Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Brazil instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 5.0 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Brazil, that number is 76 years (73 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.
have 12.3% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Brazil has 23.6 as of 2023.
Economy
be 12.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Brazil, that number is 6.0% as of 2025.
make 46.4% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Brazil, the GDP per capita is $10,713 as of 2025.
Life
have 21.4% more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Brazil, there are 12.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.8 times more 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 Brazil, 67.0 women do as of 2023.
be 35.2% more 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 Brazil, on the other hand, 12.3 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 41.6% more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Brazil, that number is 9.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 5.8 times more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Brazil, that number is 7,491 km.
Infrastructure
live with 74.5% less strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Brazil withdraws 2% as of 2022.
use 34.4% more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Brazil uses 3,068 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 53.3% more likely to die from air pollution
In Costa Rica, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Brazil, it causes 23.0 as of 2019.
emit 42.3% more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Brazil emits 2.3 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Brazil
Brazil: At a glance
How big is Brazil compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.