Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Nauru instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
see 28.3% more spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Nauru spends $2,474 as of 2023.
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 Nauru, that number is 62 years (60 years for men, 64 years for women) as of 2024.
be 2.2 times more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Nauru, that number is 71.4% of people as of 2024.
have 25.9% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Nauru scores 60 as of 2021.
Economy
make 26.7% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Nauru, the GDP per capita is $14,640 as of 2025.
Life
be 15.4% 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 Nauru, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2024.
have 2.5 times more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nauru, there are 24.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 11.4 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 Nauru, 273.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 2.7 times more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Nauru, that number is 18.2% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 97.7% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Nauru, that number is 30 km.
Safety
be 48.4% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Nauru, they kill 8.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 57.2% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Nauru has 10.0 as of 2022.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Nauru
Nauru: At a glance
How big is Nauru compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.