Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Albania instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 26.2% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Albania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.
be 65.9% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Albania, it is 2.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 1.2 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Albania, that number is 80 years (78 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.
see 24.0% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Albania spends $1,465 as of 2023.
have 30.1% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Albania has 18.8 as of 2020.
have 21.0% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Albania scores 64 as of 2021.
Economy
be 59.8% more likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Albania, that number is 10.9% as of 2025.
be 15.2% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 17.1% live below the poverty line as of 2025. In Albania, however, that number is 19.7% as of 2022.
make 34.9% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Albania, the GDP per capita is $12,998 as of 2025.
Life
be 70.8% less likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 24.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Albania, 7.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 41.8% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Albania spends 3.1% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 71.9% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Albania, that number is 362 km.
Safety
be 92.2% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Albania, that number is 1.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 30.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Albania, they kill 10.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 18.5% less strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Albania withdraws 5% as of 2022.
use 26.7% more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Albania uses 2,892 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 3.9 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Costa Rica, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Albania, it causes 59.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Albania
Albania: At a glance
How big is Albania compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.