Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Mexico instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 7.3 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 80 years (77 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022. In Mexico, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 76 years for women) as of 2022.
be 12.5% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 25.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Mexico, that number is 28.9% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 56.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 8.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Mexico, that number is 3.5% as of 2019.
be 99.5% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Costa Rica, 21.0% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Mexico, however, that number is 41.9% as of 2018.
pay a 2.3 times higher top tax rate
Costa Rica has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Mexico, the top tax rate is 35.0% as of 2016.
Life
be 22.2% more likely to die during childbirth
In Costa Rica, approximately 27.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Mexico, 33.0 women do as of 2017.
be 41.4% more 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 Mexico, on the other hand, 11.9 children do as of 2022.
Basic Needs
be 11.1% less likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 81.0% of the population has internet access as of 2020. In Mexico, about 72.0% do as of 2020.
Expenditures
spend 35.8% less on education
Costa Rica spends 6.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Mexico spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
spend 26.0% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 7.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Mexico, that number is 5.4% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 7.2 times more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Mexico, that number is 9,330 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Servicio de Administración Tributaria, SHCP, Directorate General of Taxation of Costa Rica.
Mexico: At a glance
How big is Mexico compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.