Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 39,411 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $69 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.6% (FY99)
Costa Rica Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: legal dispute over navigational rights of
Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua
Illicit drugs: transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine; those who previously only trafficked are now becoming users
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@Cote d'Ivoire
Cote d'Ivoire Introduction
Background: Close ties to France since independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the tropical African states. Falling cocoa prices and political turmoil, however, sparked an economic downturn in 1999 and 2000. On 25 December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government led by President Henri Konan BEDIE. Presidential and legislative elections held in October and December 2000 provoked violence due to the exclusion of opposition leader Alassane OUATTARA. In October 2000, Laurent GBAGBO replaced junta leader Robert GUEI as president, ending 10 months of military rule.