Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Belgium, you would:
Health
live 2.2 years less
In Belgium, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022.
be 16.3% more likely to be obese
In Belgium, 22.1% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
pay a 72.1% lower top tax rate
Belgium has a top tax rate of 53.7% as of 2016. In Costa Rica, the top tax rate is 15.0% as of 2016.
make 59.1% less money
Belgium has a GDP per capita of $48,200 as of 2020, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
be 51.1% more likely to be unemployed
In Belgium, 5.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.1% as of 2017.
be 41.9% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Belgium, 14.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 21.0% as of 2019.
Life
have 30.4% more children
In Belgium, there are approximately 10.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, there are 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 5.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Belgium, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 2.6 times more likely to die during infancy
In Belgium, approximately 3.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Costa Rica, on the other hand, 8.4 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 12.0% less likely to have internet access
In Belgium, approximately 92.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Costa Rica, about 81.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 31.8% less on healthcare
Belgium spends 10.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 19.4 times more coastline
Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Service Public Fédéral Finances, The World Factbook, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.