Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Chile, you would:
Health
be 19.2% less likely to be obese
In Chile, 40.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
see 46.6% less spent on your healthcare
Chile spends $3,612 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Costa Rica spends $1,928 as of 2023.
have 19.4% fewer doctors per person
Chile has 33.3 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Costa Rica has 26.9 as of 2022.
Economy
be 23.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Chile, 9.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
make 11.0% more money
Chile has a GDP per capita of $17,995 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
be 2.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Chile, 6.5% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2025.
Life
have 14.6% more children
In Chile, there are approximately 8.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Costa Rica, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.4 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Chile, approximately 10.0 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 56.9% more likely to die during infancy
In Chile, approximately 5.8 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.
Expenditures
spend 34.8% less on healthcare
Chile spends 10.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 80.0% less coastline
Chile has a total of 6,435 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 2.8 times more likely to be murdered
Chile has a homicide rate of 6.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 50.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In Chile, road accidents kill 10.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Costa Rica, they kill 15.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 34.5% less strain on fresh water
Chile withdraws 9% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
use 47.8% less electricity
Chile uses 4,373 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 16.7% less likely to die from air pollution
In Chile, air pollution causes 18.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 58.6% less CO2
Chile emits 3.9 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Chile vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Chile? See an in-depth size comparison.