’t until venturing off
to more distant and less-traveled side roads that you start to realize an SUV
is your best friend here.
Potable water, electricity, and Internet access are abundant.
In fact, in the last year alone, I have
seen the number of Internet cafés double in the town of San Ramon, where I
currently reside. In my town there have
been recent additions such as a mall and movie theater. Shops with electronic goods, hardware, etc.,
are everywhere, and even Wal-Mart has opened dozens of stores throughout the
country. You won’t have to completely
forgo convenience and creature comforts to make the move to paradise.
Affordable and
accessible health care
Health care is affordable and accessible to everyone. There are also several established private
hospitals in Costa Rica. One in
particular, CIMA, has facilities, medical equipment and patient rooms as modern
as any hospital in the U.S., with many of its bilingual doctors trained in the
United States. In San Ramon, we have many private health clinics to choose from,
and in case of an emergency there is always the public hospital. Most Costa Ricans are registered under the
CAJA system, which would be the equivalent of a low cost insurance program in
the U.S. For those who can afford to go
to the private hospital, you will find the doctors to be exceptional.
These are only a few examples to differentiate Costa Rica
with typical third world country. Countries
that are normally less developed usually have much more poverty, are engulfed in violence, substitute education and healthcare for
more military might, have a dictator, and/or do substantial net damage to the
environment. None of this describes
Costa Rica. So, at the very least, please think ‘thrice’ before calling Costa Rica a third world country.
Preston A. Gitlin, originally from Rochester, New York
currently lives in San Ramon, Costa Rica. He is President and co-founder of CR Communities, an investment company
known for its strong community presence. He also co-owns Boomers in Costa Rica Tours which
offers tours for those looking to invest and/or retire and want an introduction
to reputable and honest professionals, as well as an array of quality real
estate options. He may be reached at pgitlin@crcommunities.com, or for general inquiries about the tour, boomersincostarica@gmail.com.
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