Costa Rica is a small democratic country located in Central America. Nicaragua lies to the north with Costa Rica and Panama to the south and is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country is very small, only about 32,000 square miles, and is slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia (CIA, para. 2 2013). This beautiful country covers only about 0.03% of the earth's surface, yet contains about 5% of the world's biodiversity (Visit Costa Rica, paragraph 2). The climate is tropical and subtropical and has four volcanoes, two of which are still active (CIA, 2013, para. 2). The population of Costa Rica is 4,805,000 (WHO, 2009). Population growth is approximately 1.27% per year (CIA, 2013, paragraph 3). About 64% of the country's population lives in urban areas (CIA, 2013, para. 3). Although Central America is considered poor by many, Costa Rica's poverty rate is lower than that of neighboring countries – it is around 20% (CIA, 2013, para. 3). In 2012, gross domestic profit (GDP) was $59.79 billion, or $12,800 per capita (CIA, 2013, paragraph 3). A considerable portion of the country's revenue comes from agricultural exports and tourism (CIA, 2013, para. 5). Agriculture represents approximately 6.2% of GDP and industry approximately 2.5% (CIA, 2013, para. 5). Costa Rica was first colonized in 1522 (Michigan State University (MSU), nd, para. 1). It was colonized by the Spanish in 1563 (CIA, 2013, para. 1). In 1821, along with the other provinces of Central America, it proclaimed its independence from Spain (MSU, nd, para. 3). Then, in 1838, Costa Rica proclaimed itself sovereign (CIA, 2013, para. 1). In 1899, Costa Rica began its democracy by having the first true middle of paper...... Many poor countries suffer from public health problems and disasters far worse than the population of Costa Rica, but they are very lucky to have the healthcare system they have in place. In 2011, Costa Rica's health spending represented 10.9% of GDP (CIA, 2013, paragraph 3). It is one of the highest in the world. The Ministry of Health is able to focus on influencing public policy, creating policies to protect the health of the population and providing guidance. They are always studying new trends in medicine and finding the best way to help the Costa Rican public. It seems that the Ministry of Health and the CCSS are focusing more on the care and health of the population, even though health spending is very high compared to most other countries. They have this money to spend partly because of the lack of military forces to finance..