Quality of life comparison
If you lived in United States instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 1.0 years longer
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In United States, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.
be 40.9% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United States, that number is 36.2% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 3.1 times more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,700 as of 2020, while in United States, the GDP per capita is $60,200 as of 2020.
be 52.0% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 8.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In United States, that number is 3.9% as of 2018.
be 28.1% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 21.0% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In United States, however, that number is 15.1% as of 2010.
pay a 2.6 times higher top tax rate
Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In United States, the top tax rate is 39.6% as of 2016.
Life
be 29.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 27.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In United States, 19.0 women do as of 2017.
be 38.4% less 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 United States, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2022.
have 14.0% fewer children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In United States, there are 12.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 12.3% more likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 81.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In United States, about 91.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 25.4% less on education
Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. United States spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2014.
spend 2.3 times more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 7.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In United States, that number is 16.8% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 15.4 times more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In United States, that number is 19,924 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
United States: At a glance
How big is United States compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.