Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Mauritania instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
be 26.3% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 24.1% of people as of 2024.
be 66.4% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 12.3 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Mauritania, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 71 years for women) as of 2024.
see 84.3% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Mauritania spends $302 as of 2023.
have 90.3% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Mauritania has 2.6 as of 2022.
have 50.6% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Mauritania scores 40 as of 2021.
Economy
be 50.9% more likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Mauritania, that number is 10.3% as of 2025.
make 89.0% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Mauritania, the GDP per capita is $2,198 as of 2025.
Life
have 3.4 times more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Mauritania, there are 34.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 15.9 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 Mauritania, 381.0 women do as of 2023.
be 31.6% less likely to be literate
In Costa Rica, the literacy rate is 98.0% as of 2021. In Mauritania, it is 67.0% as of 2021.
be 3.3 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 Mauritania, on the other hand, 30.2 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 49.7% 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 Mauritania, that number is 50% of people on average (94% in urban areas, and 1% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 47.5% less likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 87.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Mauritania, about 45.8% do as of 2024.
be 22.6% 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 Mauritania, that number is 77% of people on average (90% in urban areas, and 59% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 36.8% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 4.3% of GDP as of 2023.
spend 43.3% more on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Mauritania spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
Geography
see 41.6% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Mauritania, that number is 754 km.
Safety
be 94.4% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Mauritania, that number is 1.0 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 38.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Mauritania, they kill 9.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 95.9% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Mauritania has 0.9 as of 2024.
live with 2.3 times more strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Mauritania withdraws 13% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 40.5% less CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Mauritania emits 1.0 tonnes as of 2024.
be 4.1 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 Mauritania, it causes 62.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Mauritania
Mauritania: At a glance
How big is Mauritania compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.