Costa Rica is located in Central America and has approximately 4,5 million inhabitants. The country is rich in biodiversity, and about a quarter of the total land area is protected. In 2009 Costa Rica was named the world's greenest country, and was on top of the rankings in the Happy Planet Index of the New Economics Foundation in 2009 and 2012.
Costa Rica has several mountain ranges and volcanoes, and is also home to a great diversity of plants and animals in tropical rainforests, mangroves, wetlands, grasslands, coral reefs etc. The country is known for its excellent educational care. About 96% of the population over 15 years can read and write, which is one of the highest rates in Latin America. A lot of exiting and recognized research in biodiversity and environment has been conducted in Costa Rica, and NMBU has three partner universities in the country.