🇨🇷 Costa Rica

Costa Rica is Central America's standout success — a stable democracy of 5.2 million with no military (abolished in 1948), a GDP of about $70 billion, and a reputation as the world's greenest country. Over 25% of the territory is protected national parks and reserves. The country generates over 98% of its electricity from renewable sources, mostly hydropower. Costa Rica has the highest life expectancy in Latin America at 80 years and a literacy rate above 97%. The Nicoya Peninsula is one of the world's five "Blue Zones" where people regularly live past 100.

Medical devices have overtaken bananas and coffee as the top export — Intel's chip assembly plant (now closed) was once 20% of exports, and the medical device cluster has filled the gap. Tourism brings in about $4 billion annually. The US is the dominant trade partner. Costa Rica joined the OECD in 2021, a recognition of its institutional quality. The challenge: a fiscal deficit that's pushed public debt above 60% of GDP.

Costa Rica has 5% of the world's biodiversity in just 0.03% of the planet's surface. The country reversed deforestation — forest cover went from 21% in 1987 to over 52% today, one of the only tropical countries to achieve this. Costa Rica's stone spheres (Diquís Spheres), some over 2 meters in diameter and perfectly round, are a UNESCO site — nobody knows how or why they were made.

Costa Rica proves you don't need a military or oil to build a prosperous country. The green brand is a genuine competitive advantage, but fiscal discipline needs attention before debt becomes a drag.