Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Belize, you would:
Health
be 50.0% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Belize, 1.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 0.6% of people as of 2024.
live 7.3 years longer
In Belize, the average life expectancy is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 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.
be 24.7% less likely to be obese
In Belize, 43.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
see 3.4 times more spent on your healthcare
Belize spends $573 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 19.1% more access to essential health services
Belize scores 68 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Costa Rica scores 81 as of 2021.
be 92.8% more likely to die by suicide
Belize has a suicide rate of 4.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 22.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Belize, 8.9% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 2.5 times more money
Belize has a GDP per capita of $7,865 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 64.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Belize, approximately 67.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Costa Rica, 24.0 women do as of 2023.
be 11.5% more likely to be literate
In Belize, the literacy rate is 87.9% as of 2022. In Costa Rica, it is 98.0% as of 2021.
be 15.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Belize, approximately 10.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Costa Rica, on the other hand, 9.1 children do as of 2024.
have 44.7% fewer children
In Belize, there are approximately 18.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 14.9% more on education
Belize spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Costa Rica spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 65.5% more on healthcare
Belize spends 4.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 3.3 times more coastline
Belize has a total of 386 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 36.7% less likely to be murdered
Belize has a homicide rate of 28.1 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 11.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Belize, road accidents kill 17.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 2.4 times more home broadband
Belize has 9.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
live with 4.7 times more strain on fresh water
Belize withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
Environment
be 28.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Belize, air pollution causes 21.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 75.3% more CO2
Belize emits 0.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Belize vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Belize? See an in-depth size comparison.