Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Democratic Republic of the Congo, you would:
Health
live 17.8 years longer
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, the average life expectancy is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 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 3.8 times more likely to be obese
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, 6.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 17.9 times more money
Democratic Republic of the Congo has a GDP per capita of $1,100 as of 2020, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
be 66.7% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, 63.0% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 21.0% as of 2019.
Life
be 94.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 473.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 27.1% more likely to be literate
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, the literacy rate is 77.0% as of 2016. In Costa Rica, it is 97.9% as of 2018.
be 86.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 60.9 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.
have 64.4% fewer children
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, there are approximately 40.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, there are 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 11.1 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 9% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In Costa Rica, 100% of the population do as of 2020.
be 5.8 times more likely to have internet access
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 14.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Costa Rica, about 81.0% do as of 2020.
be 68.4% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Democratic Republic of the Congo, approximately 59% of people have improved drinking water access (89% in urban areas, and 35% in rural areas) as of 2020. In Costa Rica, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 4.5 times more on education
Democratic Republic of the Congo spends 1.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2017. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 2.1 times more on healthcare
Democratic Republic of the Congo spends 3.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 34.9 times more coastline
Democratic Republic of the Congo has a total of 37 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Democratic Republic of the Congo? See an in-depth size comparison.