Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Albania, you would:
Health
live 1.2 years longer
In Albania, the average life expectancy is 80 years (78 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
see 31.6% more spent on your healthcare
Albania spends $1,465 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 43.0% more doctors per person
Albania has 18.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
have 26.6% more access to essential health services
Albania scores 64 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
be 35.5% more likely to be obese
In Albania, 24.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
be 2.9 times more likely to die by suicide
Albania has a suicide rate of 2.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 37.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Albania, 10.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
be 13.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Albania, 19.7% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2025.
make 53.6% more money
Albania has a GDP per capita of $12,998 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 3.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Albania, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Costa Rica, 24.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 71.8% more on education
Albania spends 3.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.6 times more coastline
Albania has a total of 362 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 12.8 times more likely to be murdered
Albania has a homicide rate of 1.4 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 43.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In Albania, road accidents kill 10.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 22.8% more strain on fresh water
Albania withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
use 21.1% less electricity
Albania uses 2,892 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 74.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Albania, air pollution causes 59.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Albania vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Albania? See an in-depth size comparison.