Information Technology Landscape
in COSTA RICA
Human Capital and IT
Costa Rica has the highest United Nations Human Development Index among
all developing countries.5
With the abolishment of the army in 1948, the government
has been able to give high priority to the welfare of its people.
Costa Rica's democratic tradition and physical stability has created a
high standard of living by focusing on health and education of the population.
Therefore, not only has the country been able to develop internally, it
also has become an attractive location for foreign companies seeking to
establish operations.
However, it faces losing its competitive advantage simply for its small
size. There is a limited number of engineers and technicians and
all available ones have been swapped up by the already existing high technology
companies. This fact threatens to hinder further expansion.
Its work force continually seeks higher wage jobs than its neighboring
countries. This is reflected in the country's unemployment figures
which show that while 6.2 percent of the work force was unemployed in
1996, 13.9 percent were underemployed.17
Therefore, the government has embarked on an aggressive strategy to
upgrade the educational system to continue economic development in the
high technology areas. (See Government Policies
for more information.) According to the dean of the Instituto Technologico
de Costa Rica, the country's foremost science and engineering university,
the country must find a way to train people for an estimated 10,000 high-tech
jobs in every skill level over the next three years.17
-
Education Initiatives
-
Government promotes a highly skilled and trained workforce through education
and training mandates.
-
Technical and education development projects continue to be part of the
goal of transforming Costa Rica into the high technology hub of Latin America.
-
Curricula are being updated with teachings in new areas for example, in
semiconductors.
-
A nationwide network of computer labs in high schools and universities
is being set up.
-
Educational Requirements
-
Education up through the completion of high school is mandatory.
This has helped facilitate a 94% literacy rate, one of the highest in the
world.
1986 1991 1992
1993 1994 1995
1996
Expenditure per student, primary (%GNP)
11.72 10.23 10.62 10.57
Expenditure per student, tertiary (%GNP)
70.51 54.62 48.76
Expenditure, total (% of GDP)
26.41 25.61 24.79
23.87 26.18 30.61
29.12
1986 1991 1992
1993 1994 1995
1996
Preprimary (% gross)
61
66 67
70
Primary (% gross)
101
105 106
107
Secondary (% gross)
42
47 49
50
Tertiary (% gross)
26
32
-
College graduates:
8,200 in 1996
-
Current engineering students total 12,000.
-
Health Services
-
Free health services for entire population has allowed the country to maintain
a life expectancy rate of 75.7 years, one of the highest in the world.
-
Salaries
|
COSTA RICA |
UNITED STATES |
WORLD |
Staff:
(k) 1990
(k) 1996
% change 1990 - 96
Main lines per employee:
(k) 1990
(k) 1996
% change 1990 - 96 |
3.3
4.5
6.7
86
106
4.2 |
913.0
897.7
-0.3
149
190
4.1 |
5'201.6
5'337.7
-1.0
96
139
6.3 |
* Source ITU13
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Last updated December 18, 1998