Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malaysia instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 39.3% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Malaysia, that number is 15.6% of people as of 2016.
live 3.5 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Malaysia, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 34.0% more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,700 as of 2020, while in Malaysia, the GDP per capita is $26,400 as of 2020.
be 59.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 8.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Malaysia, that number is 3.3% as of 2019.
be 73.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 21.0% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Malaysia, however, that number is 5.6% as of 2018.
pay a 86.7% higher top tax rate
Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Malaysia, the top tax rate is 28.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 21.5% less 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 Malaysia, on the other hand, 6.6 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 11.1% more likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 81.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Malaysia, about 90.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 37.3% less on education
Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Malaysia spends 4.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
spend 47.9% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 7.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Malaysia, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 3.6 times more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Malaysia, that number is 4,675 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Malaysia: At a glance
How big is Malaysia compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.