Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 3.6 years longer
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.
see 33.2% more spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
be 71.3% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 23.6% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.
have 15.4% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Kuwait has 22.7 as of 2020.
Economy
be 68.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 61.8% more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 66.7% 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 Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
be 23.1% 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 Kuwait, on the other hand, 7.0 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 14.7% more likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 87.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Kuwait, about 100.0% do as of 2025.
Expenditures
spend 27.8% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 21.3% more on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 61.3% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 98.6% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 40.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 7.2 times more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh as of 2023.
find 95.7% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 654.8 times more strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
Environment
be 3.0 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 Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 14.5 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.