In 1948, the government of Costa Rica gave diplomatic recognition to the new State of Israel. Due to its political balance, Costa Rica is often referred to as the "Switzerland of Central America." For years, Costa Rica was one of the only countries to house its embassy in Jerusalem. For many decades, of the 184 nations with which United States has diplomatic relations, Israel was the only one where the U.S. embassy is not located in the capital city. This was changed on May 14, 2018, when the Trump administration moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem.