Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Burkina Faso, you would:
Health
live 16.2 years longer
In Burkina Faso, the average life expectancy is 63 years (62 years for men, 65 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 4.6 times more likely to be obese
In Burkina Faso, 5.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Costa Rica, that number is 25.7% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 9.0 times more money
Burkina Faso has a GDP per capita of $2,200 as of 2020, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,700 as of 2020.
be 89.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Burkina Faso, 77.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2004. In Costa Rica, that number is 8.1% as of 2017.
be 49.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Burkina Faso, 41.4% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 21.0% as of 2019.
Life
be 91.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Burkina Faso, approximately 320.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Costa Rica, 27.0 women do as of 2017.
be 2.5 times more likely to be literate
In Burkina Faso, the literacy rate is 39.3% as of 2018. In Costa Rica, it is 97.9% as of 2018.
be 83.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Burkina Faso, approximately 49.4 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 57.5% fewer children
In Burkina Faso, there are approximately 33.6 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 4.5 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Burkina Faso, approximately 22% of the population has electricity access as of 2019. In Costa Rica, 100% of the population do as of 2020.
be 3.7 times more likely to have internet access
In Burkina Faso, approximately 22.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Costa Rica, about 81.0% do as of 2020.
be 27.4% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Burkina Faso, approximately 78% of people have improved drinking water access (95% in urban areas, and 71% 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 15.5% more on education
Burkina Faso spends 5.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2019. Costa Rica spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 32.7% more on healthcare
Burkina Faso spends 5.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Costa Rica, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2019.
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 Burkina Faso? See an in-depth size comparison.