Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Italy instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 3.0 years longer
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
be 57.2% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 14.0% of people as of 2024.
see 2.6 times more spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Italy spends $4,993 as of 2024.
have 56.0% more doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Italy has 41.9 as of 2022.
be 13.3% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Italy, it is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 2.2 times more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Italy, the GDP per capita is $43,309 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 Italy, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 74.7% 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 Italy, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.
have 36.9% fewer children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Italy, there are 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 23.4% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Italy spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 22.9% more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Italy, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 5.9 times more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Italy, that number is 7,600 km.
Safety
be 96.8% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Italy, that number is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 67.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Italy, they kill 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 36.5% more home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Italy has 31.8 as of 2024.
use 2.3 times more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Italy uses 5,137 kWh as of 2024.
live with 5.1 times more strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Italy withdraws 30% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 3.1 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Italy emits 5.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Italy
Italy: At a glance
How big is Italy compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.