San José, Costa Rica
capital of Costa Rica / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
San José is the capital of Costa Rica, head of San José Province, and the nation's largest city. It is named in honor of Saint Joseph. It is in the center of the Gran Area Metropolitana (metropolitan area) of the Central Valley. San José is the center of political and economic activity and the main transportation center of Costa Rica.
San José de Costa Rica
San José | |
---|---|
Nickname: Chepe | |
Motto: Ad Meliora | |
Location of San José in Costa Rica | |
Coordinates: 9°56′N 84°5′W | |
Country | Costa Rica |
Province | San José Province |
Canton | San José |
Founded | 1738 |
Capital as of | May 16, 1823 |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
• Mayor | Johnny Araya Monge (PLN) |
Area | |
• City | 44.62 km2 (17.23 sq mi) |
• Metro | 2,044 km2 (789 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,170 m (3,840 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• City | 288,054 |
• Density | 6,455.71/km2 (16,720.2/sq mi) |
• Metro | 2,158,898 |
• Metro density | 1,056.2/km2 (2,736/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC-6 (Central Standard Time) |
Postal Code | 10101 |
Website | http://www.msj.go.cr |
The population of the city is 288,054,[1] but the metropolitan area of San José has a third of Costa Rica's population.
Few people live in the city center but it is still the most important working area of the entire country. More than a million people come to work in San José daily from the surrounding areas. Despite its problems, according to studies in Latin America, San José is still one of the safest and least violent cities in the region.[2] In 2006 the city was appointed Ibero-American Capital of Culture. San José is also the sixth most important destination in Latin America, according to The MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index 2012. In the global ranking, San Jose obtained the 15th position among the world’s top 20 fastest growing destination cities by visitor cross-border spending.[3]