Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iraq instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 6.5 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Iraq, that number is 73 years (71 years for men, 75 years for women) as of 2022.
be 18.3% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Iraq, that number is 30.4% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 52.8% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,700 as of 2020, while in Iraq, the GDP per capita is $9,300 as of 2020.
be 97.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 8.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Iraq, that number is 16.0% as of 2012.
Life
have 73.0% more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 14.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Iraq, there are 24.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 2.9 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 27.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Iraq, 79.0 women do as of 2017.
be 48.8% less likely to be literate
In Costa Rica, the literacy rate is 97.9% as of 2018. In Iraq, it is 50.1% as of 2018.
be 2.3 times more likely to die during infancy
In Costa Rica, approximately 8.4 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Iraq, on the other hand, 19.6 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 25.9% less likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 81.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Iraq, about 60.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 38.4% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 7.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Iraq, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 95.5% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Iraq, that number is 58 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
Iraq: At a glance
How big is Iraq compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.