Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 35.9% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, that number is 21.0% of people as of 2024.
live 3.0 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
have 18.5% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Bosnia and Herzegovina scores 66 as of 2021.
be 11.3% more likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is 9.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 61.4% more likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, that number is 11.0% as of 2025.
make 48.0% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the GDP per capita is $10,382 as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 39.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Costa Rica, approximately 9.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, 5.5 children do as of 2024.
have 22.7% fewer children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 38.8% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Bosnia and Herzegovina spends 3.2% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 29.8% more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, that number is 8.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 98.4% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, that number is 20 km.
Safety
be 93.1% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, that number is 1.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 11.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, they kill 13.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 26.2% more home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Bosnia and Herzegovina has 29.4 as of 2024.
live with 64.8% less strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Bosnia and Herzegovina withdraws 2% as of 2022.
use 61.1% more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Bosnia and Herzegovina uses 3,677 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 3.7 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina, it causes 55.0 as of 2019.
emit 4.0 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Bosnia and Herzegovina emits 6.5 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: Costa Rica vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina: At a glance
How big is Bosnia and Herzegovina compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.