Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Aruba instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

live 1.6 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Aruba, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 95.1% more money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,700 as of 2020, while in Aruba, the GDP per capita is $38,442 as of 2017.

pay a 3.9 times higher top tax rate

Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Aruba, the top tax rate is 59.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 44.1% more likely to die during infancy

In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Aruba, on the other hand, 12.1 children do as of 2022.

have 17.2% fewer children

In Costa Rica, there are approximately 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Aruba, there are 11.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 19.8% more likely to have internet access

In Costa Rica, approximately 81.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Aruba, about 97.0% do as of 2019.

Expenditures

spend 17.9% less on education

Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Aruba spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2016.

Geography

see 94.7% less coastline

Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Aruba, that number is 68 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministerio di Finansas, Comunicacion, Utilidad y Energia, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.

Aruba: At a glance

Aruba is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 180 sq km. Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990.
Read more

How big is Aruba compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Aruba.or Costa Rica It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.