Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kiribati instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 14.4 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 67 years (65 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024.
be 39.4% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 45.6% of people as of 2024.
see 79.2% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kiribati spends $401 as of 2023.
have 40.7% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kiribati scores 48 as of 2021.
be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kiribati, it is 17.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 67.8% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 17.1% live below the poverty line as of 2025. In Kiribati, however, that number is 5.5% as of 2023.
make 87.2% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Kiribati, the GDP per capita is $2,559 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.5 times more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kiribati, there are 25.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 3.3 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 Kiribati, 80.0 women do as of 2023.
be 4.3 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 Kiribati, on the other hand, 38.8 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 20.8% less likely to have access to drinking water
In Costa Rica, approximately 100% of people have access to drinking water (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Kiribati, that number is 79% of people on average (90% in urban areas, and 64% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.1 times more on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kiribati spends 16.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 59.4% more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kiribati, that number is 10.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 11.4% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Kiribati, that number is 1,143 km.
Safety
be 60.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kiribati, they kill 6.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 99.9% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kiribati has 0.0 as of 2024.
Environment
emit 63.8% less CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kiribati emits 0.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.3 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 Kiribati, it causes 49.0 as of 2019.
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. Kiribati
Kiribati: At a glance
How big is Kiribati compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.