Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Liberia instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 45.6% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Liberia, that number is 17.8% of people as of 2024.
be 25.9% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Liberia, it is 6.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 18.7 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Liberia, that number is 62 years (61 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024.
see 87.9% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Liberia spends $233 as of 2023.
have 93.4% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Liberia has 1.8 as of 2022.
have 44.4% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Liberia scores 45 as of 2021.
Economy
be 57.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Liberia, that number is 2.9% as of 2025.
make 95.4% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Liberia, the GDP per capita is $915 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.1 times more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Liberia, there are 30.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 26.2 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 Liberia, 628.0 women do as of 2023.
be 6.9 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 Liberia, on the other hand, 63.2 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 67.5% 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 Liberia, that number is 32% of people on average (53% in urban areas, and 9% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 63.0% less likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 87.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Liberia, about 32.2% do as of 2024.
be 21.0% 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 Liberia, that number is 79% of people on average (86% in urban areas, and 70% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 57.3% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Liberia spends 2.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 89.4% more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Liberia, that number is 13.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 55.1% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Liberia, that number is 579 km.
Infrastructure
live with 95.6% less strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Liberia withdraws 0% as of 2022.
find 98.8% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Liberia has 0.3 as of 2022.
Environment
emit 90.8% less CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Liberia emits 0.1 tonnes as of 2024.
be 4.0 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 Liberia, it causes 60.0 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. Liberia
Liberia: At a glance
How big is Liberia compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.