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Nicaragua vs. Costa Rica

Geography

NicaraguaCosta Rica
LocationCentral America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and HondurasCentral America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Geographic coordinates13 00 N, 85 00 W10 00 N, 84 00 W
Map referencesCentral America and the CaribbeanCentral America and the Caribbean
Areatotal: 130,370 sq km

land: 119,990 sq km

water: 10,380 sq km
total: 51,100 sq km

land: 51,060 sq km

water: 40 sq km

note: includes Isla del Coco
Area - comparativeslightly larger than Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than New York stateslightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundariestotal: 1,253 km

border countries (2): Costa Rica 313 km, Honduras 940 km
total: 661 km

border countries (2): Nicaragua 313 km, Panama 348 km
Coastline910 km1,290 km
Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm
Climatetropical in lowlands, cooler in highlandstropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands
Terrainextensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoescoastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major active volcanoes
Elevation extremeshighest point: Mogoton 2,085 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 298 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,819 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 746 m
Natural resourcesgold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fishhydropower
Land useagricultural land: 42.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 12.5% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 27.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 25.3% (2018 est.)

other: 32.5% (2018 est.)
agricultural land: 37.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 4.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 6.7% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 25.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 51.5% (2018 est.)

other: 11.4% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land1,990 sq km (2012)1,015 sq km (2012)
Natural hazards

destructive earthquakes; volcanoes; landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes

volcanism: significant volcanic activity; Cerro Negro (728 m), which last erupted in 1999, is one of Nicaragua's most active volcanoes; its lava flows and ash have been known to cause significant damage to farmland and buildings; other historically active volcanoes include Concepcion, Cosiguina, Las Pilas, Masaya, Momotombo, San Cristobal, and Telica

occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes

volcanism: Arenal (1,670 m), which erupted in 2010, is the most active volcano in Costa Rica; a 1968 eruption destroyed the town of Tabacon; Irazu (3,432 m), situated just east of San Jose, has the potential to spew ash over the capital city as it did between 1963 and 1965; other historically active volcanoes include Miravalles, Poas, Rincon de la Vieja, and Turrialba

Environment - current issuesdeforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; droughtdeforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Geography - notelargest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaraguafour volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65
Total renewable water resources164.52 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)113 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Population distributionthe overwhelming majority of the population resides in the western half of the country, with much of the urban growth centered in the capital city of Managua; coastal areas also show large population clustersroughly half of the nation's population resides in urban areas; the capital of San Jose is the largest city and home to approximately one-fifth of the population

Source: CIA Factbook