Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Palau instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 11.6 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 69 years (67 years for men, 72 years for women) as of 2024.
be 23.9% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Palau, that number is 40.5% of people as of 2024.
have 32.7% fewer doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Palau has 18.1 as of 2023.
have 19.8% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Palau scores 65 as of 2021.
Life
be 3.7 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 Palau, 89.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.0 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 Palau, on the other hand, 18.6 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 35.2% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Palau spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 57.9% more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Palau, that number is 10.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 17.8% more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Palau, that number is 1,519 km.
Safety
be 43.2% more likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Palau, they kill 22.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 68.5% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Palau has 7.3 as of 2023.
Environment
emit 50.8 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Palau emits 82.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2024), United Nations SDG Indicators (2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Palau
Palau: At a glance
How big is Palau compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.