Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Brunei, you would:
Health
live 5.5 years longer
In Brunei, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 78 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 11.7% less likely to be obese
In Brunei, 37.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
have 42.5% more doctors per person
Brunei has 18.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
be 2.6 times more likely to die by suicide
Brunei has a suicide rate of 3.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 29.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Brunei, 5.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 38.0% less money
Brunei has a GDP per capita of $32,235 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 33.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Brunei, approximately 36.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Costa Rica, 24.0 women do as of 2023.
have 25.1% fewer children
In Brunei, there are approximately 13.3 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 3.1 times more on healthcare
Brunei spends 2.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 8.0 times more coastline
Brunei has a total of 161 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 4.3 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Brunei, road accidents kill 3.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 69.5% more strain on fresh water
Brunei withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
use 78.6% less electricity
Brunei uses 10,674 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 25.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Brunei, air pollution causes 20.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 91.9% less CO2
Brunei emits 20.2 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), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Brunei vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Brunei? See an in-depth size comparison.