Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
see 80.3% more spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 as of 2023.
have 26.8% more doctors per person
Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Saudi Arabia has 34.1 as of 2023.
be 88.2% less likely to die by suicide
Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Saudi Arabia, it is 0.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 2.0 years less
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
be 22.6% more likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 40.1% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 55.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 3.0% as of 2025.
make 72.9% more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Saudi Arabia, the GDP per capita is $34,537 as of 2025.
Life
be 70.8% less 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 Saudi Arabia, 7.0 women do as of 2023.
be 48.4% 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 Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, 4.7 children do as of 2024.
have 65.2% more children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, there are 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 14.7% more likely to have internet access
In Costa Rica, approximately 87.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Saudi Arabia, about 100.0% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 15.6% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 17.2% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 5.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.0 times more coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Saudi Arabia, that number is 2,640 km.
Safety
be 19.4% more likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Saudi Arabia, they kill 18.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 89.2% more home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Saudi Arabia has 44.1 as of 2024.
use 5.2 times more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Saudi Arabia uses 11,911 kWh as of 2023.
live with 165.7 times more strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% as of 2022.
Environment
be 6.1 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 Saudi Arabia, it causes 91.0 as of 2019.
emit 11.3 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia: At a glance
How big is Saudi Arabia compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.