Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Paraguay instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
have 44.9% more doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Paraguay has 38.9 as of 2022.
be 21.1% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Paraguay, it is 6.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 7.0 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Paraguay, that number is 74 years (71 years for men, 77 years for women) as of 2024.
see 23.8% less spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Paraguay spends $1,469 as of 2023.
have 11.1% less access to essential health services
Costa Rica scores 81 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Paraguay scores 72 as of 2021.
Economy
be 29.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Paraguay, that number is 4.8% as of 2025.
make 64.8% less money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Paraguay, the GDP per capita is $7,027 as of 2025.
Life
have 97.5% more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Paraguay, there are 19.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 2.4 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 Paraguay, 58.0 women do as of 2023.
be 59.3% 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 Paraguay, on the other hand, 14.5 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 33.5% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Paraguay spends 3.5% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 21.7% more on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Paraguay, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2023.
Safety
be 61.8% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Paraguay, that number is 6.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 35.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Paraguay, they kill 21.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 68.7% less strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Paraguay withdraws 2% as of 2022.
find 44.7% less home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Paraguay has 12.9 as of 2023.
Environment
emit 28.8% less CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Paraguay emits 1.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 66.7% more likely to die from air pollution
In Costa Rica, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Paraguay, it causes 25.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Paraguay
Paraguay: At a glance
How big is Paraguay compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.