Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Equatorial Guinea instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 41.3% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Equatorial Guinea, that number is 19.2% of people as of 2024.
be 12.8% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Equatorial Guinea, it is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 17.1 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Equatorial Guinea, that number is 64 years (62 years for men, 66 years for women) as of 2024.
see 68.4% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Equatorial Guinea spends $609 as of 2023.
have 94.3% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Equatorial Guinea has 1.5 as of 2022.
have 43.2% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Equatorial Guinea scores 46 as of 2021.
Economy
be 21.9% more likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Equatorial Guinea, that number is 8.3% as of 2025.
be 3.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 17.1% live below the poverty line as of 2025. In Equatorial Guinea, however, that number is 50.7% as of 2022.
make 66.9% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Equatorial Guinea, the GDP per capita is $6,615 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.0 times more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Equatorial Guinea, there are 30.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 7.2 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 Equatorial Guinea, 174.0 women do as of 2023.
be 5.2 times 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 Equatorial Guinea, on the other hand, 47.6 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 33.1% less likely to have access to electricity
In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Equatorial Guinea, that number is 67% of people on average (89% in urban areas, and 2% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 27.4% less likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 87.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Equatorial Guinea, about 63.3% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 49.1% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Equatorial Guinea, that number is 3.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 77.1% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Equatorial Guinea, that number is 296 km.
Safety
be 24.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Equatorial Guinea, they kill 11.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 96.9% less strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Equatorial Guinea withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 99.6% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Equatorial Guinea has 0.1 as of 2022.
use 65.3% less electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Equatorial Guinea uses 792 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 Equatorial Guinea, it causes 59.0 as of 2019.
emit 56.4% more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Equatorial Guinea emits 2.5 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. Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea: At a glance
How big is Equatorial Guinea compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.