Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Singapore instead of Costa Rica, you would:
Health
live 2.3 years longer
In Costa Rica, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Singapore, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
be 48.0% less likely to be obese
In Costa Rica, 32.7% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Singapore, that number is 17.0% of people as of 2024.
see 3.4 times more spent on your healthcare
Costa Rica spends $1,928 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Singapore spends $6,551 as of 2023.
Economy
be 58.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Costa Rica, 6.8% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Singapore, that number is 2.8% as of 2025.
make 4.9 times more money
Costa Rica has a GDP per capita of $19,970 as of 2025, while in Singapore, the GDP per capita is $98,814 as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% 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 Singapore, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 75.8% 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 Singapore, on the other hand, 2.2 children do as of 2024.
have 25.9% fewer children
In Costa Rica, there are approximately 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Singapore, there are 7.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 58.8% less on education
Costa Rica spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Singapore spends 2.2% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 34.6% less on healthcare
Costa Rica spends 6.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Singapore, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 85.0% less coastline
Costa Rica has a total of 1,290 km of coastline. In Singapore, that number is 193 km.
Safety
be 99.6% less likely to be murdered
Costa Rica has a homicide rate of 17.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Singapore, that number is 0.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 87.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Costa Rica, road accidents kill 15.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Singapore, they kill 1.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 19.4% more home broadband
Costa Rica has 23.3 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Singapore has 27.8 as of 2024.
use 4.3 times more electricity
Costa Rica uses 2,282 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Singapore uses 9,750 kWh as of 2023.
live with 5.7 times more strain on fresh water
Costa Rica withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Singapore withdraws 33% as of 2022.
Environment
be 53.3% more likely to die from air pollution
In Costa Rica, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Singapore, it causes 23.0 as of 2019.
emit 6.0 times more CO2
Costa Rica emits 1.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Singapore emits 9.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Costa Rica vs. Singapore
Singapore: At a glance
How big is Singapore compared to Costa Rica? See an in-depth size comparison.