El Carmen District is the first distrito

Districts of Costa Rica

| The cantons of Costa Rica are subdivided into 473 districts .-References:...

of San José Canton

San José Canton

San José is the name of the first canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 44.62 km² and has a population of 386,799 . It includes the national capital city of San José....

 in Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

, and one of the four administrative units that form San José

San José, Costa Rica

San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

 city proper. This district is not heavily populated although it is a busy downtown area in daytime.

Geography and Demography

El Carmen District lies in the north of the San José Canton. It is surrounded by other districts (going clockwise): Goicoechea Canton

Goicoechea Canton

Goicoechea is the name of the 8th canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of 31.50 km², and has a population of 124,704...

 (north) and Montes de Oca Canton

Montes de Oca Canton

Montes de Oca is the name of the 15th canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of , and has a population of 54,288. The capital city of the canton is San Pedro....

 (east) from San José Province

San José Province

San José is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the central part of the country, and borders the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, Limón and Puntarenas. The provincial capital is San José. The province covers an area of 4,965.9 km²...

. The District borders other districts of San José Canton, Catedral District (south) and Merced District (west).

El Carmen is 1.49 km² in area and had 4,004 inhabitants on December 31, 2008 (2,687.25 inhabitants per km².)

District Information

This district comprises several barrios

Barrio

Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

 or neighbourhoods, such as Barrio Amón, Barrio Aranjuez, part of Barrio La California, El Carmen, El Empalme, Barrio Escalante and Barrio Otoya. Between its boundaries there are many important institutions and buildings, including government, health and culture.

• Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica
  Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
  The Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislative branch of the government of Costa Rica. The national congress building is located in the city capital, San José, specifically in El Carmen District in San José Canton.-Composition:...
  
  . The national congress building.
• Hospital Calderón Guardia. One of the three main hospitals of the country.
• Biblioteca Nacional de Costa Rica. Costa Rica's national and major library.
• Instituto Nacional de Seguros de Costa Rica. Government-controlled monopolic enterprise for Costa Rica's insurance business.

External links

• Municipalidad de San José. Distrito Carmen – Website of San Jose Mayor, includes a map of the district and related info.