Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Colombia, you would:
Health
live 3.1 years longer
In Colombia, the average life expectancy is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 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 31.3% more likely to be obese
In Colombia, 24.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 32.7% of people as of 2024.
be 62.5% more likely to die by suicide
Colombia has a suicide rate of 5.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Costa Rica, it is 8.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 17.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Colombia, 8.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.8% as of 2025.
be 46.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Colombia, 31.8% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Costa Rica, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2025.
make 2.3 times more money
Colombia has a GDP per capita of $8,562 as of 2025, while in Costa Rica, the GDP per capita is $19,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 59.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Colombia, approximately 59.0 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 13.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Colombia, approximately 10.5 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 24.6% fewer children
In Colombia, there are approximately 13.2 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 15.6% less on healthcare
Colombia spends 8.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Costa Rica, that number is 6.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 59.8% less coastline
Colombia has a total of 3,208 km of coastline. In Costa Rica, that number is 1,290 km.
Safety
be 28.7% less likely to be murdered
Colombia has a homicide rate of 24.9 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Costa Rica, that number is 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 35.2% more home broadband
Colombia has 17.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Costa Rica has 23.3 as of 2024.
use 47.1% more electricity
Colombia uses 1,551 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh as of 2024.
live with 62.0% more strain on fresh water
Colombia withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Costa Rica withdraws 6% as of 2022.
Environment
be 37.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Colombia, air pollution causes 24.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Costa Rica, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Colombia vs. Costa Rica
Costa Rica: At a glance
How big is Costa Rica compared to Colombia? See an in-depth size comparison.