- Costa Rica is the most happiest place on the planet according to the Happy Planet Index rating of 76.1.
- Costa Rica was the first country to formally abolish military forces. The constitution has forbidden a standing military since 1949. It was said that the "army would be replaced with an army of teachers”. As a result the literacy rate in Costa Rica is an impressive 97%, one of the highest in the world.
- National Parks and Environmental Protection Areas make up 25% of the total land in Costa Rica.
- Panama uses the US dollar as its currency. The official name for it is the Balboa, but it is exactly the same bill.
- The famous Panama hat is actually a traditional brimmed hat of Ecuadorian origin.
- Most retirees are real estate owners and buyers in Panama and thus, Panama in considered as one of the best locations in the world to retire.
- The country is the only place in the world, where you can see the sun rise in the Pacific and set in the Atlantic.
