Costa Rica

Costa Rica has turned its astonishing biodiversity into both a national identity and an economic engine. Roughly a quarter of its territory is protected, and a country smaller than West Virginia holds an estimated five percent of the planet's species. With around five million people, no standing army since 1948, and a deep investment in education and conservation, it has become Central America's most stable democracy and a global byword for ecotourism, sustainability, and the unhurried ethos of pura vida.

A volcanic spine, the Cordillera Central and Cordillera de Talamanca, runs the length of the country, peaking at Cerro Chirripo at 3,821 meters. Between Pacific and Caribbean coasts lie cloud forests at Monteverde, active volcanoes like Arenal and Poas, lowland rainforest, and dry tropical forest in Guanacaste. The fertile Central Valley around San Jose holds most of the population and the historic coffee farms.

Colonized by Spain and independent from 1821, Costa Rica avoided much of the upheaval that scarred its neighbors, abolishing its military and channeling resources into welfare and conservation. Coffee, bananas, and pineapples gave way to medical devices, technology, and tourism as economic mainstays. Renewable energy, payments for ecosystem services, and its image as a peaceful green haven define its modern role.

• North America
  The third-largest continent, from the Arctic to the tropics located in
• Nicaragua
  The land of lakes and volcanoes at the isthmus's heart neighboring country
• Panama
  The narrow isthmus where a canal joins two oceans neighboring country