Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Serbia instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Health

be 33.2% less likely to be obese

In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Serbia, that number is 21.8% of people as of 2024.

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see 19.4% more spent on your healthcare

Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Serbia spends $2,303 as of 2023.

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have 15.3% more doctors per person

Costa Rica has 26.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Serbia has 31.0 as of 2022.

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live 5.0 years less

In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Serbia, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.

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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. Serbia scores 72 as of 2021.

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be 87.8% more likely to die by suicide

Costa Rica has a suicide rate of 8.1 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Serbia, it is 15.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 15.2% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Costa Rica, 17.1% live below the poverty line as of 2025. In Serbia, however, that number is 19.7% as of 2023.

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make 23.6% less money

Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Serbia, the GDP per capita is $15,262 as of 2025.

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Life

be 54.2% 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 Serbia, 11.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 49.5% 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 Serbia, on the other hand, 4.6 children do as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 36.0% less on education

Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Serbia spends 3.4% of total GDP on education as of 2023.

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spend 16.9% more on healthcare

Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Serbia, that number is 8.0% of GDP as of 2023.

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Safety

be 92.6% less likely to be murdered

Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Serbia, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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be 52.3% less likely to die in a road accident

In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Serbia, they kill 7.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 43.3% more home broadband

Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Serbia has 33.4 as of 2024.

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use 2.2 times more electricity

Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Serbia uses 5,090 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

be 3.0 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 Serbia, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this

Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Serbia

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Serbia is 38.8% cheaper than Costa Rica overall
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Costa Rica is about 1.5 times smaller than Serbia.
→
Moving from Costa Rica to Serbia · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

Serbia: At a glance

Serbia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 77,474 sq km. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Communist Partisans resisted the Axis occupation and division of Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponents and collaborators as well. The military and political movement headed by Josip Broz "TITO" (Partisans) took full control of Yugoslavia when their domestic rivals and the occupiers were defeated in 1945. Although communists, TITO and his successors (Tito died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Republic of Serbia and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." These actions were ultimately unsuccessful and, after international intervention, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. MILOSEVIC retained control over Serbia and eventually became president of the FRY in 1997. In 1998, an ethnic Albanian insurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo provoked a Serbian counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo. The MILOSEVIC government's rejection of a proposed international settlement led to NATO's bombing of Serbia in the spring of 1999. Serbian military and police forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the UN Security Council authorized an interim UN administration and a NATO-led security force in Kosovo. FRY elections in late 2000 led to the ouster of MILOSEVIC and the installation of democratic government. In 2003, the FRY became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. Widespread violence predominantly targeting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 let to more intense calls to address Kosovo's status, and the UN began facilitating status talks in 2006. In June 2006, Montenegro seceded from the federation and declared itself an independent nation. Serbia subsequently gave notice that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro. In February 2008, after nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations, Kosovo declared itself independent of Serbia - an action Serbia refuses to recognize. At Serbia's request, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in October 2008 sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was in accordance with international law. In a ruling considered unfavorable to Serbia, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion in July 2010 stating that international law did not prohibit declarations of independence. In late 2010, Serbia agreed to an EU-drafted UNGA Resolution acknowledging the ICJ's decision and calling for a new round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, this time on practical issues rather than Kosovo's status. The EU-moderated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue began in March 2011 and was raised to the level of prime ministers in October 2012. Serbia and Kosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations between the two countries in April 2013 and are in the process of implementing its provisions.
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